Page 62 of Take Me Please, Cowboy
“That’s not the issue though, is it?”
He was hard, so hard, and he was shutting her out again and this time she feared he’d never let her back in.“What exactly do you think you heard me say to my mom?”
“I heard enough to know my family made you uncomfortable and that you couldn’t imagine ever living here.”
So, he’d heard pretty much everything.She drew a slow breath.“It was an emotional reaction, Rye, not necessarily a logical one.I was scared.”
“Scared?”
“Your mother copes with a lot.In comparison, my mother has had it so easy.My family has had it easy.There has been no struggle, not financially, and certainly not with disabilities.I admire you and your mother.I admire your sisters.I admire Jasper—”
“What about my dad?Do you admire him, too?Do you admire our house?Do you admire my trailer?Do you admire the sacrifices made?”His gaze locked with hers, his expression ruthless.“Now I admit I walked into the conversation and might have missed something positive.Maybe you said some nice things about my mom, or perhaps you praised Josie, who has put you on a pedestal—”
“Rye, please.”
“Please what?Please be nice?Please be gentle?Why?You were ruthless last night.You tore us apart.”
Ansley couldn’t reply.She had no words, nothing to fix this or to take his pain away.
He walked toward her, tension rippling through him.“From the beginning, I warned you off.I knew my life, my world, was not for you.But you couldn’t accept it.You had to see for yourself.And once you saw it, you rejected it, and not gradually over the course of a week or even a few days.No, you rejected it immediately, from the moment we pulled up in front of the house, your lip was curled and you were turned off.Don’t think I didn’t see it.You might be a talented artist but you’re a lousy actress.And I don’t blame you, but I do wish you’d saved us this scene.”
“Rye, I’m sorry.I really am.And I don’t dislike your family.I wasn’t judging them.I was confused and trying to process my reactions by talking with my mom.I’m sure it sounded offensive, but it wasn’t meant that way.I came here because I missed you.I wanted to see you.I wanted to be with you.”
“Sadly, I come with so much baggage,” he said quietly, mockingly, stopping in front of her.He tipped her chin up, his brown gaze burning through her.“I’m sure when you return to Marietta, you won’t miss all of this.”
She blinked back tears.“I will miss you, Rye.I don’t know how not to miss you.You feel like you’re supposed to be my person.From the moment I met you, it felt like we were supposed to be together.It doesn’t make sense.There’s no logical explanation.I’ve just always been drawn to you and feel good with you.I feel like me with you—”
“Until you enter my house and see the ramps and the old furniture and my dad just sitting there in front of the TV.”
Her eyes burned.Her heart burned.“I didn’t mean it like that.I just felt bad that you have to take care of everyone.I felt bad that you haven’t had the freedom my brothers have—”
“I don’t need pity, Ansley, not from you, not from anyone.”He dropped a kiss on her mouth, a slow, deep kiss full of regret and longing, before lifting his head and drawing away.“Goodbye, Ansley.Drive safely.Get home in one piece.”
*
Fifteen minutes afterthe door closed behind Ansley, it opened again and his sisters entered the Calhoun office.Rye rose from his desk, certain there had been an emergency.
“What’s happened?”he demanded.“What’s going on?”
“Where’s Ansley?”Josie asked.
“Gone.”
“Why?”
“I’m sure you know why.Mom must have called you,” he answered, sitting back down, already too tired of talking to deal with his sisters standing up.
“Did you break up?”Hannah asked, grabbing a chair and rolling it close to his desk.
Rye gave her a hard look.“What do you think?”
“She was talking to her mom.”Hannah gave her brother an equally hard look.“Girls talk to their moms.They’ll say things when they’re still trying to figure something out.Moms are a safe place.I talk to Mom.I tell her things that I would never tell you or anyone else.”
Josie sat down on the edge of his desk.“I don’t just talk to Mom,” she said.“I talk to Dad, as well.He’s not always the most communicative, but you’d be surprised at the good advice he can give, if you give him a chance.”
“Not sure what you think you’re accomplishing, but you’re failing,” Rye said, leaning back in his chair.“So, leave, both of you, before I throw you out.”
“You can’t,” Hannah said, nodding to his arm in a sling.“Not like that.”
