He hadn’t wanted to leave, not when he was pretty sure they could make enough heat together to keep all of Blue Valley warm, but it had been unsettling to know as much as he’d helped her by getting her some food and supplies, she was still…barely existing, hiding in Gramps’s old cabin that he’d tried to kick her out of, with no fire, the crappiest food… He cursed under his breath as he got back into his truck. It was wrong. Wrong. She shouldn’t have to live like that because she had a bastard of a father. And it had been wrong to let the thing with Tyler make him forget that. If it came down to it, he’d just have to explain to Tyler that Delia’s presence wasn’t anything that would threaten the lease. He would explain, rationally, that he was being the good guy here. Mostly, he’d just be careful and hope it didn’t come to that. Besides, if he kept himself so busy trying to make everything right, maybe he wouldn’t give himself a chance to screw it up.
