Page 116 of Hard to Hold
No, I didn’t figure it would. Cooter might’ve been a shut-in—although maybe not in the extreme technical sense, because he did venture outside of his house, but no farther than the garden in the backyard—but he also enjoyed spending time in the sun. Most days when I went by there, the man was sitting in a rocking chair on his front porch, reading a book. We still worried about him, but Cooter Caine was a tough old bird.
“Any news about…?” Lynx tilted his chin toward the offices upstairs.
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
“Sheriff doin’ somethin’ to find that asshole?”
“It’s slowgoin’,” I admitted. “He doesn’t want to draw attention to her if the guy hasn’t yet figured out where she is.”
“The old man said he heard gunshots out there last night. Y’all teachin’ her to shoot?”
“Yep.” As much and as often as we could. Amy seemed to truly enjoy it, and I couldn’t deny it made me feel a hell of a lot better knowing she could handle a firearm.
“Good. At least she’ll be ready for the fucker if he does come ’round.”
We would all be ready for him. And if I had anything to say about it, the bastard wouldn’t get within five miles of her before he met the business end of my shotgun.
“I hear Reagan’s still stayin’ at Amy’s place.”
I straightened, cocked an eyebrow at the interesting change in subject. “Yeah? Where’d you hear that from?”
Lynx shrugged.
I knew he had a thing for Reagan Trevino. It wasn’t public knowledge and the guy made damn sure most people thought otherwise, but I could tell he was sweet on her. It seemed that every time Reagan and that dumb ass Billy Watson broke up, Lynx’s mood improved. Then, of course, it would go downhill once she took his sorry ass back.
If we were lucky, she was done with him for good this time. Nearly two weeks apart was a record for the two of them, so anything was possible, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
“So—” Lynx began, but I cut him off this time.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be besides in here yakkin’ my damn ear off?”
Lynx chuckled. “All right, crybaby man.”
I laughed. I should’ve known that was coming after my breakdown the day Amy shared her horror story. Granted, Lynx wouldn’t dare call me that when anyone else was around to hear it, and because of that, I wouldn’t kick his ass.
“I’ll check ya later. Tell Amy to holler if she needs somethin’.” Lynx grinned. “Not that she will since it seems she’s got you and the sheriff at her beck and call.”
“Shut the hell up,” I said, grimacing.
I didn’t want people up in my business, even my cousin. Right now, this thing with me and Amy and Rhys was new. I didn’t need any outside forces interfering. Shit never worked out when that happened.
Hell, I liked my uncomplicated life. And with Amy and Rhys, I felt as though things were going exactly the way they were meant to.
“Talk at ya later,” Lynx called out as he sauntered toward the door, clicking his tongue twice to get Copenhagen at his side.
“Later,” I grumbled, then grabbed the sandpaper and got to work.
It seemed I'd been dealing with one interruption after another all damn day. Between the leak I'd found after last night’s storm, then my power sander blowing a breaker, me fixing that, and Calvin calling to tell me he’d be taking the day off so the store would be closed until one of us could get over there, plus Lynx’s need to dish like a fucking girl, I hadn’t gotten shit done.
My gaze strayed to the offices above me. I was tempted to check on Amy, see if she needed anything, but I knew she was fine. Probably glad to put a little space between her and the rest of the world for a little while.
For the past few days, she’d spent most of her time with Rhys or me or both. We’d alternated between staying at my place and Rhys’s. Twice I'd taken Amy home and she still froze outside, despite the fact that Reagan was staying at her place. Her reaction only pissed me off. Not at her, at the bastard who’d put that fear in her eyes.
Last night, after her insistence that she could spend a night alone in her own bed, despite what Rhys or I wanted, I had driven her out to her place. The second I had pulled up to her house, Amy had shifted from the easygoing woman she’d been for the past few days to one who hesitated to get out of the truck.
While she went inside to grab more clothes after my insistence for her to stay with me again, I had walked the perimeter of the house, checking it out. Nothing looked tampered with. Didn’t stop me from shooting a text to Rhys, asking the man to quit dicking around and find out who this bastard was. I wasn’t going to tolerate Amy having to walk around fearing for her life indefinitely. I fully intended to put a stop to it, but I wanted to give Rhys a chance to check it out first. If that didn’t work, I would take matters into my own hands. I knew people who would be more than happy to help me out, namely my cousins who lived not far away in Coyote Ridge.
If push came to shove, I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to my cousin Travis for help. I'd caught up with him at a family reunion a while back and we’d kept in touch. But I wanted that to be a last resort.
