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“Whoa,” Aspen whistled.
“Does Sawyer know that?”
Shelby shook her head. “I didn’t think it would be good to spread that around. I don’t want people to look at me any different. My parents thought it would be best if I got as far away as I could for a while, and this is about as far west as our stores go, so they worked it all out.”
Wow. They must have really hated this guy—and me, inadvertently.
“It’s not really what I would like to be doing. I have a master’s degree in nursing. I was a midwife for a hospital in Roswell. It wasn’t exactly what my parents wanted me to do. They always hoped I’d go into the family business. I’m here trying that out.” No wonder she lived in such a nice place. So, I guess she wasn’t growing marijuana on the side like I first figured.
“How do you like it so far?” I asked.
She took in a breath and let out some shudders. “Everyone has been real nice at the center.”
I bet they had.
“And it’s interesting, but I miss working with mommas and their babies.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I love babies. I wanted to have a house full of them. I thought Ryder wanted that too.” Her tears came again. This explained why she had been so excited for Jenna and Brad’s baby even though she didn’t know them.
This time I put my arms around her. I wanted those same things too.
Shelby turned into me and cried on my shoulder. “Y’all have been so nice to me. I was afraid to move to a new state all by myself, but you all have made me feel so welcome. You even let me borrow your clothes and sleeping bags. Y’all are just so sweet.”
I looked at Aspen over Shelby’s head; we both were wide-eyed. I wasn’t exactly sure we had been nice to her, or even welcoming. I mean, earlier in the day I wanted to rip her arms off and push her into the river.
Shelby continued to snuggle right into me, taking comfort. Once she quit crying, she took a cleansing breath. “You know, I think Colorado could really be a new beginning for me. I think I’d even like to give Sawyer a chance.”
My arms fell away from her while my heart stopped beating.
“What do you think of him, Emma, being his stepsister and all? Is he a wicked stepbrother?” she teased. “Or is he a man who is true to his word and character?”
I turned away from her with tears in my own eyes now. Sawyer was of the not-so-wicked variety, and I had never known a man truer or kinder than him, but that was none of Shelby’s business.Chapter Twelve“Emma, Emma, wake up.”
I better have been dreaming, or more like having a nightmare. All I could hear was some cute, man-stealing voice frantically calling my name, and on top of that I was being poked.
“Please wake up.”
One of my eyes popped open. It was still dark, but I could feel Shelby’s minty breath in my face. How did she manage to avoid morning breath? She really was a freak of nature.
“What time is it?” I croaked with probably stale breath. Us non-goddesses lacked the minty breath gene.
“I’m so sorry. It’s around 4:30. I’ve been dying for like an hour and I need your help.”
I sat up groggy and rubbed my eyes, careful not to touch my wounds. “Are you sick?”
Shelby sat up too, shivering and shaking her head. “I know this is going to sound silly, but . . . I’ve never peed outside. I don’t know how.”
“You haven’t peed the entire time we’ve been up here?”
She shook her head. “No, and I’m dying. I can’t hold it anymore.”
What did she want me to do about it?
“Can you please show me how?”
I was going to kill Sawyer. At the very least, he was not riding home with me and neither was the blonde who was ready to explode.
“Please,” she begged.
“Sure,” I sighed. “Let me get my shoes on.”
She kissed my cheek. “You’re the best, thank you.”
Before I knew it, we were traipsing in the outdoors with only my flashlight for light before the butt crack of dawn, trying to find a spot Shelby felt comfortable peeing in. I kept telling her no one was awake, so it didn’t matter as long as it was level, but the girl said, “My bladder will get shy if it’s not in private.” I rolled my eyes, not even caring if she saw.
Shelby was gripping my arm as we hiked to a level and private spot among the willow bushes. With every rustle in the wild grass and trees, the girl jumped and squeezed my arm.
“Don’t worry, any animals are more afraid of us than we are of them.”
