S I L A S
“She left?” My voice rose to a level Caroline didn’t approve of, if the look she gave me was any indication. “Sorry,” I mumbled, pacing back and forth in the kitchen.
How could she fucking leave again?
We ended up staying in the field for two nights due to the extensive fix needed on the fence. When Ryke called to tell us the fence was down, he wasn’t joking. We’d spent the first day scrapping the old parts to see what we could still use.
The whole situation didn’t sit well with me. How did one segment look like a tornado went through, but nothing else was destroyed? It was as if someone deliberately drove a fucking Mack truck through it and then left.
I worked Ryke and Nate so hard, by the time we left, they were ready to hang me up by my gloves. But my mind was consumed with getting back to Mirabelle and finishing what we’d started. I sure as hell didn’t expect to walk in and find out she’d left the same day we did. The bad part was, I didn’t know where she went. She’d told Caroline she needed to do something and asked to borrow the ranch car. Apparently, she was considerate enough to call and let Caroline know she arrived safely and would be in touch.
I dialed her cell, cursing under my breath when it went straight to voicemail.
“Ow!” The smack to the back of my head made my brain rattle, a hurt like only Caroline could do.
“Now, Silas, you need to go clean up, do your chores, and calm down. That girl is fine. Obviously just needed to get away.” She scowled at me before mumbling, “Although, with the way you’re acting, I can’t imagine why she’d want to come back.”
It took everything in me not to stomp off. One of Caroline’s many talents was to make me feel like a little boy, and I sure as hell didn’t need to give her another reason to smack me again.
Nerves knotted my stomach and made my palms sweat. A shower was needed to clear my head before I did something stupid. I thought I’d finally made a breakthrough with Mirabelle. That kiss was more than I could’ve dreamed. Her presence alone set my thoughts on fire. I was conflicted most of the time, not wanting to do or say anything that would make her run again. However, the moment our lips touched, everything was as it should be. In a week full of complete chaos, she was suddenly calming the storm.
Well, right up until she’d run again. I had to figure out a way to get her back. Now that I had a taste of her, I couldn’t live without her.
After cleaning up and getting dressed, I headed out to the barn. Nate was putting things away, while Ryke already had a colt in the ring.
“What’s wrong?” Nate asked, furrowing his brows.
I must’ve really looked bad if Nate noticed. He wasn’t usually too aware of people’s moods until it was too late. By then, Ryke usually had stepped in to cool things down and protect his brother from his unfiltered mouth.
“She’s gone.”
“Wait, what?” He dropped the strap he was cleaning.
“Yeah. I have no idea where, and I swear, Nate, I’m fucking losing it.” I explained what Caroline had told me when I walked in looking for Mirabelle.
“Well, maybe . . .” Nate trailed off. “Fuck, I’ve got nothing, Si.” He shrugged, his head shaking from side to side, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at his words. He managed to say exactly what I was feeling.
“Me neither, buddy.” I sighed and picked up a bucket of feed and set off to work, needing to get my mind off everything. These animals needed my attention right now. After I finished, I would figure out what to do next.
The guys had gone to bed several hours before. It was only pushing midnight, but we were exhausted from the work we’d put in the last couple of days. Nate hardly spent the night at home, so he must’ve been dead tired when he and Ryke walked back to their house around nine.
Sleep evaded me. After tossing and turning in my bed for over an hour, I went to the barn to get some air. As I walked through the middle, I glanced over the stalls to make sure everything was safe and secure. I gave my horse, Sable, a rub before moving down the way to Snickers.
“Hey, boy. Where’d our girl get to?” I asked him softly as I stroked his neck. He snorted and leaned his head toward me.
“She just had to finish some business so she could get back home for good.”
I turned quickly at the sound of her voice. A startled breath escaped my lungs before I got my bearings, pushing off the stall and striding toward her. I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her to make sure she was real.
“I can’t decide if I want to kiss you, throttle you, or tie you to my bed so you never leave again,” I groaned, only slightly joking.
“How about a compromise, maybe a bit of all three?” Her muffled giggled tickled my chest.
I held her at arm’s length so I could check her over. When I was sure she was okay, some of the tension left my body.
“I can’t do this again, Mirabelle. I can’t have you walking out without knowing where you are or when you’ll be back. You make me want to lose my fucking mind!” She brought out so many emotions in me that I was surprised I hadn’t gotten whiplash. “Don’t fucking leave me again. I love you,” I muttered before pressing a hard kiss to her lips, tangling my hands in her curls to keep her close. “You have the ability to destroy me. I need you like I’ve never needed anything in my life. I’ve loved you for years, and I made a promise to Dalton that I would take care of you. Don’t you fucking make me break that.” I sounded as desperate as I felt.
“You love me?” she asked, and her astonishment brought my hysterical laughter to the surface.
“God, I pretty much suck at this, Mirabelle. I need you to be patient with me while I try to figure out how to do this right, but yes, I fucking love you.”
She closed her eyes and smiled, leaning into me. “I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, Silas.”
Those words rocked me to the core. She was like a glass of ice water on the hottest summer day. Refreshing, cherished, perfect, and she was mine. I would do anything for this woman.
“Why’d you leave?” I kissed the top of her head.
“I’m sorry, Silas. I went back to Baltimore to box up the rest of my belongings. I hoped to be back yesterday, but I couldn’t get a flight.”
“Baltimore? How did you accomplish all that in just a few days?”
“My friends helped. Fortunately, they can be bought with pizza and beer. My roommate, Shiloh, will be shipping the boxes this week.” Her face lit up as she spoke. I watched for any sign of uncertainty, but all I saw was a look of complete peace. Her eyes were brighter, and she nibbled on the bottom lip as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“I called you. It went straight to voicemail.” My arms tightened around her in a cocoon of sorts, afraid to let her go now that I had her back.
“I turned it off when I was on the plane. Honestly, I didn’t mean to worry anyone. I just wanted to close out my life back in Baltimore, so I could come home for good.” She leaned back, pulling free from my strong hold so she could look up at me.
“So, you’re staying?” My voice was tremulous yet hopeful.
“Yes,” she confirmed. My muscles sagged with relief.
“Welcome home, Mirabelle.”
I took her hand and led her out of the barn, closing the doors behind us.
“Do you need anything from the car?”
When she shook her head no, I let out a breath of relief. Suddenly, the stress and exhaustion I’d been carrying hit me like a ton of bricks, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up with her in my arms and sleep. Her feet barely made contact with the gravel as I dragged her to the house. All I could think about was getting her somewhere she couldn’t run from. Rational thought was not my strong suit at the moment, but miraculously, we ended up in my room. Rummaging through my dresser, I tossed her one of my shirts and pointed to the bathroom.
“Go change. I’m so damned tired, but I’m not letting you go. You’re sleeping here with me.”
A flash of stubbornness crossed her features, but she must’ve realized I wasn’t in a mood to argue, so she did what I asked. Shedding my shirt and jeans, I slipped under the covers and waited.
When she came out of the bathroom with flushed cheeks and wild curls, she looked so fucking gorgeous. My shirt fell to the middle of her thighs. At the sight of her bare legs, my dick twitched in a valiant attempt, but tonight wasn’t the night to take it any further. I lifted the covers and waited for her to climb in, drawing her small body firmly against me when she did. My skin tingled with the contact. My heart beat so erratically I was sure it would shake her, yet I was filled with a sense of calm that had been missing for as long as I could remember.
“Silas?” she whispered, “You said you made a promise to Dalton. When?”
“Right before he died.” My final conversation with Dalton played through my mind like a movie. “He asked me if I loved you. I told him I did, and he told me to get you home. He said you didn’t belong away from the ranch. He told me to take care of you.”
Her body trembled, a soft sob escaping. Rolling her over, I pulled her into my chest, kissing the top of her head.
“I promised him I would, and he said, ‘good.’ Then he was gone. I’ve lost him, but Mirabelle, I don’t need anything else as long as I have you. Our family may be gone, but we have each other now, okay? You’re my fucking family now.”
She nodded against my chest. Her warm breath against my skin was the last thing I remembered before falling into the most restful sleep I’d had in years.