My simple sundress with little pale flowers on it swings around my legs as I fill the cart with groceries. When the guys paid me for the housekeeping, one of the first things I did was go to the thrift shop and buy some clothes.

Obviously, when you look at my overstuffed Burberry luggage, the last thing anyone would think I need is more clothing. But that look, those empty things, all those designer labels, they mean nothing to me now. I wanted to buy some casual, pretty clothes that don’t just fit my body but fit who I am now.

Out here in the country, I have no red carpets to walk. There’s no paparazzi waiting to chase me down to my car for the off-chance they’ll get a ten-second clip to play on TMZ that night. All of that fake bullshit is finally behind me. I remember when I thought Hollywood glittered like a sparkly diamond, but it turned out that cubic zirconia shimmers just as bright. When everyone around you is fake, nothing feels real. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I can see Texas is full of some of the most real people I’ve ever met.

And there’s certainly nothing fake about sitting between my two guys and watching the sunset over the hay field. There’s nothing fake about the way they make every inch of my flesh tingle and come alive when they share me. There’s definitely nothing fake about the feelings I have growing for them inside me. Feelings I’ve never had for any man before, let alone two of them.

The easy sway of my dress makes me smile and so does checking off the stuff on this grocery list. I never thought I could enjoy such a small life. One where I take care of my home and I take pride in making nice meals or reading books. With my contract at the studio expiring officially in three days, I’m feeling like a heavy stone I’ve been burdened to carry almost my entire life has finally rolled off my shoulders.

I can’t wait for that date to pass. I’ll make the most special meal for all of us and I know the guys will come up with some creative ways to help me celebrate that night. It will be my true independence day. I’ll finally be free.

Walking up to the checkout aisle, it doesn’t take long for the lady to start ringing up my stuff.

“Oh, hey. You’re the pretty lady who works up at S & S, right?” The woman has a warm drawl that makes me smile. I can see from the light dancing in her eyes that she’s just being friendly.

“That’s me.” I smile back.

“I’ve gotta say, you’re one lucky gal, if you ask me.” Her attention is on the food she’s pulling off the conveyor belt.

“Oh?”

“Mmm-hmm. If I worked with two single, smokin’ guys like Travis and Holden, I’d be steaming up more than the kitchen, if you catch my drift. Lordy, those two look like a couple of models just got lost in Texas and they decided to make the best of it.” She titters.

Heat kisses my cheeks and I try to busy myself by arranging the bags of food into the cart.

“I, um, I guess I didn’t really notice,” I lie. The last thing I’m about to do is confess the dirty details of my love life with a stranger. I can only imagine how quickly a scandal like that would spread through town. In a little place like Ironwood Creek, wildfires would spread slower.

Much slower.

“Didn’t notice?” She stops cold and stares at me in shock. “Girl, don’t you have eyes? There ain’t no way you haven’t noticed that, now, come on.”

“Well, I try not to notice.” I smile politely and correct myself.

“I suppose. That’s mighty professional of you. Can’t say I’d do the same, though.” She winks at me and rings in the total. She squints at the screen. “That’ll be one-seventy-four, please.”

I quickly pay up with the money the guys gave me and try not to rush out of the store. My pace is faster than normal, though. I guess I just want to put some distance between me and that conversation.

I’ve spent so much time agonizing about being found out and reported for being missing these last few weeks that I haven’t even considered the town gossip about anything else. I wonder if tongues are wagging about me working up at the ranch. Do people suspect the three of us have something going on? Did the townsfolk know about Lila? Would it surprise anyone to know the three of us are in a relationship together?

Stuffing the bags in my trunk, I slam it shut and distractedly jump in the car. Rolling out of the parking lot, I make my way back to my safe haven, the ranch. In the rearview mirror, I see a black, sleek car behind me. It looks so clean compared to all the dusty cars and trucks you normally see out this way.

“I wonder if she was hinting at me,” I murmur and replay the conversation I had with the clerk in my mind. Maybe her friendliness was nothing more than an act. Maybe she was hoping she’d make me squirm.

I consider the possibility and decide to ask the guys how much the people in town know when I drive onto the old gravel road. The black car behind me disappears in a cloud of dust that won’t keep it looking shiny for long.

My mind wanders as I make my way back home. I’ve never even considered how this relationship will work out long-term. I’ve spent so much time lasered in on these three weeks passing so my contract will be up, I haven’t had a chance to imagine what a year will bring. Or two. Or ten.

Do we have that many years ahead together? And if we do, will Travis and Holden want to have children with me? I’ve always wanted to be a mother. But is that even possible in a situation like this? I just don’t know. The idea of having my happy ever after ripped away from me when I’ve just finally settled into it is making my heart twist up in my chest.

Pulling my old beater up the front porch, I throw it in park and walk through the dust cloud to the trunk. I hate making a million trips for groceries. It makes no sense, and it probably takes ten times the effort to do it this way, but I slide each bag up my forearm until I’m loaded down with enough weight that they might break right off my body. Clutching the remainder of the groceries in my hands, I start to march toward the stoop.

Rubber rolls over the dirt and the black car pulls up only a couple inches from my legs. I freeze in place as I wonder if the driver’s going to run me over.

“What the heck are you doing?” I yell out.

A man pops out of the driver’s seat and keeps the car door flung open as he leaps over to me.

“Keep your fucking mouth shut, Audrey. You’re coming with me,” he sneers.

I don’t have a chance to even see his face. Only that he’s stocky and wearing dark sunglasses and a hooded jacket that’s much too hot for this weather. He pushes up behind me and wraps one arm around my waist and the other around my neck.

“Get away from me! What are you doing?” Fear rises inside me like the mercury in a thermometer on a hot Texas afternoon.

The man starts pulling me backward and the groceries on my arms make it impossible to fight him off. I struggle to drop them. I twist and try to drag my feet, but he’s so much stronger than me. My attempts are feeble at best.

“You did a good job hiding out here, but I’ve found people in crazier places,” he growls in my ear and a shiver runs down my spine.

He was sent here for me.

Did my father hire someone to kidnap me? Is there no low he won’t stoop to? Would he even bother to tell this guy to return me safely? Or would he care if I’m bruised and battered?

Or worse?

I shriek and stomp my foot back into his shin, twisting it against the part where the bone is barely under the skin. The guy yelps and wrenches my arms behind my back so hard all I can do is cry out. Grocery bags scatter over the ground and he lifts me clean off my feet by my twisted arms as I kick in the air and try to writhe free.

“Let me go!” I yell for my life. For my freedom. For my future.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch. Get in the car. If I’ve gotta knock you out, I will.” He cuffs me on the back of the head and my chin bounces off my chest. I’m guessing that was just a warning. A love tap. He’s just trying to show me what he can do. What he will do.

I can’t let him win. Not this man. Not my father. If he has to knock me out, so be it. I’m not going down without a fight. I pull all the air I possibly can into my lungs, open my mouth, and let out a long, blood-curdling scream that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud.

“Let. Me. Go. Now!”

A sharp blow lands on the back of my head again, but this time the world around us narrows and my muscles go limp as everything fades to black.