High-Sided: An Armed & Dangerous Novel by L.P. Dover

stairs, I stopped when a twig snapped to my right. I looked over and there she was. I wanted to take her in my arms and never let go, but all I could do was stand there as she slowly approached me. If she only knew how much I hated myself for leaving her.
    “Your car’s not here. You didn’t walk, did you?” I asked.
    She shook her head and pointed behind her. “My dirt bike’s out back. I rode through the woods.”
    “Jesus Christ, Kassie, what are you thinking? It’s not safe to ride around at night by yourself.”
    Her lips pursed and she stood her ground with the exact same defiant look on her face I’d seen plenty of times before. “I’m not the same girl you knew eight years ago, Logan.”
    I glanced up and down her body, remembering all too well what it felt like to touch her. I’d give anything to touch her now. “That’s definitely apparent. You seem to be even more stubborn now.”
    A small smile spread across her cheeks. “I am.”
    She followed me inside and I shut the door behind us. Everything looked the same as it did the last time she was there. It made me wonder what memories were going through her mind.
    “Want anything to drink?” I asked.
    She glanced at me over her shoulder and shook her head. I walked past her into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water from the sink. She sat down at the bar and I took the seat beside her. I waited for her to look at me, but all she did was look down at her clasped hands. Her knuckles were almost white from clenching them so hard.
    “Tell me everything, Logan. I need to know what happened between us. I keep trying to tell myself it doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t work.”
    It turned out, the answer to her question was right in front of us. Opening my laptop, I tapped the keys to awaken it. “You might think I haven’t been around the last few years, but I have. You didn’t see me, but I saw you.”
    Her head jerked up and she gasped. “What?”
    I nodded. “Many times. I’ve come back many times, Kassie. I watched you graduate.” Her lips trembled. “I even came when your mother passed away.”
    Tears fell down her cheeks, but her gaze never wavered. “How is that possible? I would’ve seen you.”
    “I’m good at staying hidden.” She looked skeptical, so I turned my laptop toward her. “I’m sure you can figure out which folder is yours.” It was the one labeled with her name.
    She looked down at it, then back over at me, her gaze narrowing. It didn’t surprise me when she clicked on another folder, the one labeled Wyoming .
    I watched all the pictures pop up and smiled when her mouth gaped. She looked at the pictures, closed her eyes, and studied them again. “Am I seeing things?”
    I laughed. “I spent a lot of time in Wyoming, with my friend Blake and his wife, Hadley. You might know her as Hadley Rivers?”
    She gasped, her eyes lit with wonder. A small smile spread across her cheeks and for the first time since being back, it gave me a sliver of hope. It was good to finally see a real smile on her face. “Are you kidding me? She’s my favorite country singer.”
    Grinning from ear to ear, I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of me and Hadley, standing in her barn with my arm around her shoulders. We were covered in dirt.
    “How did you meet her?”
    I set my phone down, her body so close her thigh touched mine. “I was called in to help her when she had to go into hiding. I escorted her to Wyoming so my friend, Blake, could bodyguard her. He was so pissed at the time.”
    “Why?”
    I smiled, remembering everything about that day. “He felt like being a bodyguard was a joke, especially to a spoiled brat. Little did he know at the time, she was anything but that. I’d gotten to know her during our travels.”
    “And then he fell in love with her?” she added.
    “Yep, like I knew he would.”
    “Wow,” she murmured in awe. “I bet you get to see a lot of amazing things.”
    I nodded. “And a lot