I chewed my lip a moment, conflict sloshing through me. On one hand it was painful, really damn painful, reliving my glory days, but I could see how it might be cathartic. So, even though every inch of me screamed not to, I told her. Everything. From the early years of just starting out as a kid, to the height of my career. The highs, the lows, the mountains and valleys. The inbetween even. She stayed quiet, so quiet I might have thought she’d left had I not felt her familiar presence at my side through it all.
“Damn, it’s been a long time since I’ve talked about this shit,” I finished, leaning back against the couch while wrapping an arm around Quinn.
She snuggled further into to my side, a soft sound escaping her. “I’m sorry.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Don’t be. It felt…well, I don’t wanna say good, cuz that’s a lie, but, I guess I feel lighter gettin’ that off my chest. I’ve never really talked about this with anyone.”
“Not even your family?”
“Especially not my family,” I replied quickly. Just the thought of them stirred memories I didn’t want to think about.
“How come?” Genuine surprise and confusion sounded in her tone.
I shrugged. “It’s hard with them. My mama’s always fussin’ over me. Walker acts like I’m a ghost. And my dad…” Another shrug. “He never was the overly accommodatin’ type, I mean for as long as I can remember he was theif you’re gonna be stupid you better be toughkinda parent. But after I got hurt, he became just as bad as Mama. I don’t know, I guess I just hate feelin’ different. So, it’s easier to not talk about it or be around them.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, moving beside me. A moment later, the feather soft feel of her fingertips against my cheek greeted me.
I grabbed her hand and kissed those soft fingertips. “You ain’t gotta apologize, darlin’.”
“I know, but still. I can’t even imagine going through all of that… So, what made you decide to work as a ranch hand here?”
“I didn’t wanna go home. It would have been the easier option. My parents own a ranch. My dad’s a well known trainer,and I could’ve worked under him and had it made there, but I just didn’t want them coddlin’ me, you know?” I pressed my forehead to hers, returning her hand to my cheek where I held it against mine. “Here, I’m no one. I get no special treatment, I get left alone to my work. I don’t gotta be reminded constantly of who I was.”
She pressed the softest kiss to my lips and whispered, “I don’t know who you were other than pictures and videos of you riding, and I’m sure you were awesome then, but I feel so honored to be here right now in your arms. Because this version of you is pretty damn amazing, Hux.”
I swallowed, my lungs squeezing as they tried to get down air. Moisture pricked in my eyes, but I was quick to blink it away. Grabbing the back of her neck, I kissed her. I poured every ounce of emotion brewing within my soul into that kiss. All the pent up frustration, sadness, hope, and longing. I felt raw and broken, but Quinn’s touches, her kisses, her presence, it was like glue as she pieced me back together, mending the shattered bits.
I had no doubt about it now—soulmateswerereal.
And Quinn Decker was mine.
Chapter twenty-three
Sad Songs For Sad People
Quinn
The next couple dayswere hectic to say the least. Between Georgette’s inconsistent tastes and trying to find vendors with availability for less than two weeks from now, this wedding was going to be so much harder than I expected. Usually I had months to plan, not weeks, but I’d get it done.
This wasn’t impossible. Just annoying. Mainly because Georgette was just so god awful. I’d finally settled onnothaving her and my dad come with me to meet with potential vendors, instead opting to just Facetime her or send her pictures of different things, because every single time I took her anywhere, without fail she stuck her foot in her mouth and made an enemy.
Honestly, the woman was truly horrible. Like, cookie-cutter villain horrible. The kind of awful that you couldn’t believe existed until you met her. On the surface, she looked sweetenough. A little shallow and vapid maybe, but the minute she opened her mouth her ignorance and just downright awfulness were vile. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what her parents were like to allow that sort of behavior.
Oh God, speaking of parents, I still needed to send out the invitations to them and everyone else, like, yesterday. Though that wasn’t entirely my fault, since she hadn’t gotten me the finalized list yet.
So far I’d gotten the food sorted, the flowers hopefully figured out—if Georgette didn’t change the themeagain,and her and my dad had an in-home cake tasting later that evening that I wasn’t invited to, thankfully. Georgette’s eyes had glowed with mischief at the mention of how romantic it would be to eat the cake at home. In bed. Naked. Off each other. I’d stopped listening at that point. At least Dad had the decency to look embarrassed at that.
Between all of that, and Hux working late the last day and a half to cover the other hands’ responsibilities while they got ready for a rodeo in Bandera tonight, we’d hardly done anything nice together. But it was just as well, he’d been tense since the mention of Travis and the other hands competing.
I know a part of him wanted to do it. It was easy to see in the wistful set of his jaw, or hear it in the longing sound in his voice. I’d learned pretty quick, though, Hux was stubborn and prideful and he rarely liked to open up right away about something that upset him. He’d tell me eventually, or he’d get over it.
I wasn’t about to ask and ruin the good thing we had going.
And it was a really good thing, even though I knew it was a bit—okay, a lot—premature. But the past couple days had been a dream overall. Hux had come over every night since Tuesday. Whether he’d stayed once I’d fallen asleep or not, I’m not completely sure. When I woke up each morning, he wasgone, but with the whole slew of chores he had to do, it wasn’t surprising.
Maybe tonight we’d get a chance to do more than cuddle on the couch for a couple hours before falling asleep. I knew the thought of the rodeo was weighing heavy on his mind. He could use a distraction.
A spark of guilt ignited in my chest. Whit was back out for the weekend, but I knew she planned to go watch Travis and the other hands at the rodeo. I doubted Hux would go. I shrugged off the thought. That was a future me problem. One I wasn’t going to worry about at the moment. Not as I navigated my way toward the arrivals area for the airport to pick up Whit.
