I sat on the porch swing waiting for Ellie to come back from talking to Ari. I still couldn’t believe I had hit my best friend. I ran my hands down my face. Fuck! Why the hell did Jeff have to go and mess up so bad with Ari? Gramps wouldn’t let me talk to him yet. They headed to the barn, and that was the last I saw of either of them.

This had started out to be a great day, and now it was just fucked.

I had brought Ellie into town to have breakfast at one of the local restaurants. I remembered her saying she wanted to go and eat in an old-fashioned type restaurant. You just can’t get any better than Miss Mayes restaurant in town. Best damn French toast I’ve had.

The plan was to eat breakfast, walk through a few of the little stores on Main Street, and then come back to the ranch and ride. Ellie had really taken to horseback riding and practically begged me go again today.

When Gramps told us about his “plan” to get Ari and Jeff some alone time, I knew it was going to go down all wrong. Just how it went down wrong, I didn’t know yet. I heard the screen door open and saw the love of my life walking out with such a sad look on her face. I held out my hand and she came over and sat on my lap.

She laid her head on my chest and let out a sigh. God, what I wouldn’t do to just stay like this forever and never let her go. I buried my face in her hair and took a deep breath. Fuck, she smelled so good. Daisies, she always smelled like them.

“So, did she tell you what happened?”

“Oh God, Gunner. I think Jefferson really messed up this time. I think he pushed her away for good.”

Shit. I didn’t like the way this was sounding. I’d fucking kill him if he if forced her to do anything.

“He didn’t—”

“No! God, no! Jefferson would never. But then again, I didn’t think he would ever be so mean and hurtful as this, either.”

I felt Ellie shiver, so I pulled her tighter into me.

“Can we take a walk? I don’t want your grandmother to overhear us talking. I’m not sure how much Ari told her about what happened.”

“Sure, let’s head down to the stables.” I reached down and took her hand in mine as we started to make our way to the stables. I needed to check on Big Roy anyway. He was a gift from Gramps when I was sixteen, and somehow he cut his leg pretty bad. We needed to keep an eye on it for a few days for any signs of an infection.

Ellie walked for a few minutes in silence. Once we reached the stables, I checked for Gramps and Jeff but they were nowhere to be found.

“No one is here, sweetheart.”

Ellie started to cry. I walked over and held her in my arms. I was going to fucking kill Jeff for making his sister so upset. I didn’t care how fucked up he was.

“Oh God, Gunner—”

“Just take a deep breath, baby,” I said as I ran my hands up and down her back. Once she settled a little bit, she sat down on a bale of hay and took in a deep breath.

“God, I love the way it smells down here. I wish I could bottle it up and take it home with me.”

I laughed and started to walk into Big Roy’s stall. I checked his leg out and it seemed to be doing well. I gave him a bit of oats and shut his stall. I sat down next to Ellie and took her hand in mine.

“I guess when the battery went dead Ari freaked out a little bit . . . if you can imagine that. Jeff got pissed and pushed her up against the Jeep and, well, one thing led to another. No sex, but more than kissing.”

I let myself go back to a few nights ago when Ellie had her first orgasm. The memory alone caused my dick to jump.

“What happened next?”

“I guess Ari made the mistake of telling Jeff she wanted to take it further, and well . . . he didn’t. He basically told her he made a terrible mistake and that he wished he could take it back. After she told him that she loved him.”

Shit, Jeff. Stupid fucker.

“She hates him, Gunner, but yet I know she still loves him. I hate to see her hurting like this.”

“I’m sorry, Ellie, but I can tell you that I’m sure Jeff is hurting probably even more.”

Ellie pushed back away from my chest and just stared at me. She looked confused and pissed at the same time.

“How in the hell do you think he is hurting more than she is, Gunner?” Ellie hissed through her teeth.

“He’s in love with her, Ellie.”

Ellie let out a laugh. “Yeah, if that is how he shows love, then she is better off without him.”

“Ellie, Jeff told me he loves Ari so much he’s afraid that if they end up together something will happen, something bad, and he’ll lose her forever. He said he would rather have her in his life as a friend than not to have her in his life at all.”

Ellie just looked at me for the longest time. I knew what she was thinking, because I thought the same thing when Jeff spit out that bullshit to me.

“That doesn’t make a lick of fucking sense, Gunner. I hope you know that.”

God, I loved this girl.

“Ells, I told him the same exact thing. I wish I could understand his stupid, fucked-up way of thinking, but I don’t.”

Ellie let out a sigh and we just sat there in silence. Fuck, let this be a lesson for me not to fuck things up with Ellie.

Ellie and I spent the rest of the afternoon riding around the ranch. I showed her every square inch of it. Where me and my cousins used to play kings and queens and hide and seek, and when we were in high school, where we would sneak off to with some of Gramps’s beer that he hid from Grams. Then I took her out behind the ranch house and showed her how to shoot a .22-gauge rifle. It was a perfect afternoon.

Dinner, not so much. Jeff didn’t utter a word while Gramps mostly talked about the plans for fixing up the main barn. Drake and his sons lived there, and their quarters needed some repairs. I told Gramps I would come back the weekend of Thanksgiving and help out. We had a game that Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, but I could plan on getting there Friday after we reviewed the game footage and stay until Sunday night. Jeff finally spoke and said he would plan on coming, too. That led Grams to ask Ellie to come out as well, and we would cook up a Thanksgiving feast on Saturday. I thought Ellie was going to jump out of her chair, she was so excited.

I looked up and saw Ari coming into the dining room. She was dressed in jeans and a black Hula Hut T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a low pony and she had the fakest smile I’d ever seen plastered on her face.

“Well, crap, I see I’m late for dinner!”

I looked over at Jeff. He instantly sat up and looked at Ari. I could tell he wanted nothing more than to grab her, take her somewhere, and talk to her. From what Gramps told me about his talk with Jeff, he pretty much told Jeff he had just lost the best thing he would ever have. He then called him the stupidest motherfucker on the planet. He also let him know that if he ever wanted another chance with Ari, he needed to back off, let her cool down, and once she did, he’d better crawl on his hands and knees and beg her to forgive him.

“You’re never too late for dinner in this house, my darling girl,” Grams said as she gave Ari a wink.

Ari never once looked at Jeff. Grams handed her a plate, and we all started to pass the pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I had never in my life seen a girl eat so much as Ari did.

The rest of the night was spent outside on the porch talking, listening to Grams and Gramps tell stories, and after a couple rounds of dominoes, we all headed off to bed. Before I went to sleep, I let Gramps and Grams know we were leaving the next day. It killed me to leave knowing there was so much work to be done. But I thought it was for the best.

I had pulled Ellie off to the side, and asked her if she wanted to go to our tree one more time and watch the stars. She jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

“Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll meet you down at your truck!”

We ended up spending more time kissing and touching each other than we did looking at the stars. I was almost tempted to keep her out all night to make out, but I knew we were heading back to Austin and we both needed to get some sleep. I kissed her long and passionately on the porch before I walked her to her room.

“Good night, Ellie, sweetheart.”

“Good night, Gunner. Thank you so much for such a magical week. I love you.”

“You are more than welcome, baby. Sweet dreams, Ellie.”

After Grams had packed up a picnic basket full of goodies, we made our way back to Austin. Ari and Jeff both listened to their iPods and never spoke a single word all the way home. It killed me I couldn’t have Ellie in the front seat with me, but Ari threw a fit at the idea of the “bastard from hell” sitting next to her.

When we finally pulled up to Ari and Ellie’s house, I thought Ari was going to bolt from the truck before I even had it stopped.

Jeff and I carried their suitcases in, and then Jeff went back to the truck after saying goodbye to Ellie, and Ari disappeared into her room.

“How many more weeks until football is starting back up?” Ellie asked me as she walked me back outside.

“Three. So once that happens and school starts I’m going to be pretty busy, so you know I’m going to have to spend every minute with you from now until then.”

Ellie laughed that beautiful laugh, which warmed my whole body.

“Well, that sounds like a god-awful punishment, but I guess I can make it work!”

“You better! I’ll call you when we get back to the house. Did you have fun, sweetheart?”

Right on cue, there was that smile that could bring me to my knees. “Yes. I had a wonderful time, Gunner. Some moments stand out a little more than others, but wonderful all around.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “Same here, baby!” I leaned down and kissed her goodbye and made my way to the truck.

As I pulled away, I looked in my rearview mirror and already my chest ached from missing her.