Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Frustrated, I go toe to toe with him and lean my head back so I can look up at him. “Then explain it to me. Explain it to me so I understand.”
“I can’t. You deserve more than me. I don’t have anything to offer you and—”
I cut him off. “I only want you. Nothing else, just you.”
He’s shaking his head in denial. “No, I’m sorry. I have to go.”
He walks by me, making sure he doesn’t touch me, and all I can do is watch him leave. He stops next to the door and jams his hat on his head. “There’s a big snowstorm coming tomorrow, Maddie. Stay close to the ranch.”
I cross my arms over my chest and lift my chin up. Every fiber of my being wants to call out to him and beg him to stay, but I don’t have it in me. Rejection from Rhett is too much for me right now.
As soon as he closes the door, though, my feet start to move. I should have a little more pride, but I still follow Rhett out the door and down the steps, pulling my skirt down along the way. “Rhett.”
He doesn’t stop. He gets into the truck and slams the door shut. I’m freezing, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. He opens the truck and comes to stand next to me. “Get back inside before you freeze to death.”
I stand my ground. “No, not until you talk to me.”
He puts his hands at my waist. “Get back inside.”
I’m shivering, but I don’t give in. “No.”
He wraps his arms around me and holds me against his body. His breath is hot against my cheek. “You’re going to get sick out here without a coat or anything. Get back inside.”
“Rhett? Will you answer me one thing?”
His chest lifts as he inhales. “Fine. I’ll answer one question and then you’re going back inside.”
He tucks me against his side and walks with me back up to the front porch. Then he turns me so I’m looking up at him. “Ask me.”
I have a hundred things I want to ask, but I just ask the most important question. I can feel my cheeks flame, but I ask anyway. “Do you want me?”
He leans his head down and presses his forehead to mine. There is torment on his face. “I want you more than I want my next breath, Maddie. I wish things were different, I wish I could say damn it to hell with all the reasoning of why me and you are a bad idea, but I can’t. I won’t do that to you. So yes, I want you...”
I smile up at him. “Okay, that’s all I need to know.”
I turn and put my hand on the doorknob. My mind is going a hundred miles a minute, and I’m already planning what I need to do when Rhett stops me. “Don’t forget the snowstorm tomorrow. Stay close to the ranch. If you need anything, just call me.”
I nod and lean against the opened door. “Okay.”
His forehead creases like he can’t believe I’m agreeing with him. “Okay?”
I nod. “Okay, snowstorm… close to the ranch. Got it.”
When he walks down the steps, I watch him go, but the whole time I’m planning and plotting my next move. There’s no way Rhett is going to tell me he wants me and then just go back to the way things were. There’s no way, because if I have any chance with Rhett, I’m going to fight for it. I’ll do whatever I have to do to prove to him we’re meant to be together.
CHAPTER 6
RHETT
I run my hand through my hair and then put my hat back on my head. The snow has already started, and I’m going on very little sleep. I tossed and turned most of the night because the regret wasn’t sitting with me well. I shouldn’t have walked away from her. I shouldn’t have. Now I’ve spent the whole day getting ready for the snowstorm, and I’m on edge because I haven’t seen Maddie in hours. Her truck is still sitting in the driveway, but something is not right.
My phone rings, and when I see Elliott’s name, guilt hits me hard and fast. Even though I want to ignore it, I know I can’t. He could need me… hell, Maddie could need me. I answer the phone. “Hey.”
“Hey brother, what’s up?”
I lean against the side of the barn. “Aren’t you supposed to be living it up in Vegas? You shouldn’t be calling home—”
He interrupts me. “How did last night go?”
I freak out for just a minute, and then I realize he’s asking about me taking Maddie to the bar, not about what I did to her after. “Fine. We ran into Wes—”
He cuts me off. “Is he still breathing?”