Page 49 of Rope Me In

She stares at me, unblinking, which is different from her normal avoidance. I watch as her pupils contract, lips twitching as her brain works overtime to make her decision.

After another long pause, her shoulders relax, and she tips her chin. “Okay,” she mutters. “Just don’t take me to a bar.”

I smile, a true one this time. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

Chapter 16

Presley

When Kade pulls upto the Montgomery Family Ranch, I’m surprised. I thought he’d take me somewhere else. I don’t know where, but when he said he wanted me to have fun, the ranch wasn’t the first place I had in mind.

I play with the fringe on my purse and gaze out the window at the golden plains. While my anxiety attack has ceased, my heart is still racing from walking into Night Hawk and seeing Marié, the lead singer of my now ex-band. When I spotted her lithe frame and long brown hair standing at the bar, I immediately turned and ran out. If she saw me, she would’ve told Derek where I was.

The entire ride back to the ranch, I quietly scold myself for not picking a town further away from the city, but I didn’t think she’d ever come to a place like this. She likes upscale restaurants and VIP clubs, not bull-riding bars in small towns.

Crap. At least she didn’t see me—well, I don’t think she did. I was only in the bar for a second before I turned and ran at the sight of her. So there’s that.

“Do you have a hoodie or something?” Kade asks.

I turn my head to look at him. He’s parked outside the hands’ quarters and has just killed the engine of the truck. Now, he’s waiting for my answer.

“Why?”

He smirks. “In case you get cold.”

“Please tell me we’re not camping. I don’t camp.”

“You really are a city girl, aren’t you?”

“I just like beds.”

That makes his smile grow wider. “We have that in common.”

I raise my eyebrow at him. He really wants to go there right now?

“Presley.” He sighs. “Just get into something comfortable. We’re not going camping.”

Presley. He hasn’t called me Lemon or any other nickname since I got back in the truck. It strikes me as strange and a little off-putting.

Wait, am I upset he’s calling me by my name? My heart skitters to a stop in my chest. Is there something in the water that’s making me like his nicknames for me? Maybe I’m still sick from fainting. I should go to bed instead of hanging out with a person I don’t even like. Or think I don’t even like.

“Kade—”

“Nope.” He cuts me off. “You’re not getting out of this. Fun is going to happen.”

I sigh as he unbuckles his seatbelt.

“Go get changed. I’m going to grab a few things. I’ll come get you in ten.”

Kade exits his truck and jogs away toward the main house, leaving me to my own devices. With an exasperated sigh, I get out of his truck and head to the quarters, making a mental note to figure out how to get new tires as I pass my car. Just another thing I’ll have to dig into my savings to pay for.

Once I’m inside the safety of my room, I take out my phone. There are more texts from Derek, but I don’t look at them. I turn my phone off and put it in the bedside table drawer. He’s already caused me enough pain; I don’t need to think about him or that selfie he sent me with my replacement…or the fact that Kade saw the messages and I had an anxiety attack in front of him!

My life is so screwed up right now. Kade’s assessment of me was right, too—Iamrunning from my life. Though the secondpart of his assumption made me reevaluate what I came here looking for.

Did I come to Randall for someone or something? Do I want attention?

I walk into the bathroom and grip the sink, taking a deep breath. Maybe I need to try to see a therapist again. They offer free sessions at a clinic in Lynn. I thought I was managing my anxiety attacks, but they’re coming back full force with all the changes in my life.

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