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“Let it out, Sammy.” He whispers. “I’ve got you.” I believe him. If anyone would always have my back, it’s him. He rocks me like a child while whispering over and over, “I’ve got you. You’re safe. I’ll always keep you safe.”
I’m not sure what he means. He’ll keep me safe from Shane? From the memories? He can’t mean from Nick since he has no clue about any of that and I don’t plan to tell him or anyone. They don’t need to know.
It doesn’t matter. Now that I’ve left Savannah, I have no plans to go back. I just don’t know where Dakota and I will permanently land. I just need to make it through the next week and then I can decide.
“You’re freezing. Let’s get you inside.” Matt offers while standing with me still in his arms.
I forgot how big Matt is. He lifts me effortlessly. He carries me into the house and tries to go down the hall. “The couch is fine.”
“You’d be more comfortable in bed.” He argues.
“No. I haven’t gone in there yet. I can’t.”
He changes direction and lowers me to the oversized sofa. Grabbing the throw, he covers me, then he leans down and kisses my forehead. “Goodnight, Sammy.”
My hand jets out and grabs his arm as he’s turning away. “Stay with me?” I ask. I wouldn’t blame him if he denies me, but I hope he won’t. “Please?” I tack on.
Matt nods at me and then removes his shirt. I realize he changed his clothes from the jeans he was wearing to a pair of sweatpants. Matt is every girl’s wet dream, but a shirtless Matt is a god among mere mortal men. We’ve never crossed that line and I never would, but I am a red-blooded woman who knows what a good-looking man is.
He climbs behind me on the sofa and covers himself with the blanket. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me close. I can feel the heat from his body seeping into my back, and it lulls me into a relaxed state, but my mind won’t shut down.
“Sleep, Sammy.” Matt orders.
“I can’t,” I respond. “My mind won’t shut up. Tell me a story?”
“What kind of story?”
A happy one, I think to myself while my mouth says, “Tell me about you. What have you been up to for the past six years? Do you have a girlfriend? A wife?”
I didn’t see a ring on his finger. Sometimes that means less than nothing. I’m curious about everything I’ve missed, even Shane, but I refuse to ask about him. Right now I’m content with laying next to my best friend and hearing about him.
“After you left, I contemplated coming after you. I begged Wayne to tell me where you were, but you know how stubborn he was. He wasn’t ever going to beg you to come back.” He sighs. “After a while, I just kind of gave up on the idea of you coming home. Then it became a matter of keeping Shane from burying himself in a dark hole. It was bad. Believe it or not, it was your dad that finally got through to him.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you or Oli. I just didn’t know what to do.”
“I know. Anyway, I started taking some classes at the local community college and ended up with a degree in emergency medicine.”
“That’s amazing!” I praise. “I’m so proud of you.”
“And I dated someone for a while, but it never worked out,” Matt continues, dejectedly.
“Well, it’s her loss,” I respond automatically. “Any girl would be lucky to have you.”
Matt laughs. “Yeah. You wouldn’t think that if you knew who it was.”
I turn my head to look at him, waiting patiently for him to tell me who the girl is. He looks hurt, and seeing it sends a shot of anger straight through me. I’ve never been a violent person, but I want to throat-punch this woman who can put that kind of look in his eyes.
“It was Brianna.”
“My best girlfriend, Brianna?” I ask, surprised.
He nods. “Yeah. I loved her, you know. At least I think I did. I wanted to settle down with her, but she wanted to travel the world. Wayne was sick by the time we talked about it. I couldn’t leave him. I couldn’t leave the ranch. Wayne needed all of us.”
I feel like this is another thing that is my fault, though I know Matt would never blame me. Had I been here, would Matt have been able to leave with Brianna, or would he have still stayed? I don’t get the chance to ask him, as he changes the subject.
“Enough of that. It’s in the past. Let’s talk about Dakota.”
“What do you want to know?”
