AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Cricket,” I said tenderly.
Instead of brushing me off, as I anticipated, Cricket faced me. “Yes?”
I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t expected her to be receptive at all, so I just went with the first thing I could think of. “I’m sorry about this morning.”
She smiled delicately. “It’s not a big deal, Spencer,” she said politely, making me feel uneasy.
“No, it was. I’m not exactly sure what I said, but I realize now that I pushed you too far and I’m sorry for that.”
“You just helped me understand what I was too blind to see, and I fixed it. So, I should be thanking you, really.” She smiled affably and turned toward the staircase.
She was acting so strangely, too politely, not at all the easygoing Cricket I was accustomed to. “Okay,” I said, following her. “Can we talk some more?”
“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, putting me in my place, “I have a few things to do, but I’ll see you around.” She ascended the remaining staircase and hooked a right down the long hall to her bedroom.
I followed her anyway, not satisfied with the cold, apathetic conversation she’d just given me.
“Cricket, why are you acting like this?” I asked. My hand settled on her forearm as she reached for her doorknob.
She looked down at my hand and I removed it. “I’m not acting like anything. I’m with Ethan. I’m not using him or afraid to leave him anymore, and I think our friendship is improper. I think you and I should be fellow ranch hands and nothing more.”
I felt like she’d punched me in the gut. “Anymore? You’re not broken up? What was earlier all about?”
She sighed. “Of course not,” she explained. “And earlier was just my fixing something that needed fixing. I’m setting boundaries between us, Spencer. You’ll be gone in a few months, and it’s not worth wrecking fifteen years of my life all because I’m starting to feel things for you.”
“But if I was sticking around? What then? Would you be with Ethan then? It feels like you’re settling.”
She shook her head. “It’s not settling. I’ve just made a decision. I made a promise and I cannot go back on it.”
And with that, she left me in the hall, stunned.
I staggered back a little and headed back toward the stairs. “Still with Ethan?”
I felt more shocked than I thought I would.
“Yes, does that bother you, Blackwell?” I heard from the end of the hall.
Ethan stood, leaning against the wall, his eyes boring through me. He wanted a fight, I could feel it, but I’d already decided not in the Hunt house, not when they’d been so kind to us.
“Yes, it does,” I told him.
“Finally, some honesty for a change,” he said, standing to his full height but leaving his arms crossed. He walked closer to me and I found my fists naturally tightening. “You better watch yourself,” he continued.
“Oh yeah? Why?”
“Because I’ll catch you when you least expect it.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked him.
“It means I see right through your shit and you don’t want to provoke me.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Damn straight,” he said, lingering a moment before rounding me.
He knocked on Cricket’s door.
“Who is it?” she asked.
