Chapter Nineteen
Bethany
I had never felt so furious as I stormed from the dining room table, up the stairs, and into my room. Colton had been ignoring me all week, and then to find out in the middle of dinner that he had cancelled our evening walk together without even having the courtesy of telling me was more than I could take.
I knew I was acting impulsively when I made the spontaneous announcement that I would be leaving in the morning even though I still had one more painting to create, but the words just erupted out of my mouth before I could stop them. There was no taking them back now.
I had expected Colton to say something. Surely my jarring news would make him realize that he had been taking me for granted and shock him into giving me the attention I deserved. I didn't need him to pay attention twenty-four hours a day like some spoiled princess, but surely five minutes of his time wasn't too much to ask, and lately, he hadn't been willing to even give me that.
When I made my sudden announcement, everyone had looked dismayed. Margie's eyes welled up with tears, Brett's jaw hit the floor, and Travis went white as a sheet. William and Tom both looked dumbfounded, but the one person whose reaction I cared about the most just sat there like nothing had happened.
From the casual look on Colton's face, I might as well have said nothing at all. He didn't have a word to say to me. He didn't even blink. So, I ran from the room before he could see just how heartbroken I was by his new and sudden lack of interest in me.
With my door locked soundly, I picked up my cell phone and dialed the only number I had memorized by heart.
"Mom, I'm coming home."
"Bethany? What's wrong? You sound upset." Jillian sounded cross.
"Nothing. I'm just ready to come home. I'll leave tomorrow, and I'll drive straight through until I get there."
"You finished the job? That's faster than you thought it would take." She sounded surprised.
"Not quite. I have one last painting to complete, but I thought I would do it at home and just ship it here."
"That's going to eat up too much of your pay. Why don't you just finish it there and come home afterwards? That way you can keep all your pay."
"Not everything is about money," I sighed with exasperation, but Mother wasn't buying it.
"That's something only rich people say, and we ain't rich. What's really going on? Why are you leaving before the job is done?"
I knew I couldn't lie to her anymore. Taking a deep breath, I confessed the truth. I told her everything about falling in love with Colton, skinny dipping in the lake, and making love in the barn. Then, how he suddenly lost interest in me and completely ignored me.
"I feel so used, Mom. Why would he tell me he loves me and then turn so cold?"
"Men are fickle creatures," she sighed. "The only thing you can count on with men is they'll say anything for a piece of ass. Chances are this Colton guy saw an easy way to get some free sex out of you. After all, you were right there on the ranch, he didn't have to go out of his way looking for you. Hell, he didn't even have to take you out on a date first."
"He did once." I felt obligated to defend him, but it sounded weak even to my own ears.
Jillian pounced with her usual cynicism. "Well, I take it back. He's a true gentleman."
"There's no need to be sarcastic," I said.
"There's no need to get soft, either. This jerk is just using you for sex, the way they all do. Now that he knows he's about to lose you, don't be surprised if he tries to trick you into staying."
"I told you, Mom, he didn't say a word when I made the announcement. It was like he didn't care, at all."
"Give him a minute to let the news sink in. Men are slow thinkers sometimes, but once they realize how something is going to negatively affect them, then their minds go into overdrive. I bet you he's concocting some elaborate plan right now to suck you back into his little web of deceit and trick into staying longer so he can keep using you."
"I don't think Colton is like that. He's really down to earth." I was still defending him.
"Just wait. The next time you see him, he'll have come up with some underhanded reason why you can't go home, but don't fall for it. Men are nothing but selfish liars who will do anything to get their way."
Jillian had been preaching this negative paranoia at me for as long as I could remember. All my life, I'd rebelled against it and insisted in believing in the good in people. It's what drove me to seek out my father, and that had turned out to be wonderful. It's what inspired me to have an open heart and allowed me to fall in love with Colton in the first place.
When he'd turned a cold shoulder to me and ignored my pleas to talk with him, it had sparked the old fires of distrust my mother had tried to instill in me for years. I allowed myself to jump to conclusions. Now, hearing my mother spout her negative dogma aloud, I began to wonder if I had acted too hastily. Perhaps I should give Colton a chance to talk to me.
Suddenly, I heard loud shouts coming from downstairs and noticed for the first time that there was a smell of smoke in the air.
Rushing to my bedroom window, I looked out to see the barn was engulfed in flames, and Colton was standing dangerously close to it. My paintings were still inside, but it was obvious from the size of the flames that there was no saving them.
Worst of all was seeing Colton standing in front of fire. It was him. He had set the barn on fire and destroyed all I had done. I'd put my heart into those paintings and now it was breaking. An entire month's work was completely destroyed, and so were my feelings for him.