Page 68 of The Runaway and the Rugged
“Hi,” she said, just shy of a whisper. “It’s nice to meet you.”
He grunted a nod, a “Hello” as fast as a shot, and before we knew it, he was soon gone and out the stable door.
“That’s just how the big guy is, don’t take it personal.” Beau settled in on the other side of Emelia, rubbing his hand along his hip that smacked into the stall.
There was a pause, just the sound of the horses movin’ around, until he decided to break the silence.
“So, sunshine, you workin’ any more today?”
Fists now clenched at my sides, I answered for her.
“Nope, she’s off the rest of the day,” I all but growled. “You, on the other hand, aren’t.”
“Hey now.” He stood and tiptoed back, holding his hands up in surrender. “Just a simple question, didn’t mean to ruffle any feathers.”
“No feathers ruffled here. Just don’t think she appreciates bein’ treated like one of your conquests.”
Her eyes flew to mine, while his narrowed.
“Sheis right here and is capable of answering her own questions.” She sounded more hurt than annoyed. “And for your information, he treats me like you would a friend, which is something you clearly need to work on being for him. And conquest? Really? What is this? The goddamn Wild West or something.”
Rising, she spun on the heel of her boot and stormed out the stable, leaving a painful pit in my stomach that I knew was all because I was an asshole.
“And, by the way,” she popped her head around the corner of the stable entrance, fire and all things lethal in her eyes, “I won’t be working tomorrow. I need a break from assholes who think they can answer for me.”
With that, she was gone, rendering both Beau and me speechless. I couldn’t help but feel even more pissed off at myself for being so damn stupid. And I had no one else to blame but myself.
“Well then, that was… unexpected,” Beau muttered, fueling my rage even further, but instead of falling into it, I decided to walk away.
Givin’ Emelia her space and hopin’ she made her way back to the cabin.
20
EMELIA
Iwas in a crap mood today. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to cry or scream into a pillow, but ultimately decided on a stroll through the ranch. This morning when my alarm went off at the ass crack of dawn, I nearly got myself dressed to meet Garth at the stable but decided against it. I didn’t have the patience to deal with him just yet and especially not with his overbearing masculinity and his attempt at being my “protector.”
Earlier, as I was getting ready, I heard the low rumble of an engine driving past the cabin. Not just once, not twice, but three times. I made sure to peek through the curtain of the window to see if my mind was playing tricks on me or not, and sure enough, it had been Garth doing a slow drive by in the ATV. I suppose I expected it, but what I hadn’t expected was the sudden fluttering sensation in my stomach when I realized he genuinely cared. Yet, was too damn prideful to come up to cabin and check on me.
I told myself he just couldn’t find the right words to say to me and I didn’t blame him. It took me until the day of my wedding to finally speak up, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t still upset with him.
Because I was.
I didn’t want to see Garth as another Nathaniel, but his words yesterday had hit too close to home, triggering flashbacks of whenever Nathaniel would speak for me. It made me feel powerless, like I was slowly losing my self-expression and in its place was resentment for the man who would silence me and the woman who willingly let him do it. And from here on out, I promised myself to never let a man make me feel weak like that again.
And the last person I thought would have me re-experiencing it was Garth.
Instead of dwelling on it any longer, I decided to take this moment of being alone to really soak in the beauty of Hideaway Haven. I didn’t know anything about the origins of the ranch, or how it came to be. I wish I did. All I knew was that it was as beautiful as it was peaceful. Even when there was nothing to behold, nothing to admire, the ranch’s surroundings possessed a quiet, undeniable uniqueness. From the wide array of smells, to the gentle breeze that swept in every now and then, creating waves like the ocean through the fields of wildflowers and native plants.
It was easy to envision myself falling in love with this place. As for the people and lifestyle? That was still to be determined. Yesterday proved that I wasn’t an ideal worker for this place and way of life, while the people, I’m not sure even like me.
Possibly tolerate because of my situation, but genuinely like me? I wasn’t sure.
And as I pondered through all the reasons why they wouldn't, the sound of a rumbling motor appeared off to the left of me, pausing all current thoughts. At first, I thought it was Garth and my heart spluttered in my chest.
Crap, I’m sure as hell not ready to face him yet.
With my chest sinking in with each passing moment, an old, familiar pickup truck came into view, and almost immediately I found myself breathing out a sigh of relief.
