Free Her Darkest Road (Roughneck #4) by Nicole Hart

fucking bear away!” he screamed.
    “No, she loves her,” she said.
    I squeezed her tight, I didn’t want to throw her away; she was my baby bear.
    I stood up to stretch my legs, but had to walk away from the bridge to stand up straight. I noticed the moon shining on the water. It was so pretty.
    “Pretty,” I said quietly.
    “Let’s go see it,” she said.
    I liked when she had fun ideas. The water looked so shiny, and had little white caps from the wind. I wanted to see it closer. The side of the bridge was blocking my full view, so I decided to walk to the center of the bridge.
    “Throw the fucking bear in the water!” he screamed.
    “I don’t want to,” I whispered as I looked over the side of the bridge.
    “Do it!” he growled. Why was he so mean all the time?
    “Please, I don’t want to.” I begged. Why wasn’t she helping me?  I knew she would always take his side. She always got quiet when she agreed with him. It wasn’t fair.
    “Then jump with it,” he said.
    “What?” I asked.
    “You and that fucking bear…jump!” he demanded.
    “But I never learned to swim,” I said. I was getting scared. He was stronger, and I always had to do what he said. It was a rule.
    “I can swim! We can fly there!” she chirped in.
    “Fucking jump!” he said.
    He won. He always won.
    I was flying.
    I love you, baby bear.

Epilogue
     
    Sam
    Present Day
     
    “Do you really have to leave, Papa?” Maggie asked, with her bottom lip poking out, batting her big blue eyes at my dad. She could play him like a fiddle and she knew it.
    “Yes, ma’am,” Dad said as he pulled Maggie on his lap, and planted a kiss on her cheek. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.” He chuckled and looked over at Vickie, who still looked at him like they were newlyweds. She loved my dad more than anything, and I was so grateful for the day he walked into the diner she was working at all those years ago.
    “No go, Papa,” Brayden said as he tugged on my dad’s pant leg, and tried to scoot Maggie away. He loved his Papa and didn’t like to share him, especially with his sister.
    “Bray, no pushing,” I said sternly as I watched my daddy put Brayden on his other knee.
    “Aw, there’s room for both of them, Angel,” My dad said with a grin, and then kissed Brayden on the forehead and rubbed his scruffy chin against his cheek.
    “Ow, Papa!” Brayden laughed as dad’s beard tickled his face. The deep chuckle that escaped my dad’s throat made me smile. He loved his grandkids.
    “I’ll be back in two weeks, you know I can’t stay away from y’all very long,” he said as he planted a kiss on top of both of their heads.
    “Pinkie promise,” Maggie said, and held up her pinky, which daddy grabbed and shook.
    “Pinkie promise,” Dad repeated. This was their ritual, every time.
    Dad stood up, and we all started to say our goodbyes.
    “Moon keeping them feeders full?” Dad asked as he wrapped his arms around me.
    “Of course,” I said with a laugh. Hunting season started next month, and they always went to the stand the first weekend.
    “That’s my boy,” Dad said as he nodded his head.
    “He wants to have a BBQ when you come back in, sound good?” I asked.
    “Jase gonna make brisket?” Dad asked with a grin.
    “Of course,” I said.
    “Hell yeah, then!” Dad laughed.
    “Omm…Papa!” Brayden said as he tugged at my jeans, tattling on his grandpa.
    “Sorry, buddy,” he said, and then gave me a smile.
    “Mackenzie called this morning, Kash has a few days off, so they’re flying in. They wanted to visit before Mackenzie was too far along to travel.  Plus, they haven’t been back in almost a year.”
    “Sounds like a plan, Angel,” Dad said as he kissed my cheek.
    I walked over to Vickie and pulled her into a hug.
    “Y’all be careful,” I whispered. “Love you, mom.”
    “Love you, too, my beautiful girl,” she said as she planted a kiss on each of my cheeks.
    They both walked to the front