Austin couldn’t say why it was that he felt anxious approaching his parents’ house. It was like the time he’d admitted to them he’d dropped out of school. Except he hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, honestly, he hadn’t then either, but he had been about to tell them about something that would change the course of his life.

Could his run-in with Hayden be in the same category of events?

It seemed silly to make that proclamation so soon, despite the undeniable attraction between them. Something in his gut was leaning that way, though. He needed to talk to his parents—Jake too—about her. Deep down, he dreaded them popping his rosy bubble.

Jake’s truck was in the yard. Maybe he would take Austin’s side again like he had five years ago, or maybe he’d say that Austin was nuts to be so infatuated with a woman he’d only known a few days, who came with a crap ton of baggage despite having nothing to her name.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. The screen door squeaked a bit when he yanked it open harder than intended. Oops. Settle down.

“I’m back,” he called as he headed for the kitchen.

“Hey!” Jake waved from his spot at the table with a half-eaten biscuit in his hand. “How’d the run go?”

“Good.” Even to him, his response sounded unsure.

Lucy peeked from around the open fridge door, her mom senses putting her on instant alert. “What’s going on? Did you have an accident? Are you okay?”

She rushed to him and looked him over from head to toe. He hugged her and laughed. “Mom, I’m fine. Really. Nobody died, damn.”

“So the calves made the trip fine then?” His father tended to think of the ranch business first and let Lucy and Colby handle more of the emotional stuff. It didn’t offend Austin—he knew his father showed affection in his own ways.

“Yep. The buyer already told me he could use double next time if we’ve got them. He was really impressed with the stock.” Austin put his hands in his back pockets and wandered over to the table.

“Of course he was,” his dad said as he smiled at Austin’s father. “Silas only sells the best. Now come here and give me a hug.”

Hey, Austin might be a twenty-four-year-old man, but when Colby embraced him and slapped him on the back, it helped ease some of his tension.

His mother still eyed him as she wrung her hands. She wasn’t easily fooled.

Jake hid a smirk behind his fist. “Can I guess?”

Austin kicked out a chair beside the guy and sank into it. “Sure, why not? It’s only my personal life we’re kidding about.”

“Your face has woman trouble written all over it.” Jake shoved the rest of the biscuit in his mouth and chomped it down in two chews. The guy ate like a farm hand, that was for sure.

“How do you always know everything?” Silas asked Jake with a shake of his head. “You should have been a private eye instead of a rancher. Or maybe the town gossip.”

“I’m wise beyond my years.”

“Jake, you’re seventy. How much wiser can you get, buddy?” Colby barked out a laugh.

Jake shrugged. “To be fair, I heard it from Cathy and Emily Haley. They were rearranging the window display of their new boutique in town when Austin stopped at the light. Cathy asked me who the pretty girl with the sad eyes was. I sure didn’t know. But I think I’m about to find out.”

“Well, yeah. I brought a girl home with me.” Austin grimaced. In Compton Pass, like a lot of small towns, he could take a shit, barely finish wiping his ass, and the neighbor three farms over would know before he’d flushed the toilet.

“You have a girlfriend?” Colby probed.

Austin didn’t know how to explain. “I wouldn’t really call her that.”

Though he might like to steer them in that direction. She’d shown her true colors in one of the worst times of her life. Everything she’d laid out, he admired and respected. Hayden appealed to him in so many ways—her personality, her determination, her looks, and definitely the chemistry they shared.

He tried not to think of their kiss while his parents were staring at him.

“Kid, spit it out,” his father demanded. “This isn’t like you. Why are you being evasive?”

“Because I’m not sure where to draw the line on respecting her privacy and getting your advice on the situation. See, she didn’t exactly want to come here. But she didn’t have a lot of options either. Well, no options really.”

Jake narrowed his eyes. “Are you keeping her chained to your bed or something? I mean, that seemed to work out for your uncle Seth. So what do I know? I guess I should have tried that with Haiwee.”

Austin laughed, simultaneously horrified to think of his aunt Jody in that legendary kinky situation and bummed since it probably wasn’t a smart tactic to use on Hayden given her history. He’d have to try something slightly more subtle.

“Are you telling us you picked up a hitchhiker?” Lucy put her fingers over her mouth. “Austin, what would make you take a chance like that?”

“Uh…actually…she’s a stowaway.” He hoped that didn’t make them think badly of her.

“That poor girl.” Colby, always the most sensitive, immediately thought of Hayden. “Whatever scared her into doing that had to be pretty fucked up.”

“An abusive boyfriend,” Austin groaned as he remembered the dark splotches marring her skin. “He beat her up pretty good, that fucker. She’s lucky she got free of him. It was night. All she had on was a baggy T-shirt. She hid in the trailer and…well… Now she’s here.”

“Jesus. Is she all right?” Jake gawked. “I bet it was cold as the meat locker back there. Please tell me it was only for a few minutes and then she got your attention somehow.”

Austin shook his head. “An entire damn day. She’s okay, though. Mostly. She’s tough. And resilient. And…really fucking pretty. Her name is Hayden and I think she could use a bunch of your cooking, Mom.”

He put his face in his hands, thinking again of everything that could have happened to her. What if she’d fallen out and he’d run over her? He felt sick even imagining it.

“Why didn’t she come with you then? Was she afraid we’d judge her?” Lucy stood as if she planned to march directly to his house, feed Hayden, then hug the shit out of her until she realized the Comptons weren’t like that.

It might not have been the worst plan ever, to be honest. It’s sort of what he’d been aiming for.

“Maybe some,” he admitted. “I think she’s like you and Hope and the rest of the girls. Proud, fierce, and independent. Pretty sure she’s blaming herself over this or some shit. How can I show her that it’s okay to lean on me and that it doesn’t make her weak?”

“Oh boy.” Jake put his hand on Austin’s shoulder and squeezed. “You have a thing for her already?”

No use in denying it. “Yeah. A big thing.”

Jake punched Austin’s biceps. “Don’t get nasty. That’s certainly not going to work on the young lady.”

“Hey!” Austin put his hands up. “I didn’t even mean it like that. You’re the one with the dirty mind.”

“That’s pretty much the only benefit of being old. I get to be a dirty old man. Don’t try to take my rights away, whippersnapper,” Jake shook his finger at Austin.

Silas grinned at Austin while Lucy and Colby pretended they weren’t hearing the conversation, especially at the dinner table.

“So…anyway, I told her she could stay with me until she finds her dad. He got remarried. They had a falling out and lost touch, but he’s all she has.”

“That’s rough.” Jake’s eyes misted over as if he was remembering his past. “Those wounds are a lot harder to heal than some bumps and bruises. Sometimes you can never bridge those gaps once they’re created. You’re going to have to be ready to support her if she finds out this is one of those times. Whatever you do, don’t put yourself between her and her family, even if they turn out to be toxic. Take it from me. That’s a no-win proposition.”

Austin finally felt like he had an inkling of how deep a loss like that would cut. Jake was even stronger than he’d thought. He was damn near a cowboy superhero.

“When she’s ready, we’d love to meet Hayden.” His mom squeezed him tight. It sometimes felt strange that she barely came up to his chest these days. “She sounds like she’d fit right in here.”

“I’m hoping she will,” Austin sighed. “If she hasn’t already run away.”

“You’d better get back to her,” Colby said. “She’s got to be scared. You’re her lifeline. The only person she knows and trusts right now. Even if she wasn’t ready for all of our nonsense, she probably doesn’t need to be alone for too long.”

Silas tossed in his two cents. “Listen to your dad. He’s good at this stuff. But if the gentle touch doesn’t work, be prepared to fight for her. Don’t be an idiot, like me, and give up on what you want because it seems impossible.”

“It’s the thing most worth fighting for in this life,” Jake agreed. “Even if you’re not completely sure yet where this thing is going, it’s worth doing your damnedest to find out rather than learning later that you could have been so much more to her than you were. Trust me on that, kid.”

“Thanks.” Austin slapped Jake on the back, shocked when the impact of his hand rocked the guy forward some. He’d have to be more careful from now on.

His mom packed Hayden and him about twelve-people’s worth of food before his parents sent him on his way, more determined to follow his heart, no matter how crazy the damn thing might be.