Page 60 of Daddy’s Fortitude

“You do?” Keira asked, looking slightly alarmed. “Like what?”

“There’s a place just out of town that helps with getting rid of anger. I haven’t used it before, but Kirsten has, and she said it’s good.”

“I don’t need help with anger issues,” Honey told her. “But I’m always down to destroy something.”

“Welcome to Rage Ranch.”

Aimee glanced over to see a handsome-looking guy walking toward them. He was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt and had a cowboy hat on his head.

Walking forward, she held out her hand. “Thanks for this. I’m Aimee. That’s Ammo, Zander, Webb, Honey, and Keira.”

He looked at Keira for a moment. “You joining in too?”

“Oh, no. I’m going to just be watching from the sidelines.”

“Good. We’ve got a safety zone, and I suggest you stand behind it. Actually, I’m going to find you a chair.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Keira said.

Zander eyed him with distrust and put his arm around Keira. The guy’s lips quirked he obviously understood the message that Keira belonged to Zander.

“I’m Hank, by the way. Kirsten told me a bit about what happened today. Sounded rough.”

“It was. Thanks again for letting us come out so late.”

“No worries,” he said. “Any friend of Kirsten’s is a friend of mine. We went to school together. Come with me, I’ll drive you out to the paddock.”

He drove with Aimee, Keira, and Zander in the cab with him while Ammo, Webb, and Honey had opted for the flatbed. Honey was currently standing up, holding onto the bars by the cab, and laughing her head off.

“She sure is enjoying herself out there,” Hank said.

She was.

“What made you create a rage ranch?” Aimee said to him.

“Well, it isn’t the whole ranch, just a really big paddock. When my dad died, he had all these old pieces of equipment and cars. He was a bit of a hoarder. And I thought to myself, rather than pay to dump it all, why don’t I turn it into something that could make a profit?”

They walked around the corner, and she saw the rage equipment out in front of them. There were old cars and farm vehicles, along with a lot of farm equipment, even some fridges, stoves, bathtubs, all sorts of things.

Zander helped Keira out while Ammo came for Aimee, giving Hank a look when he attempted to offer his hand to her.

She just shook her head at him. She really didn’t understand that man sometimes.

“Right. Here, I’ve got some equipment for you all. You’ll sit on this chair here, ma’am,” he said to Keira, placing a chair just in front of a small shed off to the side. “Stay over here, all right? Sometimes things can go flying, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’ll keep her safe,” Zander said, walking over to Keira and crossing his arms over his chest.

These guys were acting so possessive. She wasn’t exactly sure why. Hank was just being a nice guy. And why would Ammo feel possessive over her? Shouldn’t he want to get rid of her? Wasn’t she just something to cross off his to-do list, to make himself feel better that he was fulfilling his promise to Charlie?

“That’s good,” Hank said with another quirk of his lips. “Right, you got the place for the next hour. Here are some bats and crowbars. The rules are you’ve got to wear eye protection and gloves. Obviously, no swinging anything at each other. You’re all wearing long sleeves and pants and closed-toed shoes, so that’s good. Other than that, go for it.”

“That’s it? That’s all the rules?” she asked him.

He shrugged his wide shoulders. “Not big on rules unless I can dole out consequences.”

Huh?

“Plus, you’ve all signed the agreement, so I’m covered if you kill each other. Be back in an hour for you all.”