Page 32 of Tethered

“Porter has been carted away from the gates by the cops two days in a row now. What if he turns up again?”

Oh, he would. My secret ingredient in his creamer made sure of that, but that’s beside the point.

“Then the police will take him away again.”

“You know I can go to the post office for you, right? I usually do.”

“I know, but things are different with Dawn and Hannah here. I don’t doubt that Porter is watching the place. The second you leave, he’ll make his next attempt at getting in here. You’re the deterrent here, not me.”

“And what if he is watching? What if he comes for you instead?”

“I’m going to be surrounded by people.”

“People who never did a fucking thing to help you before.”

I get up from my chair and walk over to him, sliding my hands up his arms. “I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t need anyone to protect me.”

I cover his mouth with my fingers so he doesn’t say that’s literally the reason I hired him.

“I’m not talking about at nighttime when I’m asleep and vulnerable. I’m not taking liberties with my safety, but I’m also not going to be able to hide away here forever. I mean, I could, but in the long run, I don’t think it will do them or me any favors.” I point toward the door to indicate Dawn and Hannah, who are in the other room.

“I’m going to give this town a chance. I’m offering the proverbial olive branch. Some will take it, some won't. But for that little girl inside who’ll need friends beyond me, you, and her mother, I have to try. And that means putting in the groundwork and interacting with people outside the ranch. The post office is as good a place to start as any.”

He sighs in frustration. “At least call Shepard. He can pick you up and drop you off. Nobody will mess with you if you have the sheriff hanging around.”

“I heard there was an incident this morning over at Alconbury farm.”

“What kind of incident, and how do you know?”

“The kind that involves an attempted murder-suicide. I have a police radio in my workshop. And before you ask, it’s mostly because I’m nosy and partly because I want to keep an ear out for any mentions of this place over the airwaves. After all, it’s always nice to have a heads up if the police plan on coming.”

He wraps his arms around me and presses his lips to my head. “How are you planning on getting there if neither Shepard nor I can take you?”

“Uber.”

He makes a face. “We spend fucking years telling kids and women not to get into cars with strange men only to make it socially acceptable to get into cars with strange men.”

“Alright, talking of strange men, how about I text Austin?”

“Austin? As in dickhead Austin. Austin who?—”

I cover his mouth with my hand again. “He didn’t rape me, Riggs,” I say softly. “He tried to keep me away from my father, but having no idea how to convince a terrified sixteen-year-old girl why she should stay, he knocked her out. He didn’t think about Andy. He should have, but to him, that was his baby brother. He was my tormentor, and if anyone had asked me if I thought he was capable of that, I’d have said no. He fucked up, and yeah, I’m still mad about it, but I’m not making hating him my whole identity anymore. Up until last night, he thought it was my father who raped me.”

“What? How?”

“You have to remember I didn’t speak about it. Somehow, my medical information was leaked, and given who I was on trial for killing, it wasn’t hard to add two and two together and come up with eight. Austin was mad he didn’t give me enough to keep me under, thinking I’d gone home, and well…You can imagine the rest.”

“I still don’t like the guy. Real men don’t drug young fucking girls.”

“I’m not arguing with you there. I’m just saying there was a little more to it. More than you know and…” My voice drifts off as I look away, unsure what to say.

He slides his fingers under my jaw and turns my head back to face him. “He knows, doesn’t he?”

“Knows what?”

“Whatever it is you’re hiding from me.”

I close my eyes and sigh. “I didn’t confide in him. He knew before I did. It’s why he did what he did.”