S I L A S
“Do you love her?”
“Who, buddy?”
“You know who.”
“Yes.”
“Get her home, Si. She doesn’t belong away from here, and she loves you, too. She may not admit it easily, but she always has. Get her home and take care of her for me.”
“I will, Dalton. I promise.”
“Good.”
And then he was gone.
I tossed the pliers toward the tool box and wiped my sweaty face on my sleeve. The scene had played through my mind every day since we’d lost him. When I’d gotten back to the house after they’d taken Dalton’s body, my first thought was Mirabelle. I needed to call her, but I was so afraid to tell her, her brother was gone. Causing her more pain was the last thing I wanted to do, but keeping my promise to Dalton was important, too. In the end, I’d chickened out and made Nate take care of it.
“For fuck’s sake, Si!” Nate’s angry voice pulled me from my memory.
“What?”
“That’s the third tool you done gone and tossed at me. I swear to all that’s holy, if you fucking hit me with one, I’m beating your ass with it.” His Oklahoma twang was always stronger when he was pissed off, and I couldn’t help but smile a bit as he crossed his arms and glared at me.
“I’m sorry, man.” My arms spread wide in surrender. “My mind is all over the fucking place this morning.” A sudden need for caffeine brought me back to the quad for my thermos of coffee. Out of desperation, I gulped the lukewarm liquid.
“Does this have anything to do with last night and how you carried poor Mira out of the bar like a caveman?” Nate crossed his arms and watched me with knowing eyes as he settled against the other quad. “I’ll have you know I had a hard time picking up any women after you left like that. The ladies were all swooning. Even my best moves weren’t getting the job done,” Nate complained.
Mirabelle was definitely responsible for my mood. Our conversation last night had made it apparent she was still upset with me for turning her down. What she didn’t realize was, I thought I would have a chance to do things right with her before she left. What I didn’t realize was, she would be gone when I came back in from the field. For weeks, I was so fucking pissed, Dalton and the other hands had kept their distance.
My assumption that she’d return for breaks never materialized. She was as stubborn as they came. But she couldn’t stay away forever, so I figured I would wait—and wait I did.
“Maybe your moves aren’t working anymore ‘cause you’ve gone and worked through every woman in the county already.” Much needed laughter boiled up. Anytime I could get the chance to rib poor Nate was a good one.
“Not hardly,” Both hands came up, flipping me the bird. “Plus, I’ve never had an issue with them coming back for a second ride.” He winked, satisfaction glinting in his eyes.
Nate wasn’t lying. Women chased him everywhere he went. Strong as fuck, and as hard a worker as anyone on the ranch, Nate was a total package as far as the local women were concerned, and they loved his almost angelic look. Ryke was no stranger to attention from women, but he’d always been much more reserved. Though they were opposite in every way, they were as close as you could get.
“So?” Nate asked.
“What?”
“What the hell is going on between you and Mira? I thought we were going to have to pull you off that asshole last night.” Nate put some of the tools away as he waited for me to answer.
Carrying the last of the supplies to the wagon gave me the time I needed to decide how I wanted this conversation to go. How much was I willing to share with these guys was the real question. In the end, I knew hiding anything from them was impossible. Not with Mirabelle on the ranch. The woman completely unnerved me.
“I’m in love with her.” The need to hold onto my pride slipped away.
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think she likes you very much, my friend. Especially after last night.” Nate chuckled.
“I think you might be right, but before he died, Dalton told me she felt the same about me. He told me to get her back here and take care of her. The problem is that ever since she’s been back, she looks at me like a stranger, only worse. At least strangers get respect.”
“Well, shit. You’re gonna need some help, Si. Your game is non-existent.” Nate shook his head, his face unnaturally grim. His words weren’t said as a joke, which made them even funnier to me.
“You’re not wrong, buddy. Are you offering?” My words dripped with hopefulness. Did guys ask other guys for help like this? Fuck it. I was desperate.
“Okay, how many girls have you dated in the last four years?” Nate clapped his hands together, face serious as if he were taking on a tough job. Was he asking about how many girls I’d slept with, or how many I’d actually considered investing my time in? I went with the latter.
“Two and a half,” I answered.
Nate doubled over, bursting out in fits of laughter.
“What the fuck is with the half?” he gasped, trying to catch his breath and holding his sides as if he were protecting his ribs. Probably a good idea. If he kept fucking laughing at me, I was gonna give him a reason to hold his damn ribs.
“Well, I didn’t really get through the whole date. Her grandma died, and she had to leave.” To be honest, I was pretty sure she’d lied to me. Right before I’d picked up the girl, Dalton had called. He was visiting Mirabelle, and I heard her voice in the background talking about going out to a club. My mind was a writhing mass of jealousy over the possibility of her with another guy, so I’m quite sure I was a shitty date. Even without excuses, my dating game sucked. This was a fact.
“Well, you’re lucky I’m on your side. I’m gonna help you out. We’ll get your girl.” Nate grinned at me and slapped me on the back. Nate would be a great ally to have. I knew damn well I couldn’t compete with his looks and million-dollar smile. He had all the local girls fawning over him, as it was.
“Trust me, I know this.” Rubbing my hands over the stubble on my chin, I release an exasperated breath. “So, what do I do? She’s still pissed at me from something I did four years ago.” A fifteen-year-old boy probably had more of an idea how to get a girl than I did.
“What did you do?” Nate crossed his ankles, regarding me with curiosity. “It must’ve been serious if she’s still pissed.”
“I tried to do the noble thing and protect her virtue.” I picked at the peeling paint on the wagon, needing to keep my hands busy. “All I ended up doing was embarrassing her and making her feel like she needed to run.” When I’d refused to have sex with Mirabelle, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to. Fuck me, that was all I’d thought about for a long time. She had grown from a girl into a woman right before my eyes, and it took so much fucking restraint not to cross lines with her. She was eighteen when she asked me to be with her, and legally, I could’ve, but not like that—not in a barn. She deserved more, and I wanted more with her than a literal roll in the hay.
Pushing off the wagon, I knelt and picked up a rock, rolling it in my palm, before launching it as far as I could. The thought of some random college guy putting his hands on her was enough to make me see red. Nausea rolled through my stomach. If I’d heard of that, I would’ve gotten right on a plane and dragged her ass back here for sure.
Dalton and I had put the fear of God in the local guys in town. Most of them took us seriously, but the few who challenged us figured out the hard way that we weren’t joking around when it came to Mirabelle. She was the total package. She was funny, stubborn, a hard worker, and gorgeous. The best part was that she didn’t know this. She was just herself, and that was the most attractive quality. She seemed so broken right now, and it crushed me. The light in her was gone, and I needed to find a way to get it back.
“Well, fuck.” Nate shook his head, his expression pensive. “This is gonna take some work.”
“Don’t I know it. I have faith in you, Nate. Help me get my girl.” I slapped him hard on the back before swinging my leg over the quad and starting it. With the fences fixed, we headed back to the barn to finish the work with the horses.
As I rode, I let my mind wander. Part of me had often wondered if my feelings for Mirabelle would lessen over the years. I had convinced myself that it was better that she left. Doing anything to screw up my friendship with Dalton had never been an option. He was the only family I had, so when we told all the local guys they weren’t good enough for her, by no means did I think I had special privileges or a free pass. I honestly had no idea Dalton was aware of my feelings for his sister or that he would approve. Things may have been much different if I had. Would I have made her mine? I knew one thing for sure, I would never have let her go.
As the main house came into view, I saw her. Her hair was flying behind her as she gracefully sat upon Snickers, galloping across one of the fields. There was something so natural about the way she rode. She belonged on the back of a horse, not in a city.
Rolling my quad to a stop, my eyes followed her movements. The one thing I noticed right away was that her curls were back. I fucking loved her curls.
“What’s that sappy look for?” Nate joked as he sidled up next to me, his quad idling. “Do you need some alone time?” He waggled his eyebrows, blue eyes shimmering. Was he really insinuating that I needed to rub one out right there in the field? It wouldn’t be the first time, but I had been a teenager then.
“Fuck off.” I clenched my fists to keep from hitting him, and headed for the equipment storage barn. Nate’s laughter exploded as I sped away. He was going to have way too much fun at my expense, but fuck it, I needed his help in a bad way.