Page 44 of The Runaway and the Rugged
Oh. My. God.
I smacked her arm, although she was right about everything she said.
“You did not just say that!”
“And you thought I wouldn’t say that after meeting him! Jesus, Millie, I can’t believe you were rescued by that.” She chuckled disbelievingly, sparking my face to go hot.
“He told you?”
Yeah, I found your clueless friend lost on our most dangerous trail and she unloaded about seven years’ worth of tears enough to overflow a goddamn creek.
“He just told me he found you and that you were safe.” She winked. “And he dropped by while you were asleep with some clothes for you.”
Pointing to a random stool parked beside the door was a neatly folded stack of clothes. My heart thumped wildly.
“He seemed a bit… what’s the word?” She pondered. “Protective of you.”
I scoffed.
“Don’t even start this, Clarke. Please. I barely know him, he barely knows me. He’s just being nice. Isn’t that kind of a cowboy trait anyway? Being helpful and protective of women?”
“Or maybe the minute he saw you, he fell madly in love and wants to keep you on this ranch and have lots of babies with you?” she spluttered out with a hopeful yet fun-loving tone that had me bursting out in fits of laughter.
“Oh my god, please stop.” I shook my head while pushing myself off the bed. “There will be no falling in love, no babies, the only thing I’m focusing on now is myself.”
I sauntered over to the stool where the clothes sat, as Clarke’s giggles dwindled down.
“Aw, come on, just imagine the daily beard burn you’d get between your legs from that man.”
Snatching the clothes, I almost tripped over my feet from her words.
“And why would I imagine that? That sounds… far from pleasant.”
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, and I know for a fact with Nathaniel’s half-assed beard, you haven’t even scratched the surface of what it’s really like.”
I tossed her a deadpan stare.
“Orgasms, men, babies, all are off the table for the foreseeable future.”
Clarke’s smile faded into sadness.
“I know, Millie. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to help and make this situation not so terrifying for you.”
“You just being here with me helps more than you know. Even if I am a crappy friend.”
“You’re not a crappy friend. A crappy friend would have married him.”
The corner of my mouth lifted.
“I’m going to shower and get out of this dress.” I threw my thumb in the direction of the bathroom as Clarke snuggled into the bed with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Stay here tonight, and tomorrow we will figure out your next steps?” she asked in a sleepy mumble, her eyes teetering on the edge of slumber.
“Tomorrow,” I agreed before making my way to the bathroom. A newfound hope for the future washed over me. I may not know where I’m going, what I’m doing, or how I’m going to do it, but I at least had people in my corner rooting for me.
Even people who hardly knew me.
And as I let out a sigh and set the clothes down onto the counter, I suddenly came to the realization that they weren’t just some random clothes, nor could they have been Greta’s. By theobvious masculine scent, and size, I knew exactly whose closet they came from.
