Page 91 of Hometown Hottie

“I’m speaking to my sister,” he snapped without looking at me, his gaze now firmly focused on her. “You know what he is, Nova. So, what? You’re just going to throw yourself at his feet like every other fucking woman in this town? You’re going to let him use you and then toss you away?”

She opened her mouth to respond, but he didn’t let her. “I thought you were better than that. I thought I could trust you. Both of you.”

“This isn’t about trust, Ryan,” she said in a shaky voice, but she was standing up for herself and I admired that about her. “It’s about you needing to accept that I’m an adult with as much of a right to make my own choices as anyone else. He’s not using me, but even if he was, it would’ve been up to me if I was going to let it happen.”

“You have no idea what you’re saying,” he hissed, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s like a leech who’ll take everything you have to offer and suck you dry before he leaves without looking back.”

My jaw dropped open and pain seared through me again at the movement, but I couldn’t help it. I was struck dumb by what I was hearing from him. “What the fuck, man? What have I ever taken from you?”

“Leave, Ryan,” Nova insisted, crossing her arms tighter. She nodded in the direction of his place. “Just go. Calm down and we’ll talk more later.”

He rolled his eyes, chest still heaving. He shook with fury, muttering a few choice words under his breath as he finally turned and stormed away. I watched, stunned, unable to believe what had just come out of him.

As soon as he was gone, Nova rushed down the stairs and came up to me, holding up her hands but not touching my cheek. She swept her gaze across my face, obviously trying to assess the severity of the injury. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe he did that. Again. Come on inside. We’ll get you some ice.”

“Thanks, but I’m okay,” I said, pushing past the pain as I stared into those worried blue eyes. “I’ll be fine, but I have to go.”

“Go?” She frowned. “Go where? At least let me help you clean up before you leave.”

“This is nothing,” I said soothingly, trying not to wince. It hurt like a bitch, but I already knew he hadn’t broken a bone. “It’s just soft tissue and swelling. I’ve taken enough hits in my life to know when it’s serious and this isn’t. I’ll clean up at home. Talk to you later?”

She blinked a bunch of times in rapid succession, mouth opening and closing. The furrow in her brow deepened and she looked at me again. “Are you sure? Your nose is bleeding. Just let me get you something to help with that.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Pain stabbed through my entire face from the point of contact. Tipping my head back, I patted my pocket and felt my car keys still safely tucked inside. “I’m really sorry, Nova, but I do have to go. I’ll call you. Promise.”

Knowing she was probably confused as hell right now, I reached for her hand and, being careful not to get any blood on her, tugged her closer. “I’m going to chase him down. After everything he said, we need to talk.”

She nodded against my chest and pulled away to walk me to my truck. “Yeah. Okay. I understand. Go talk to him. You’re sure you’re okay, though?”

“I’ll be fine.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead and climbed in behind the steering wheel. Silently cursing him, I waved goodbye to his sister and took off.

Halfway to Ryan’s house, however, I decided against going after him right then. I wanted to talk this out, but he probably needed more than a few minutes to calm down, and the last thing I wanted was to make it worse. Leaving the ranch instead, I headed home to clean myself up, happy that my mom wasn’t there and I didn’t have to explain the state I was in just yet.

As I ran cold water onto a washcloth, my head was still spinning. I’d known Ryan was going to be angry at us, but that level of rage had surprised me. Plus, I’d had no idea he somehow held me responsible for everything that had gone wrong in his life.

I didn’t understand it at all, but at least now I knew. I blew out a heavy breath and wrapped my fingers around the porcelain rim of the sink, wondering just what the hell I was supposed to do now. All this time, I’d been worried that Ryan finding out how I felt about Nova was going to derail a friendship that had just been getting back on track, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

If that was really how he felt about me, I wasn’t sure there was anything worth salvaging there, but on the other hand, he was my oldest friend. I didn’t know where any of that had come from, but if he resented me so much, then surely the least we could do was have a conversation about it.

I glowered at myself in the mirror, wondering for the first time if I’d made the right decision by coming home. I wanted to be here. I wanted to have the life I’d envisioned and I wanted to have it with Nova while supporting her in making all her dreams come true.

But shit, with Ryan feeling the way he did, I wasn’t sure Nova was ever going to be all in with me. My second chance might well go up in flames. I still had my mom and the community, but my heart was with Nova, and if I didn’t have her, it might be too painful to stick around here where I would see her all the time. The wound would never heal.