Free Mountain Charm by Sydney Logan Page A

begged Celia to pick me up,” he muttered under his breath. “ Begged her.”
    “Why should my ailing mother have to come bail your sorry ass out of jail? What were you doing at Max’s bar, anyway?”
    Dylan mumbled something, but she ignored him and drove faster toward the motel. Angelina was furious. She’d spent her night tossing and turning because of his stupid kiss while he was out at some backwoods bar with God knows who, doing God knows what.
    “Angelina, you’re doing seventy in a forty-five.”
    “Stop criticizing my driving!”
    But she did ease her foot off the pedal. Despite her aggravation, she didn’t have a death wish.
    “I’m in room fifteen,” Dylan said as they turned into the parking lot.
    The Maple Ridge Lodge wasn’t exactly a four-star hotel. It probably didn’t qualify for any stars at all, but at least it was nice and clean. Dylan invited Angelina inside, and she was surprised to find it wasn’t a complete dump. The bed had been made, and there wasn’t a pair of dirty underwear in sight.
    He sat down on the edge of the bed and kicked off his shoes. “You look surprised.”
    “I am, a little.”
    “Not what you were expecting?”
    “Not really. Most guys are pigs.”
    Dylan chuckled and reached for a bottle of aspirin on his nightstand. He twisted the lid off a half-empty bottle of water sitting next to his bed and downed the pills.
    “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint—again.”
    Angelina sighed and sat down next to him. His eye was already swollen, and she noticed his hands had several small cuts along the knuckles.
    “Does it hurt?”
    “Nah. You should see the other guy.” Suddenly, his head snapped up. “Actually, forget I said that. I don’t want you to see him ever again.”
    She was instantly suspicious.
    “You told my mom you got into a fight with someone from out of town.”
    He nodded and sipped his water.
    “Was that a lie?”
    “It wasn’t a lie. You said he lives in Asheville now.”
    Her mouth fell open.
    “ Adam ? You got into a fight with Adam McDonald?”
    “Don’t get pissed—”
    Anger flooded her, and she jumped to her feet. “I’m already pissed! You got into a fight with Adam? Over me? What were you thinking?”
    “I was thinking about you! All I ever do is think about you! Believe me, it’s aggravating as hell, but it doesn’t seem to be something I can control.”
    Too stunned to formulate a response, Angelina dropped back onto the edge of the bed. Dylan stood up and began to pace the room.
    “I couldn’t sleep, Angelina. All I could think about was you and that kiss, so I took a drive around town. I got lost and ended up at some hillbilly tavern on Bluebird Lane. I have no idea how much I drank, but it was too much, obviously. I was trying to sober up before I drove back to the motel, and that’s when I spotted that bastard standing next to the pool table. He made some smartass comment about you, and I saw your face. When I thought about how he hurt you, I just . . . I lost it. All I could think about was kicking his ass, so that’s what I did, and nobody tried to stop me. I was a complete stranger to these people, and they let me beat the crap out of him. The only reason we got arrested at all was because a deputy arrived.”
    Angelina wasn’t too surprised that no one had rushed to Adam’s defense. He’d burned a lot of bridges in Maple Ridge. His violent tendencies hadn’t been limited to just her, and there were plenty of brothers and fathers still eager to get their hands on him.
    Dylan sat down on the bed once again. “I waited until Adam made bail before I called your mom. I didn’t want her to find us in adjoining cells. I thought seeing him might upset her, and I didn’t want that. I would have called Maddie, but I don’t have her number.”
    Angelina’s heart thawed a little. He gotten into a fight and thrown into jail because of her. It was stupid and sweet and a thousand other emotions she couldn’t