Read Online The Bad Boy's Redemption by Lili Valente, Jessie Evans - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lili Valente, Jessie Evans
Ads: Link
Colt said, pulling his hat back onto his head. “I was asking you to keep your nose out of my life. It’s my life and Olivia is my…”
He faltered but didn’t feel like dancing around the subject with Olivia missing and upset. “Olivia and I are the ones starting a relationship and I deserved the right to tell her about the letter myself.”
“Yeah, after you led her on for another week,” Daisy said, tears rising in her eyes. “Seriously, it’s disgusting Colt. The way you’re acting makes me ashamed to call you my brother.”
Colt’s jaw clenched, his body fighting to keep words he knew he would regret from finding their way out of his mouth.
Finally, after two deep, harsh breaths, he managed to say in a rough, but controlled, voice, “You have no idea what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling, or what my plans are, Daisy. Despite what you may think, you don’t know shit about love. If you did, you would know that I’m crazy about Olivia and I would never hurt her. Never.”
Daisy’s jaw dropped, but Colt didn’t have time to waste appreciating the novelty of seeing his little sister speechless. He turned to Tucker, who was lurking in the doorway to the kitchen, pretending not to be eavesdropping.
“Tucker, you want to take a four-wheeler and check the back field?” Colt asked. “I can take the snowmobile up onto the ridge and see if I can get an idea where she went.”
“Sounds good,” Tucker said. “Take your cell. I’ll call as soon as I see anything.”
“I’ll go with Tucker,” his dad said. “And help keep an eye out for her.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Colt said, grateful for the support. “And don’t worry, Mom. I’ll find Olivia, make sure everything is okay, and we’ll be back in time for dinner.”
Not bothering with any parting words for Daisy, he headed back out into the snow and started toward the barn, where his dad kept the snowmobile parked beneath the eaves during the winter.
He hurried across the yard, trying not to think about how swiftly the snow was concealing the evidence of their snowball fight or how quickly it would cover Olivia’s trail if he were lucky enough to find it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Olivia
Olivia tromped up the trail leading to the ridge, ignoring the progressively insistent snow filtering through the trees to coat her hair in a veil of frigid white.
She was already halfway across the Brodys’ property. If she kept going straight, in about ten miles—not that far and it was still light—she would emerge onto the Newmans’ ranch, where she would be able to ask sweet old Mr. Newman for a ride home. He wouldn’t mind interrupting his Christmas Eve celebration to give a girl he hadn’t seen in almost a decade a ride back to town. He was one of the nicest men in the world.
Unlike Colt.
Colt, who had lied to her and deceived her and made her believe he was falling in love with her, when really he was just killing time—and getting his rocks off—until he left town in nine days.
Nine days . He would be gone in nine days and who knows when—or if—she would ever see him again. Daisy had said he was going back into the marines as part of the ground force, the troops in the most danger and the most likely to get killed in action.
Fresh tears filled her eyes, welling up until they spilled down her cold cheeks. She knew she should hate him, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything except scared for him, ashamed of herself for being so gullible, and breathlessly, hopelessly sad.
She had stupidly believed she would be the one who would help Colt put his bad boy days behind him for good. A part of her still wanted to believe that this was all some big misunderstanding and that he would be able to explain the pain away.
But Daisy had seen the letter telling Colt to report to his old base on January second herself. There was no confusion. There was just black and white and one very naïve woman with a knack for getting herself in bad situations.
He faltered but didn’t feel like dancing around the subject with Olivia missing and upset. “Olivia and I are the ones starting a relationship and I deserved the right to tell her about the letter myself.”
“Yeah, after you led her on for another week,” Daisy said, tears rising in her eyes. “Seriously, it’s disgusting Colt. The way you’re acting makes me ashamed to call you my brother.”
Colt’s jaw clenched, his body fighting to keep words he knew he would regret from finding their way out of his mouth.
Finally, after two deep, harsh breaths, he managed to say in a rough, but controlled, voice, “You have no idea what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling, or what my plans are, Daisy. Despite what you may think, you don’t know shit about love. If you did, you would know that I’m crazy about Olivia and I would never hurt her. Never.”
Daisy’s jaw dropped, but Colt didn’t have time to waste appreciating the novelty of seeing his little sister speechless. He turned to Tucker, who was lurking in the doorway to the kitchen, pretending not to be eavesdropping.
“Tucker, you want to take a four-wheeler and check the back field?” Colt asked. “I can take the snowmobile up onto the ridge and see if I can get an idea where she went.”
“Sounds good,” Tucker said. “Take your cell. I’ll call as soon as I see anything.”
“I’ll go with Tucker,” his dad said. “And help keep an eye out for her.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Colt said, grateful for the support. “And don’t worry, Mom. I’ll find Olivia, make sure everything is okay, and we’ll be back in time for dinner.”
Not bothering with any parting words for Daisy, he headed back out into the snow and started toward the barn, where his dad kept the snowmobile parked beneath the eaves during the winter.
He hurried across the yard, trying not to think about how swiftly the snow was concealing the evidence of their snowball fight or how quickly it would cover Olivia’s trail if he were lucky enough to find it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Olivia
Olivia tromped up the trail leading to the ridge, ignoring the progressively insistent snow filtering through the trees to coat her hair in a veil of frigid white.
She was already halfway across the Brodys’ property. If she kept going straight, in about ten miles—not that far and it was still light—she would emerge onto the Newmans’ ranch, where she would be able to ask sweet old Mr. Newman for a ride home. He wouldn’t mind interrupting his Christmas Eve celebration to give a girl he hadn’t seen in almost a decade a ride back to town. He was one of the nicest men in the world.
Unlike Colt.
Colt, who had lied to her and deceived her and made her believe he was falling in love with her, when really he was just killing time—and getting his rocks off—until he left town in nine days.
Nine days . He would be gone in nine days and who knows when—or if—she would ever see him again. Daisy had said he was going back into the marines as part of the ground force, the troops in the most danger and the most likely to get killed in action.
Fresh tears filled her eyes, welling up until they spilled down her cold cheeks. She knew she should hate him, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything except scared for him, ashamed of herself for being so gullible, and breathlessly, hopelessly sad.
She had stupidly believed she would be the one who would help Colt put his bad boy days behind him for good. A part of her still wanted to believe that this was all some big misunderstanding and that he would be able to explain the pain away.
But Daisy had seen the letter telling Colt to report to his old base on January second herself. There was no confusion. There was just black and white and one very naïve woman with a knack for getting herself in bad situations.
Similar Books
