“How?”
“I’m here. Alive and well. Living a life I never thought possible. I’m here because of him. You’re here because of him.”
“You don’t have to sing his praises.” The last thing she wanted to hear right now was how good Lord could be. She wanted to hate him. It would be a lot easier if she did. Even when he said he couldn’t get rid of her, he had.
“You love him?”
She looked up at Rancher. “I don’t know what I feel.”
“I’m guessing you hate him a great deal right now.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She picked some more runner beans and decided she’d ruined that plant enough for now, and so she went to go and use some of the peas. Betty had given her a list of vegetables that were needed for the next couple of days. Being out in the garden wasn’t something she considered fun, but it beat being in the house missing Lord. At least outside, she could pretend to live a normal life.
“He’s a hard man to love.”
“It’s just an arrangement,” she said.
“You’re pissed at him?”
She snapped off a few pods and threw them into the basket with the other beans. “You really want to talk to me?”
“I consider Lord a good friend. I worry about him.”
“Then why don’t you go and help him? I know this stuff with the Skull Nation is getting to him.” Even as she wanted to hate Lord, she couldn’t help but be worried about him. Who wouldn’t be? The life he led brought nothing but danger.
There was no way she could help him. She hadn’t been able to help herself.
“It’s not my place. I just don’t want you thinking bad of him. He’s doing this for your own good and what’s more, the fact you’re the only one he moved speaks volumes.”
She stared at him for several seconds but didn’t say a word.
“I’ll let you get back to your picking.” He nodded at her and then left the garden. Alone with her thoughts, she blew out a breath.
Snapping each new pea pod, she filled her bucket and then carried them into the kitchen where Betty waited with a sink full of water.
Tipping the food into the sink, she sank her hands in and started to wash them. She placed them on the clean drainer and waited to see how Betty handled them.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Did you send your husband to talk to me?”
“Nah. Rancher has a tendency to do whatever the hell he wants. I didn’t ask for him to quit the club the way he did. He just wanted to start a fresh life for me. I was pregnant at the time and they’d just had an attack on the compound. It shook him up.”
Ally paused. “Really?”
“The clubhouse gets attacked. Not all fights are at businesses. It was a long day because after the attack, I got these pains. I’d never felt them before. The doctor put me on bed rest. I nearly lost the baby. Rancher blamed himself, of course. To him, you can’t have the club and kids.”
Ally wiped at her forehead.
“I never wanted him to leave as I know there are times he worries, even now. At least we’re able to do his for him. Lord is a good man.” Betty frowned and laughed. “I know it’s really hard for me to say that in one sentence, but he is. Don’t get on his bad side. Then you’re in real trouble. The club will always hold his loyalty.”
Ally took a deep breath. “Why are you and Rancher doing this? I’m not going to leave Lord.”
“I know it can be challenging, falling for a hard man. There is always goodness in them.”
She thought back to what she witnessed within the first twenty-four hours of being in Lord’s company. He’d killed a man, threatened her life, and then gave her a chance to earn her freedom.
Do you even want to be free?
Having sex with someone for the first time didn’t mean anything. Women gave up their virginity all the time.
“I’ve upset you?” Betty asked.
“No. I’m … worried. I haven’t heard from him today. I know he only dropped me off yesterday, but I’m still concerned.”
What if the Skull Nation attacked the clubhouse? Lord could be dying right this second and she wouldn’t know.
“Do you think I could call him? Talk to him?” she asked.
“Sure. We’ve got his number.” Betty wiped her hands on a towel and disappeared. Ally finished washing the last of the beans, followed by the pea pods when Betty returned. She had a phone in one hand and a number in the other. “We’ve never used this number. I don’t know if it’s working. Rancher would be the best one to tell you, but you could try it.”
She took the cell phone and the number. “Thank you. Do you mind if I … go?”