Chapter Thirty-Seven
Krystina
I awoke to Gentry sneaking out of bed carefully so not to disturb me. I struggled to come to as he stepped to the front door to take a leak and peek at the horses. I was exhausted, sore and frankly sticky.
He was putting another log on the fire when I pushed myself up in bed. “Lie back down, he said softly. “We have all day.”
“True, but I don’t want to spend my whole day with you asleep. That’s the one activity we do together all night.”
“So, we do,” he rummaged through a bag on the table as I admired every muscle on his naked form.
He walked over to me with a pack of wet wipes. “Well boy scout, you did come prepared.”
Gentry rolled his eyes at me and started unpacking the lunch he had brought. “Any ideas on what to do the rest of our time?” his smile was wicked.
“Talk. We haven’t had a lot of time for that of late.”
Gentry set a tray of food on the edge of the bed and poured us each a glass of wine. He handed me one and brushed my hair back from the mess it had become. “So often I can look at you and see you as the teenage girl I fell in love with so long ago. To have you here, now, as the woman…” he trailed off and I knew why.
“You never were the man good with words or emotions. I guess cowboys aren’t.”
“I wasn’t a cowboy back then.”
This warmed my heart and I took a bite of cheese. “Yes, you were. You have always been a cowboy in your heart and soul. But when it mattered I knew you loved me.”
“If only that was true. If it was …. There’s no sense thinking about the damned past.”
“I can drink to that,” we toasted, clinked our glasses and sipped our wine.
We chatted as we ate and drank. We snuggled under the heavy quilts to keep warm and made love once more. As the high and the after-glow wore off, Gentry played with my fingers as my hands rested on his chest.
“I wanted to prove to you I could give you a good of a life here as you had back East. I’m never going to be refined or civilized socialite but the expansion could have been a large profit increase in a few years. It would keep you in fancy clothes, vacations. Whatever you needed.”
“Gentry, I don’t need those things.”
“It’s not been that long and I need to know, if I were to ask you to stay here, permanently – that I could provide whatever you need,” he trailed off yet again. “But I failed you yet again. I didn’t get the loan and the land sold. I got the call this morning.”
“Gentry,” I sat up in bed staring down at my man. I understood what he meant. I saw the young, sweet but uncertain boy starring back at me. “You just love to ruin surprises, don’t you?”
“What surprise?”
“You’re damned Christmas gift! I bought you, or rather Mirror Lake, the land!”
“You did WHAT!?” Gentry’s shout was not nearly as happy as I hoped.
“I was looking for real estate …”
Gentry climbed out of the bed and was searching for his boxers on the floor. I followed suit and began looking for my own clothes.
“Real estate in the city, for your new home.”
I found my underwear and pants, yanking them on. “I did do something for my new home. For what I wanted to be my new home. That’s why I bought it. To prove my loyalty! That was stay worthy!”
Bra and shirts pulled on and I began looking for my socks. “You can’t be so stubborn and so prideful that you can’t see I did this for you! It was your dream. I wanted to do that for you. For us!”
I found my socks and boots and was dressed at last. As was Gentry. “I didn’t want it. Not to come from you. Not something you bought with. . . HIS money. I didn’t, I don’t need James Delore’s God damn fucking money. Or yours!”
I felt slapped. Tears stung my eyes but I would be damned if he would see me cry.
“I don’t know what you expect me to do. The deals done. The lands bought, just awaiting Ed’s signature to make it officially part of the ranch.”
“I won’t let him sign. If you thought for a second this would make me happy, then you did change. Probably too damn much to be here.”
Our eyes locked. Gentry’s eyes, voice, his whole damn posture was ice cold. I had changed in ten years, I figured out how to exist once without Gentry Hollis, I was strong enough to do it again.
I stormed out the door and jumped on Storm and rode off.