Page 135 of When the Storm Breaks
“Don’t tell me what I need,” I gritted out. I rubbed the back of my neck and took a few deep breaths then threw a few twenties on the counter. “Save me a few slices.”
I tried my best not to limp as I walked out of the kitchen. “Good try, bro. But you’re definitely limping.” I held up my middle finger. His laughter followed me into the living room. It had been a while since I’d been thrown from a horse. But today I’d been thrown by a wild mustang I was trying to gentle. I’d rushed it. He wasn’t ready. Another lesson learned the hard way.
After a quick shower, I changed into a clean gray T-shirt and black running shorts and collapsed on my bed. Every muscle in my body ached, a reminder that I wasn’t eighteen anymore. Back in my rodeo days I’d gotten thrown from horses plenty of times. Had broken so many bones and endured so many injuries I’d lost count. But I’d always bounced right back. One time I’d broken my leg and had walked right out of the arena on my own two feet. Stubborn bastard.
Now it was all catching up to me, and it wasn’t as easy to rebound from an injury. I tucked my arms under my head and stared at the bedroom ceiling. Over the past few months, I’d been tempted to call Shiloh a million times. Everyone had been on my case about it. Especially Jude who kept insisting that anything worth having was worth fighting for. But fighting for the things I believed in was partially to blame for getting us into this mess. And every single time I picked up the phone to call her, I was reminded of her parting words.
“I never want to see your face again. It’s a reminder of everything me and Landry lost.”
Her voice had been so cold. So hard. Her face twisted with grief and hurt and anger. And how could I blame her for never wanting to see my face again? I looked just like the man who had killed her mother. It had been hard enough trying to navigate our two very different worlds and find time to be together. But now … there was no chance in hell we could ever make it work. There were too many obstacles standing in our way.
At the end of the day, what was the point in calling her? There was nothing left to say. No world in which we could ever—should have ever—been together. So yeah, you had to know when it was time to cut your losses and walk away.
My phone buzzed and I checked the screen. Kate.
“Hey. You good?”
“Hi honey. I just got a call from your new guest who checked in earlier. She said there’s a problem with the water pressure.”
I groaned.
“Would you mind stopping by and checking on it?”
Yeah, I minded but I wasn’t about to bitch and moan about it. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and scrubbed my hand over my face. “Fine. I’ll go now.”
“Thank you.”
She didn’t need to thank me. It was my guesthouse but she did all the bookings and took care of everything.
“Catch you later.”
I stood up from the bed, favoring my left leg and grabbed my Nikes from the closet. Might as well get this over with.
* * *
I decided to drive,justifying it by telling myself it would be quicker. Bullshit. Five minutes later, I pulled up behind an SUV parked in front of the guesthouse. Then I hobbled up to the front door feeling like I was about a hundred years old and rapped my knuckles against the wood.
The door swung open and my breath hitched. For a long moment, neither of us said a word. She was wearing cut-offs and a black tank top over a thin white one. Braless. Barefoot. Long black hair falling halfway down her back. I stared at the tattoo on her arm as if it was the first time I’d ever seen it. Then my eyes moved to her lush lips and up to her eyes where they locked and held. Those goddamn eyes… stormy and gray, fringed by long dark lashes. They haunted my dreams and now that she was here, standing right in front of me, I didn’t know what to do or say.
“Hi Cowboy.” Her bottom lip quivered. “I… God, it’s so good to see you.”
My eyes narrowed on her. Dry tears streaked her cheeks. “Why were you crying?”Who did I have to beat up?
“I was chopping onions.” She wiped her cheeks. “You know how that always makes me cry.”
“Yeah. I remember.” I stared at her face, half-expecting her to vanish into thin air. “What are you doing here?”
“Cooking dinner. For you. Jambalaya. I know you liked it so… have you eaten yet?”
I looked over my shoulder at the SUV parked in front of the guesthouse then back at her. Yep, she was still there. Not my imagination. “What are you really doing here?”
“I’m here for you. I …” She swallowed hard and I watched her throat bob. “I wanted to call you. So many times. But I never knew what to say or how to tell you how sorry I was. It didn’t seem right to do it on the phone.” She held out her arms and forced a smile. “So here I am.”
“Here you are.” I was still standing on the front porch, trying to make sense of this.
“I didn’t even stop to think you might already have plans.” She gnawed on her bottom lip. I’d kissed those lips hundreds of times. They’d been wrapped around my cock and… shit, I had to stop thinking about it.
“Are you free tonight? Have you eaten dinner yet?”
