Her cheeks felt wet. What? She never cried. Being tough and logical helped her do her work. How could she accomplish anything when this man made her an emotional mess?
“Rodney, if it’s over between us, just tell me, okay? We’re both much too busy to play games.”
“It’s not over, baby. It’s just—”
She gripped the phone harder, wishing it was an aluminum can she could crush. “Just what?”
“Jack knows about us.”
“What? How did he find out?”
“He borrowed my phone. Like an idiot, I hadn’t changed my password in a while.”
She ran her fingers through her curls. “Oh, no! He must have seen that picture of me in my underwear.”
At least that hadn’t made it to Facebook. But, what if it did someday? In Jack’s evil hands, anything could happen. Her career would be ruined, and forget running for public office. She wouldn’t get hired to do anything except star in some porn movie.
“I’m really sorry,” Rodney said. “I should have been more careful.”
“I guess that’s why you posed with the girl. I’m sorry I yelled at you. So, what now?”
“We have to be more careful than before,” he said. “I told Jack I’m not seeing you anymore.”
She stroked the comforter, wishing she could touch her man instead. “Rodney, why do you have to answer to him? Why do you let him run your life?”
“It’s complicated. Jack…is Jack.” He paused. “Look, I need to see you.”
Her eyes burned as she closed her lids. “Me, too.”
“Someplace really private. Like, off the grid private. I’m not even telling my brother where.”
Dee smiled for the first time all evening. “I know a place where nobody will find us.”
Chapter Ten
Wheeling, WV
On Monday afternoon, Rodney slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and stepped out of his rideshare vehicle in Wheeling, West Virginia. Unfortunately, he’d been mistaken about the show date for Akron, Ohio. It was tomorrow night, not the night after. Later, he’d hire a private charter plane to fly him there, all under a different name so Jack couldn’t track him. His cock stirred at the thought of spending even a little time alone with Dee.
Well, almost alone considering the fact her parents lived here. Her mother seemed nice enough, but her father? Not the kind of guy he’d ever want as an enemy.
He gazed at the old house before him, its white exterior weathered to a greenish brown. The scent of rain mixed with the nearby river. Maybe the place would look better on a sunny day instead of against a lead-gray sky.
Dee had grown up here? No wonder they got along. Though a lot seedier, the place reminded him of his Southern home. Too bad the weather wasn’t better so they could do some fishing.
At least he hoped he was in the right place. He didn’t see a single car. The parents probably didn’t have any, but where was Dee?
Realizing how wet he’d gotten standing there, he raced to the weather-beaten porch and knocked on the door. The guy who answered it had long salt-and-pepper hair. He remembered him from the hospital.
Jeremy glared at him with hard green eyes before opening the door wide enough for him to enter. “Rodney. Nice to see you again.”
“Same here.” Rodney shook the rain from his baseball cap and denim jacket before stepping inside. “Where’s Dee?”
Adele appeared from the shadows of the dimly lit living room. “She called and says she’s stuck in heavy traffic from the rain.”
He set his bag down. “You guys have a phone?”
“One pay-as-you-go cell phone,” she explained. “We had to get it to keep in touch with our daughter.”
“While we wait for her, we can get to know you better,” Jeremy said, inviting him to sit with a casual gesture.
Wonderful. Being grilled by the parents wasn’t exactly Rodney’s idea of a sexy getaway with his lady.
Then he eyed the window and the steady rain falling. Nothing mattered but Dee’s safe arrival. He’d planned to leave his phone off so Jack couldn’t reach him, but he didn’t trust her parents’ cheap one in case she needed help. He slipped his own phone out of his pocket and turned it on.
“I’ll make us some hot tea,” Adele said before she exited toward the kitchen.
Leaving him alone with Jeremy. Great.
The older man leaned back into the couch. “So, what are your intentions with my daughter?”
Talk about going straight for the jugular. May as well be completely honest…
“I care about her a lot,” he replied, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. “We’re a couple, but we choose to keep our relationship private.”
“I figured as much. Otherwise, you’d take her to some nice resort like she deserves instead of a dump like this.”
“I wish I could.” He cleared his rough throat. “Someday, I will.”
“I suppose being in an open relationship with a woman of color wouldn’t be too good for your image.” The man’s voice sounded deceptively neutral, but his gaze sliced into him like daggers.
Rodney shifted in his wooden chair as it bit into his ass. “Well, uh, my brother, Jack, is worried how the fans would react. The band members have families to support, you know.”
“Sounds like Brother Jack has you by the short hairs.”
“How—” Rodney sputtered as his face burned.
Jeremy grinned for the first time all afternoon. “I have a talent for reading people and finding their weaknesses.”
Well, congratulations. You just found mine.
“I have strengths, too.”
“Such as?” Jeremy drawled the words so they sounded slow and lazy.
“I’m just a simple guy who loves his home, family, and Southern rock. Look, I didn’t come here to be interviewed.”
“Just getting to know you, is all,” the other man replied in his maddeningly calm tone. “I don’t let my daughter date just anyone.”
“And if I don’t meet your standards, you’ll throw me out in the rain?”
Jeremy leaned forward. “Do you see my hunting rifle hanging on the wall? I love my family,
