Page 61 of Make Me Whole
Chapter Twenty-Nine
HAILEY
Dinner with thegirls had lasted longer than I thought it would and by the time we arrived home Bradley's light was off. I'd stood in front of the closed door for a good five minutes contemplating whether I should simply go in and slip into bed with him.
The thing was we hadn't put a label on anything, and I didn't want to come off as being presumptuous. So, I'd slinked back to my empty room and spent most of the night missing the warmth of his body.
Which was probably silly considering I'd only spent one night in his arms.
Now that the sun was out and shining bright, I was more than ready to get my Bradley fix. So ready I even opted to skip breakfast, dashing off to the barn instead. My feet moved faster and faster the closer I came to the big red building.
By the time I rushed inside I was almost at the point of bursting with giddiness. "I missed you last night," I said in lieu of greeting, when I heard movement coming from Max's stall.
"You did?" A second later, Beckett poked out his head.
Mortified, I slapped my hand over my mouth and started looking around. When my gaze travelled back to Max's stall, I found Beckett standing inside the opening; feet spread wide, arms folded in front of his massive chest and a goofy grin on his face.
"I thought you were Bradley."
His deep chuckle filled the air and just heightened my level of embarrassment. "Can't say that's happened to me before."
Unable to resist, I started scanning the area again. Hoping beyond hopes Bradley would jump out of one of the stalls.
"He ain't here."
I shifted my attention back to Beckett. "Do you know where I can find him?"
"If I had to guess, I'd say he's out at the southern edge of the property. Some of old man Bill's cattle had come out last night. Trampled a few fences on their little midnight stroll."
"Oh." I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice. From my little time on the ranch, I already knew mending those fences would likely take most of the day. Which meant, I'd only get to see Bradley at dinner. "Thanks, Beckett." Keeping my shoulders square, I turned to leave.
"Hey, Hailey."
Halting, I glanced over my shoulder. "Yeah?"
Beckett scrubbed the scruff on his chin before heading my way. "I don't know what your situation is, and I hope I'm not overstepping." He came to a standstill in front of me. "But I sure do hope you're staying a while…Your presence has certainly brought with it a change that was desperately needed."
He didn't say it outright, and I had no freaking clue how I knew this, but he was talking about Bradley. Maybe it was because he'd brought on a change in me. That wounds I'd thought would never heal were doing exactly that.
I had no clue if there was a permanent position for me on the ranch or even in Bradley's heart, but that didn't stop the words from tumbling out of my mouth. "I hope so too."
My head was already in the clouds when I side-stepped him to leave and it stayed there for the rest of the day. If I wasn't imagining the feel of Bradley's hands or mouth on me, I was fantasizing about the things I still wanted to do with him. And it wasn't just the sexy stuff. I wanted to explore with him; go on hikes or take the horses for a run.
I was crazy excited to learn everything there was to know about this man who'd breathed new life into my broken soul.
That excitement morphed into worry when dinner time rolled around and his empty seat mocked me. His cell phone had been off for the entire day and now he wasn't even eating with the rest of us.
I tried to keep my composure while I listened to talks about the day's tasks and the silly things some of the guests had done. I smiled and joined in, but the nervous tension never left my body.
When we were done eating, Talia and I cleared the table and started loading the dishwasher. "You okay?" she asked, after a few seconds of silence.
"Yeah." I rinsed the plate and slid it into place. "Actually, no. Have you seen your brother at all today?"
Talia gathered all the utensils and dropped them into the container. "Have you checked his room? Sometimes he gets all peopled out and hides there."
"I haven't." That was actually the one place I never thought to look. I snatched another dirty plate from the top of the stack; the sooner these dishes were done, the sooner I could get up there.
As I bent over to slide the plate into its spot, Talia's fingers curled around my arm. "I'll finish up here," she said when my gaze lifted to meet hers.
