Page 42 of Make Her Mine
What did he mean? It didn’t make a lot of sense! Slipping back into bed, I thought about Kyle’s face. It looked puffy in places.
Did they get into a fistfight?
Kyle couldn’t have gone so far as to assault Brandon, his boss...? Maybe he didn’t have a job anymore? Maybe Brandon told him we were all fired? He would’ve had every right do that.
Pulling the blanket over my head, I chastised myself, “This is all your fault, Ella Finley. What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you be ordinary? Any other girl would be blissful getting flowers from Brandon Gentry. Not you, though. No, you get mad, and then your brother beats the man up.”
We are so screwed! I have to fix it! Dad has worked here nearly his whole life. We’d grown up on the estate. I didn’t want to leave the only home we’d ever known.
All of us will have to leave because I am a scared little girl. The whole world frightened me! It was an unsafe place, and no one could be trusted.
Man, I’m really screwed up!
And now my mental hang-ups would affect my entire family. How mad will they be when they wake up to find we had neither jobs nor home?
Maybe I could do something to fix it before they all woke up? So, I did what I had to do and put on a robe over my pajamas and then went to see if Brandon made it home yet.
I’d just have to explain that my brother wanted to protect me. I’d say that we love our jobs and have always called Whisper Ranch our home and to please forgive my idiot-Neanderthal brother for beating him up.
As I got to his door, I wondered how badly Kyle beat him. I hope his cute face is okay. I knocked on the door. “Brandon?”
I heard some fumbling, then the door opened, and there he stood, smelling of alcohol, smiling like a fool, with a slight swelling on his chin. “Hey, you.” He leaned on the door, looking like he might fall over if the door wasn’t there to steady him. “I missed you today. Did you get the flowers I sent ya?”
“Yes, I did. Are you okay?” His hair was disheveled, and he had starry eyes. “Did my brother hurt you?”
“Naw.” He shook his head. His southern drawl had really taken off, “He’s a good guy—a great big brother, Ella. He just cares about ya, is all.” His hand moved and the next thing I knew it was on my cheek. “You’re so pretty. Have I told you that before? Wait. Yes, I have.” The way his thumb stroked my cheek made moisture pool between my legs. “Did you like the roses?”
He still acted as if he liked me. And I was done keeping what my thoughts to myself. “Brandon, you’re drunk. And you might not even recall this conversation in the morning.” I wanted to clear that up before saying anything else. “Did you fire Kyle tonight when he hit you?”
He shook his head as his hand dropped off my face. “No. There’s no reason to fire a great guy like him. We traded a couple punches is all. Nothing serious. We’re fine. Don’t worry about us, Ella.”
While glad we still had our jobs, I wanted to know about the other woman in Brandon’s life. The one he’d never told me about. “Did you leave someone behind in Dallas when you came out here to Carthage?”
His lips curled, his eyes drooped. “Ella, I’d ask you to come in, but I respect you. Did you know that? If you didn’t, then now you do. I respect you a lot. And I care about you. Like, I can’t stop thinking ‘bout ya. Like, not ever. When I sleep, I dream about ya all the time. But I respect you.” He put his finger on the tip of my nose. “And I know you’re afraid, but I’m going to prove you don’t have to be afraid of me.”
He hadn’t answered my question, and now I had even more. “So, who’d you leave behind in Dallas, Brandon?”
“Did you know that I’ve never had a girlfriend with dark hair before? Not ever.” He held up one finger. “All blondes. All of them. You’ve got the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen.”
This felt like a conversation with a three-year-old. “So, what’s the blonde’s name who you left behind, Brandon?” I might be able to trick the answer out of him.
He let out a long sigh, then his bleary eyes settled on mine. “And you’ve got the prettiest blue eyes. Your lips are like red rose petals. That’s why I picked red roses to send you. They reminded me of your lips, so soft and smooth. I’d like to kiss those lips.” He held up his finger, moving it back and forth. “But I won’t do that until you’re ready. When do you think that’ll be, Ella?”
I put my fingers to my lips and felt moisture springing up in my lower area. “Brandon, you’re being silly.” I felt a blush heat my cheeks. “You’re drunk.”
“I am drunk.” He hiccupped. “But sometimes, even without the alcohol, I feel drunk when I’m around you. Is that weird? Cause it’s never happened with anyone else before. I’m high on you, Ella Finley.”
“You’re something alright.” I better let him get to bed. “You know what? It would be better to have this conversation tomorrow. It’s late, and you’re not quite yourself. It was wrong for me to bring anything up. I was only worried Kyle might’ve hurt you.”
“Nah,” he said then waved his hand through the air as if trying to swat a fly. “I’m not hurt. And you won’t be, either. Did I tell you that I dream about you?”
“Yes, you did.” We’re not getting anywhere with this. “Well, good night then. Sweet dreams.”
“Oh, I will.” He put his hand to his mouth, then kissed it before holding his palm out to me. “Tomorrow, my lady. For tonight you will sleep with me in my dreams. The way you have for many nights. But one day I hope we can be together in real life.”
That was it. He’d gone on too much. “Brandon, I heard you last night.”
His eyes went all shiny. “Last night was the best dream ever. I said, ‘I love you’ in that dream.”
