Page 34 of Wasted

Even when we planned to move to Nashville, it had always been in the plans to come back here someday because this was Taylor's happy place. She loved the open fields and her horses. The city would have driven her crazy. She huffed out a laugh, and I flicked her a glance as I narrowed my eyes. "What's so funny?" She shook her head, averting her gaze. "Don't do that. Just say it. Please."

A sad laugh bubbled up from her throat. She turned her face towards the ceiling, blinking rapidly. "My life has never been about what I want." She paused for a moment. "Think about it. When I was ten, I wanted to join the rodeo." I smiled, remembering how I had spent hours watching her barrel race. "Then my mom got sick, and my dad lost it. I had to step up and help take care of her, so I gave up racing, and then she passed away, and my dad fell apart." Her voice cracked. "I had to keep the farm running, and I was okay with all of it because I had you. You were the one thing I didn't have to give up. Then, my dad was diagnosed with cancer, and I had to take care of him and the ranch. Finally, I thought everything had changed, and boom, my dad's cancer spread, and he was losing the ranch. Then Caleb was sick, and he needed me to be his voice so that you or Kylie didn't have to. And then I knew I had to give up you too." She cleared the sadness out of her throat. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but now it's just me, and I don't even know what I want anymore."

Thinking back, I couldn't remember a time when Taylor wasn't taking care of someone else.

"And you were going to go to Nashville to help me follow my dreams." My chest tightened, and I thought back and remembered her dreams. She wanted to ride bareback on thebeach, travel with the rodeo as a barrel racer, travel to London and visit the museums and see the amazing architecture, swim with the pigs in the Bahamas, and grow old in this house with me and our family.

She shrugged. "I wanted to go with you."

I rolled on my side so we were face to face. "So tell me the truth. If money was no object, would you sell this place?"

She smiled softly. "No." She shook her head. "This land has been in my family for generations. My parents are buried here, and so are my grandparents. So, no, I wouldn't sell it, but money is an object, and I'm not taking the money from Wyatt. It just doesn't feel right."

I stretched, feeling the fatigue settle into my bones. A yawn escaped me. "You're a lot more stubborn than I remember."

"Look who's talking."

I smiled. "You should get some sleep."

I closed my eyes, hoping she would too, but I knew my mind was racing too much to actually sleep even though I was exhausted. I knew everything Taylor said was true. I'd been by her side through most of it, but it never really sank in that she always cared for everyone else and never herself.

I lay silently with my eyes closed until I heard her breathing shift from shallow, short breaths to deep, slow breaths. She was asleep. My eyes eased open, and I instantly regretted it because she was so fucking beautiful.

I reached out and brushed a strand of blonde hair from her face and slid it behind her ear. I was supposed to go back to Nashville in two days, but I knew, at that moment, I needed more time. More time with her. I wasn't ready to say goodbye again for what would be the last time.

Chapter Nineteen

Taylor

Cole was gone when I awoke the following morning, and I wasn't surprised. He was still battling his feelings on the situation, and this was us now, and I had to accept that, but what did surprise me was when he walked into the bar that night dressed in a pair of tight faded jeans, a black fitted t-shirt, boots, and his black ball cap twisted backward.

I leaned over the bar in front of him, my eyes widening. "What are you doing here?"

He slid onto a bar stool. "Turns out this is still the only bar in town."

A laugh escaped my lips as I wiped my hands on my apron. "What can I get for you?"

His lips curled into a grin. "Whiskey."

By the time I poured the glass and returned, he was surrounded mostly by women, but a few local men were excited to see Cole after all this time. I laid down a small square napkin and set his drink on it before going back to work.

The bar wasn't usually busy on a Sunday night, so it was only me and Rocky, my chef, working.

After refilling my regulars’ drinks, I strolled onto the floor to do a round of cleanup.

I leaned forward over a high-top table and grabbed the glass, but when I straightened, my spine stiffened, and I thought I was going to have to knock a drunk man on his ass tonight. This was part of the job.

"Do you always wear that to work?" Cole purred in my ear, and chills raced over my body as his nails raked up my bare thighs to the hem of my skirt. "Or did you wear it for me?" There was no way I could have known Cole would show up at the bar tonight, but I didn't have a chance to tell him before he was gone. I exhaled a shaky breath. He had no idea what he was doing to me, and it was starting to feel like a game. A game I wasn't interested in playing.

Sucking in a deep breath, I twisted around on the heel of my boot, expecting to see Cole, but he was gone. My gaze swept over the room, spotting him in a back corner with a brunette wearing a black cowgirl hat, black boots, a red sequins dress that barely covered her ass, and bright red lipstick. "That was fast." I strolled behind the bar.

Women loved him, and I couldn't blame them, but they only really loved what he could offer them, and that was sad—sad not knowing if someone actually liked you for you and not what you could do for them or how much fame and money you had.

Word spread pretty quickly that Cole Montgomery was home, and the bar hadn't been this busy in months. Thankfully, Bailey came in to help with the overflow.

Bailey leaned over the bar, her gaze fixed on her brother. "What's Cole doing here?"

I followed her line of sight, shaking my head slightly. "Honestly, I have no idea. He crashed at my place last night, buthe couldn't wait to get away from me, and when I woke up, he was gone. I didn't expect to see him again."

---