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And it wasnotgoing very well.
He let out a sharp breath. “Cheyenne, I nearly got you and Takoda killed. That pretty much clarifies that I’m not the kind of guy who can do this—no matter what kind of connection we have.” The pain in his voice was palpable, and it honestly broke my heart to hear the words come out of his mouth, having assigned himself the blame for what happened...
“I never put the blame on you for that,” I said, a lump in my throat growing. “Yousavedour lives. Anyone could’ve let him out, but not everyone could’ve saved us the way you did. It’s not the first time that Takoda has gone exploring—he’s just a dog. They do silly things sometimes. Bad timing, that’s all.”
“It doesn’t change the facts thatIam responsible for it, Cheyenne. I just don’t think that I’m cut out for something like this. I mean, yeah, I want a family and shit, but maybe it’s just not the right time for me.”
“So you want me to leave and go to Arizona, just to put your own mind at ease? Then you don’t have to beat yourself up about the fact that you don’twantto make this work between us. Like all I’m hearing is fucking excuses, Wade,” I added, shaking my head and scooping Takoda off the bed.
“They’re not excuses,” Wade argued. “It’s thetruth.And honestly, I don’t know why the hell you would start talking about us being serious after everything that happened tonight. I don’t know why you’d want to stay in the middle of this disaster that’s happening—like yeah, sure, maybe we have some kind of connection, but what if it’s just that? We havenothingin common.”
I exhaled sharply, seeing right through all the bullshit leaving his mouth. “You’re seriously just scared of what’s growing between us, and that’s all you had to say instead of just trying to push me away. You don’t want me to stay because you’re scared of what this could be.”
He went silent at my words, and I knew my assumption was right. Shaking my head at him, I spun on my heel, Takoda tucked into my arms. There was no point in staying and continuing to listen to his excuses.
He’s just not willing to take the risk.
I held the tears back as I went for the door, hoping that he would say something—anything––to stop me from leaving. But as my hand turned the knob on the door, he stayed dead quiet behind me.
He was letting me leave.
As I shut the door behind me, the tears rolled down my cheeks, a mixture of hurt and anger fueling the outbreak. Wade was willing to let me walk away, and so that was exactly what I was going to do. He was brave enough to risk his life to save mine, but he wasn’t brave enough to let himself fall in love with me...
And that sucked.
Because Ihadfallen in love with him.
I swallowed hard as I opened my own bedroom door, setting Takoda down on the floor as I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. “I guess we need to start working on getting out of here.”
Takoda jumped up on the bed, curling up in a little ball by the pillow, tilting his head at me as I plopped down beside him, wiping the moisture from my cheeks. I pulled up the internet, and immediately went to searching for a used car, scrolling through my options.
If he wants me to get out of town, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Wade
“Power’s on,” Hazel poked her head into the barn where I was brushing down Freddy after a long day of riding the fences, checking for damage on the places thathadn’tbeen flooded out.
“Great,” I mumbled, my eyes still focused on the speckles of white on my horse’s neck. Honestly, I had been in ashitmood since speaking with Cheyenne three days ago. I had been trying to figure out how to maintain some sort of relationship with her once she left, but when she mentioned staying...
It just pushed every single insecure button I had.
Especially after everything that had happened.
“Not wanting to pry, but Wade,” Hazel began, walking around the horse and giving me a knowing look. “What the hell is up with you?”
“Wow, okay.” I stopped brushing Roanie, pausing to turn and look at her. “You’ve never been one for subtlety, have you?”
“Yeah, and you’reneverat the house anymore. I know that something happened. You and Cheyenne rarely interact with each other, and I just want to know what you did to mess it all up.”
My brows shot up. “Mess it up? Why do you automatically assume thatImessed it up? She’s a human being, too. She could’ve easily—”
“I know you told her you want her to leave, Wade. She and I are friends. All I had to do was ask her, and I think that’s pretty shitty of you to say, considering that Dr. Dewy offered her a good job at the vet clinic.”
So that was the truth.
Not that I thought that she had been lying. It’s just that I had more or less been a little selfish in the moment, thinking that maybe she had been making up excuses to stay.
