Page 69 of Wild Highway (Runaway 2)

I should have stayed quiet on that horseback ride. I shouldn’t have told him about my mother.

Easton came over a few times a week and we’d have dinner together. We’d have sex. But there was a distance between us, even when we’d fall asleep in the same bed. I found his gaze waiting for me more often than not, and in the quiet moments, he’d look at me like he was expecting me to decide something.

Except what was there to decide? I wasn’t going to cut off my mother. No matter how much I struggled with her as a parent and what she’d done to me, she had no one in the world except me. If he wanted me to disown her, he’d be disappointed.

What the hell had I been thinking telling him everything? Why couldn’t I have just kept my mouth shut?

And now I had to survive another family function as the one non-family member. I’d pretend that everything was fine. I’d pretend to be happy.

And I’d pretend not to be in love with Easton.

The days were getting harder and harder to endure. Every hour I had to remind myself this was temporary. And the longer I stayed, the more painful it would be to drive away.

Easton hadn’t asked me to stay. He wouldn’t ask me to stay. This was casual. This was for fun. He certainly hadn’t insisted we stop hiding our relationship from his family.

But what if we did? What if we told them we were together? What if I came back after driving the Cadillac to California?

Would he want me back?

“Are you coming inside?” Carol hollered from the front door.

I nodded and pushed open the door to the Cadillac, stepping outside and hurrying to the door. The snow was falling lightly and I brushed the stray flakes from my shoulders and my hair before stepping inside. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“You too.” Carol took the gift bag from my hand, peeking inside, as I shrugged off my coat. “Oh, you are so sweet. These are gorgeous. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I smiled as she slid out the charcuterie board I’d found at a gift shop in Missoula last weekend. I’d skipped the last two Saturdays with Easton, using holiday shopping as an excuse for two trips into Missoula.

Leaving the ranch had been good for me. It had been a reminder that there was an entire world out there for me to explore, and with my disposable income, I could go anywhere I wanted. There was more to the world than the Greer Ranch.

A month ago, that idea had excited me. Now, it made my stomach knot.

“Are you okay?” Carol asked. “You seem distracted.”

“No, I’m great,” I lied. “Can I help with anything?”

“Of course not. You’re our guest, so you can sit down and relax.”

Right. I was the guest.

The kitchen island was loaded with appetizers. There was a spinach dip and a wheel of brie. Crackers. Olives. Prawns. Three bottles of wine were open and four different bottles of whiskey were out beside a handful of tumblers.

The smell of a cooking turkey filled the air and Liddy was at the sink, peeling potatoes. “Hey, Gem.”

“Hi.” I loved that she called me Gem. There weren’t many who did, just those I loved. “This looks amazing.”

“Help yourself.” Carol handed me a glass of wine. “I hope you haven’t eaten anything all day. We’ll never get through all this.”

The doorbell rang as she popped an olive into her mouth.

“I’ll get it.” Before she could argue and remind me again that I was a guest, I set down my wine and hurried to the door, expecting Katherine. Besides me, she was the only one who rang the doorbell. But it wasn’t my friend standing on the stoop.

It was the bartender from town. Liz—funny Liz.

“Hey there.” She smiled, taking a step forward to cross the threshold.

“H-hi.” I shook out of my stupor and moved aside, holding the door for her. Then I remembered my manners. “I’m Gemma.”

She hung up her coat as I closed the door, then held out a hand. “Liz. Nice to officially meet you.”