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“Justin, I just need to talk to Janessa for a minute, okay?” I tried to push past him, but he didn’t let go.
“Okay, but that’s not something you need to worry about right now.” His tone sharpened. “Boone. Listen to me.Listen.”
He was shaking me, and I was starting to get really angry. It would have been enough to make me hit any other man, but I had enough respect for Justin that I tried to calm down enough to hear what he was saying. I knew he didn’t want me talking to her, butdamn… I just needed a few minutes.
“What?” I asked, still looking past him into the house. “I just need—”
“No, you need to get home,” he interrupted. “Right now. I just got off the phone with the sheriff.Boone, are you listening?”
His words finally, slowly started to sink in.
Go home?
The sheriff called?
What?
“I’m listening,” I said, finally turning my attention to him. For the first time, I could see from the look in his eyes that he wasn’t angry. He was worried. Maybe even a little scared.
“You’ve gotta go home,” he repeated. “Boone… there’s a fire at your ranch.”
Chapter 20
Janessa
Iwasn’t sure how much time had passed.
Not that it mattered. Nothing mattered anymore.
And okay, so maybe that was a little dramatic, but I was allowed to feel that way for at least a little while, right? The man of my dreams—one of them, anyway—had said he didn’t want me.
I’d heard him.
Maybe not with those exact words, but I’d still heard him say he wasn’t ready for love. He wasn’t ready forme.
But why? Yeah, maybe I was a little younger than the two of them, but was there something else? Something they wanted that I couldn’t give them?
I wished I knew.
Again, though, it didn’t really matter. I’d be lucky if either of them ever spoke to me again.
I turned my head and cried into my pillow, just like I’d been doing for the last… I didn’t even know how long. It felt like it had been forever. Judging by the dim orange light that was filtering in through my window, it was already evening.
Had it really been that long? And yet still not long enough for me to stop crying.
There was a faint knock on my bedroom door. Daisy Lynn or Becca. Maybe both of them. I almost yelled for them to go away like I’d done the last few times they’d knocked, but… no.
I needed to suck it up. I needed my friends.
“Come in,” I called, not bothering to raise my head as I heard the door open and footsteps come closer.
“Are you okay?” Daisy Lynn sat down on the bed next to me as Becca walked over to the chair she’d been sitting in earlier. God, had that really just been a few hours ago? It felt like days had passed since then.
“We were worried about you,” Becca said.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “Are they gone?”
The last word came out as a whisper as another tear rolled down my cheek. Daisy Lynn reached out and wiped it away.
