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He thought she’d agree, but a flare of anger lit her eyes and she stepped back Her voice stabbed at him like icicles, sharp and frozen "I said no I don’t need your help or your brothers’ Withlook, and Dalton wondered again what the hell he was ain
She alking down a road, sun drenching her body, a bunch of wildflowers fisted in her hands Contentment stirred within as she followed the fa the light tug of wind in her hair She was part of her father’s paintings, in a still, serene place she liked to visit when life got stressful or she needed clarity
A squeal of brakes echoed in the air, along with twistinginto , faster and faster, sensing with every step that she was nearing a terrible truth that would destroy her
But she couldn’t stop She ran until the breath tore froasps, and she skidded to a halt in front of the horrifying scene unfolding before her
Fire burning bright and lass and the stench of burnt rubber and oil rising in a fury of sh the broken , screaed him alive Raven sobbed and tried to run to hiround and she was unable tofrantically, and finally she was free and rushing toward him
Seconds before she reached the car, a woman’s face appeared beside her father’s, her rabbed Raven’s father and dragged hi over and over in a terrible et
"He belongs to s to me! Me, me, me, me"
Then the car exploded, and Raven watched her father burn
She woke up with her paja erratically Gulping in breaths, she tore off the sheets and juhtmare had haunted her after the funeral, until she’d been forced to see a grief counselor by Aunt Penny and given a range of pills to cut her anxiety and help her sleep She’d literally felt on the brink of a nervous breakdown, unable to process the sudden loss of the one man in the world she loved and trusted After two years of doctors and burying herself in her room, she’d turned to a different type of distraction to stop the nightmares A wild ride of destruction that had built like a snowball and s and alcohol She’d dropped out of college, telling Aunt Penny she wanted to see the world, buthigh, and waking up with men she didn’t re by and she’d done nothing to claim her space
Her father’s words haunted her froiven a responsibility in this life to claim our space You can decide to fill the world with beauty and kindness, or laziness and self-destruction Choose well"
In a ether She caot a job in a restaurant, rented a studio apartistered for online classes She mended her relationship with her aunt and swore to beat the de the endless er And finally, the nightmares stopped
Until Dalton Pierce appeared
Raven pushed her hair back andback to sleep for a while, so she ht closed around her until each clink of the coffeepot and bang of the cabinet hurt her ears Maybe she should get a cat She was used to solitude and usually enjoyed it, but lately she’d gotten itchy In the past, itchy er, and a doard spiral in the search for an adrenaline rush Now she had a business of her own and responsibilities Maybe in the past year, she’d shut herself out of too many possibilities Like a real relationship, not a quick tu She was finished with bad boys and char Peter Pans She wanted a etting tired of chasing tail and felt ready to settle down The idea of doing Matchcoht need to force herself to explore all options She certainly hadn’t met anyone worthy in her bar, since most of her customers treated her like a sex object or a buddy they could confide in There’d been no time in the past year to think about a relationship, because My Place was an obsessive, jealous lover Now maybe it was time to widen her scope Do more than work twenty-four hours per day or collapse on the couch bingeing on Netflix on a day off Meet soe her intellect, and not be a total jerk
The iht blue eyes and slow, sexy shed and poured herself a cup of coffee, then sat at the s had she been obsessed with the idea of revenge after the funeral? She’d burned with the need to prove that Diane Pierce had seduced her father icked lies and sex That he would have discovered the truth and coiveness, but the crash had occurred before he’d been able That he’d never have gotten on that plane to Paris and left her
Over the years, her thirst for vengeance had faded under the need to bury the past andher bar on a regular basis, the er stayed buried And if she didn’t do so until she went insane again
Raven took another sip, enjoying the nip of caffeine in her veins and the slight burn on her tongue Yeah, that was a probleather more information about the brothers, but Dalton threw her off balance Her body snapped to attention when he walked in the roo with hot men ere bad for her, he made heruneasy When he’d offered to renovate the bar, she’d been overcoe and a sense of shame Yes, she planned to restore the bar and update the restaurant this upco plans for My Place But she refused to allow Dalton to barge into her space Wasn’t she betraying her father’sto hi Oneof his eyes, and the next she was throwing hied much
Her mercurial moods weren’t easy to live with, but she accepted the-term relationships to speak of She doubted any man would be able to handle her past a feeeks, when they learned she was sometimes bitchy, sometimes ridiculously emotional, and always a control freak
Yeah A perfect Matchcoroaned into her aze on the slope of fields outside herShe was lucky to oo acres of land, with a perfect view of endless green that spilled out until it disappeared over the horizon The wraparound porch was ideal for watching sunsets and sunrises, her favorite thing to do since she rarely slept ton, the sht down the road froht and renovated the The polished wood gave off a rustic appeal, and the decorations reflected a co roos, a stone fireplace, large s, and little clutter Large, comfy blankets were scattered about
She had little patience for big novels, and sought out an array of eclectic lossy pictures She also preferred paper to digital Raven believed in touching and feeling solid iteive comfort Her home and bar were reflections of that belief
She lacked the typical fe raised by her dad Another reason she didn’t havemore comfortable in the company of men