A knock on my front door snapped me out of the melancholy that was building in my chest. I sniffed, let a few tears fall on their own, and stood.
“Maybe you can, but you can’t start now. I still need space.” Another knock forced my feet to move. “Abi’s here. She’s helping me pack for the NFR and then maybe after…we can try to work on our relationship, but for right now…” I slowly walked down my stairs, seeing the blonde of Abi’s hair through the glass. “I can’t.”
“I’ll be at the NFR. With Ke—” She stopped herself. “I’ll look for you, okay?”
Nodding, I grasped the door handle. “I gotta go, Mom.”
I heard her tsk. “Okay, we will try.”
Then she hung up before I could say anything else. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and used my thumb to wipe at the tears under my eyes. I sniffed again, took a deep breath, and put on my best smile for my friend. Abi was becoming close to me—enough that I knew I could talk to her, but she didn’t know about this. The only person who knew about this was…
And I couldn’t call him now, could I?
One more calming breath was all I needed, and then I swung the door open.
“Abi—you are very late—” I froze, seeing not Abi, but finding myself staring at the man I wanted so badly to see—but never wanted to see again.
Wyatt Hartwell raised his gaze and gave me a small, sorrowful grin.
And I…
Slammed the door in his face.
Forty-Two
Wyatt
Iflungmyfootforward, stopping her door before she could slam it shut.Fuck—that hurt. Sucking air in through my teeth, I ignored the sting. I was wearing boots, but damn, she flung that door hard.
“Quinn, please—” I started, leaning against the door frame to poke my head through the small crack. “I know I’m the last person you want to see right now, but I just need twenty minutes. I have something for you, and then I’ll leave, and…” Iclosed my eyes and groaned, the pain shooting up through my foot. Is this what Cash felt on a daily basis? “Quinn?” I mumbled.
I felt the pressure on the door loosen, and it swung open, revealing her gorgeous face.Damn.I didn’t know exactly how much I missed her face until it was right in front of me. She was flushed, a tint of pink glossed the ridge of her cheekbone, and those emerald eyes I loved more than anything were wet. Weariness lined her features, and I had to fight the urge to pull her to me, wanting to take whatever was causing that look away. Remembering why I came here in the first place, I tightened my grip on the cardboard tube I held at my side.
“Just give me twenty minutes.”
She twisted, no doubt looking at the clock that hung behind the door. “You’ve got fifteen.” Then, she stepped aside and let me through. Abi had told me she was packing for the NFR and that in twenty minutes she’d show up and kick my ass out…but by the state of her house, and the lack of boots, she couldn’t be packing.
“Your house…” I began, taking the steps through the living room into the kitchen, dropping the tube on the counter.
“What about it?” Quinn rounded the other side of the island, her arms folded across her chest, her eyes anywhere but on me.
“Abi said you were packing?” I raised a brow.
“I am.”
“Where are your boots? Your hats? Belts? Shirts?”
“In the closet,” she said, raising her eyebrows and looking at me like I was the crazy one for asking. “You now have thirteen minutes, Hartwell.”
I cleared my throat. “Right—yeah, okay.” I popped the top off the cardboard tube. “I’ve been working on something, and I want to show you. This isn’t set in stone; no groundbreaking has happened…but…” I pulled the large paper from the tube and carefully rolled it out on the counter. “I just—wanted you to see it all.”
The blueprints that I had been mulling over for months sat in front of me, showing off a new barn and stable that would fit up to twenty horses. Behind the stable was a fenced-in pasture that connected to another small building that could be used for vet visits, bathing, and grooming needs—anything a retired horse would need to live a comfortable life. Above the drawing of the front of the barn was written in block white lettersOnce Upon a Rescue.
The room went silent, and even though I knew she was taking it all in, I also knew my minutes were flying by. I bit my lip, waiting for her to talk first. The pink tint in her cheeks deepened, and she finally let out a heavy breath.
“Wyatt, what is this?”
“Yours,” I said softly, sliding the blueprints to face her. “I figured out what the best thing to do with my two hundred and fifty acres was, so over the past couple of months, Lachlan, Rhett, and I found the perfect piece of land that’s not a part of the cow fields, close enough to the main house and barn that it’s not secluded, but it has its own space. We marked it, and then we met with an architect. We thought twenty horses would be a good start, but the land is big enough that you can always add to it, and I can buy more land from my brother or cousin if you need more space.” I pointed to the pasture space on the print, then slid the first sheet over slightly to show off the aerial view of Hartwell Hills. The red line drew out the acreage and had a small barn sticker where we thought it would make most sense.
