Page 103 of Saddle Storm

He sighs. “Look, you know how this works. Until something bigger hits the media, they’ll be all over this one. Just don’t bring her around anymore and problem solved.”

My chest tightens at that. “This one’s serious, Harvey.” Might as well rip off the Band-Aid now and tell him.

Another beat. “Then tell her and her kid to get used to it.”

I frown. “Her kid? There was nothing about her kid online. How do you know she’s got a kid?”

“Because I know Chase’s brother has only got the one. So I did some digging of my own.”

I growl.

“For your benefit. See how much I’ll need to keep at bay when questions come up.”

“Could’ve just checked with me.”

“Could’ve, but where’s the fun in that?” I hear the grin on the other line. “All right, keep it cool. I’ll make some calls and keep it boring. So long as you know, getting the media to back off means painting her as a nobody. So you might wanna give your girl a heads-up.”

I swallow against the pressure in my chest.

“Silas?”

“Yeah,” I manage.

He sighs. “You’re making this really difficult, you know that?”

“I do. But I also know your five percent on my contract got you pretty far, so you’ll figure something out without diminishing her to nothing.”

He exhales loudly. “Don’t stress it. I’ll see what I can do.”

“It’s all I ask.”

“One more thing. The kid’s father—not in the picture, right?”

My grip tightens on my phone. “Why’s that relevant?”

“It’s not yours, I know that. Nothing feeds reporters more than a mystery dad. What are we dealing with?”

I stare out at the mountains, jaw set. The cold biting a bit harder. “Deceased.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

I’m not.

“The less we both know the better,” I say, trying to convince myself more than him.

“Silas.”

“If you do this right, it won’t come up,” I growl.

“You losin’ brain cells living over there? Of course it’ll come up. Figure out what you want me to say and let me know. I’ll handle the rest.”

It’s a first for Harvey to hang up on me and not the other way around. I sit there for a moment, letting the cold settle into my bones and giving up on my coffee.

I promised Storm I wouldn’t ask. But hell, I didn’t know what we were when I made it. I was just desperate for a chance. For her to let me in.

Seems unfair to ask again now that she has. The last thing I want to do is blindside her with the one topic that sent her running from me when I first found out.

The sound of a door swinging behind me pulls me from my thoughts and a tall figure steps in beside me. Dallas places a pint glass of ale in front of me before taking a seat across the wooden table with one of his own, blocking my view.