Page 46 of The Runaway and the Rugged
“Yeah, maybe someday soon. First, I need to get back on my feet and figure out what I’m doing with my life.”
I didn’t want to sound so grim, especially in the presence of a preteen but luckily my smile was enough to throw her off my overwhelmed state.
“Dusty Meadows is the perfect place to do that! We have everything. A coffee shop, a bar that Greta loves to go to, shopping areas, what more do you need, right?”
I laughed.
She sure did love it here.
“It does sound like the perfect place. Unfortunately, I probably should go somewhere more… feasible.”
She scrunched her nose.
“Where are you from?”
“New York. Pretty far from here and a lot different.”
Her eyes went wide.
“New York? Wow. You are far from home,” she mumbled under her breath. “Maybe a change of scenery will be better for you? It’s too loud and busy there anyway.”
Curling her lip in dislike, I was unable to hold in my laughter. It was busy and loud there, but it was all I knew.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” I peered off into the distance, a quiet thrumming of birds chirping and a sunrise made for major motion pictures laid right before my undeserving eyes. It was a breathtaking view I would never tire of seeing. Even Grace turned her head and watched the horizon with appreciation.
“Maybe all your troubles could be fixed here?” she said sweetly, damn near melting my heart. “I know when I have troubles, I like to ride my horse Peaches and watch the sunset. It makes the bad days not so bad anymore.”
With her gaze fixed on the sunset, I found myself observing Garth’s daughter. Wondering how someone so young, with little to no life experience, carried herself with such quiet depth. It amazed me, truly, and just when I was about to speak, a loud voice poured over us.
“Grace!” a worried voice, layered over anger, shouted off in the distance of Garth’s home.
My eyebrows slanted inward.
“Please tell me your dad knows that you’re here and he’s just yelling your name because he wants you back home.”
Her face contorted into a wince.
“Not exactly?” She tried to smile, but it fell when her name was called out again. “I’m twelve, dammit. I should be able to wander around the ranch whenever I want to and not have to worry about my psycho dad tripping over his feet to find me.”
Oh great, I could already tell where this was headed.
Every part of my body broke out in a sweat as the faint hum of an engine kick-started to life. Soon, the sound of the motor grew more intense as a roaring ATV emerged from the distance, approaching the cabin with an urgency that had me tensing.
“Oh boy, here we go.” Grace rolled her eyes as she stomped down the steps and placed both hands onto her hips.
Seconds later, the ATV came to a screeching halt just beside her and a very pissed-off, very shirtless Garth stepped off and rounded toward his daughter.
“What the hell are you doing, Grace? You can’t just leave the house without tellin’ me where you’re at.” He appeared nearly at his wits’ end with her. Without a hat on, his longish hair was in disarray, as a pair of jeans sat low on his hips.
“I’m not a kid anymore, Dad! Quit treating me like I’m ten! All I did was walk a few feet down here to the cabin to meet Emelia.”
His eyes snapped to mine and immediately my body reacted to his burning gaze. I definitely didn’t want to be tossed into the middle of whatever father-daughter dispute was going on, but his stare confirmed to me that I was.
“Christ, Grace. How the hell did you manage to pass elementary school with that kind of math? A few feet?” He scoffed disapprovingly. “Just because you’re twelve, almost thirteen, doesn’t mean you can just walk out of the house without telling me where you’re going! Even at eighteen you’ll be tellin’ me where you’re at!”
“It’s not like I was doing anything bad! Ask Emelia, she can vouch for me that all I wanted to do was meet her.”
Both sets of eyes zeroed in on me, and if the floor opened up and swallowed me, I’d be more than happy to disappear entirely.
