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“Did you know you were pregnant when you left?”
“You cut right to the chase, Matt.” I snort. “But to answer your question, I found out the same day I took off. You watched the video. That’s what I saw when I came to tell Shane.”
“Why didn’t you come to us? Why run?”
“I don’t know. Back then, I was terrified. I worried Dad would be livid and that he’d go after Shane. I was afraid you and Oli would hate me because there was no way I could have stayed in a relationship with Shane after walking in on that.”
“So, where did you go?”
“To Savannah. To my aunt Meg.”
“I fucking knew it. Oli said I was crazy for even considering it because if you wanted to run away, you wouldn’t have gone somewhere we could easily find you. Did your dad know about Dakota?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if he ever figured out that Shane was her father, but he knew about her. He talked to her occasionally.”
“He never saw her, though?”
I shake my head. How do I explain everything to him?
“Want to talk to me about the bruise on your face? Or the ones under your sleeves? And don’t give me that shit about walking into a door. Remember where I grew up.”
“I don’t want to talk about that,” I respond. “Eventually I’ll tell you. Just not tonight.”
“Fine. Then answer this and I’ll let you sleep. Are you going to run again?”
I want to tell him no and mean it, but if I’m being honest, I don’t know. I just need to make it through until the funeral and then I can decide what my next step is. Matt can see through my lies, so I say nothing. He’s been my best friend since I was seven and he was twelve.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I whisper honestly.
“Fair enough.” Matt says, “Just be prepared because I’m going to do everything I can to make you stay. I’ve missed my best friend.”
After that, we grow quiet again. With his arms wrapped around me tightly, I fall into the first restful sleep I’ve had in a long time.
Chapter Four
Shane
After spending the night cooling off and seriously thinking about things, I finally calmed down enough to talk to Samantha about my daughter. I didn’t even have to consider whether I wanted to know my girl and her to know me. She’s mine. She’s my blood, a part of me.
It doesn’t matter that Samantha ran and decided she didn’t want to be with me anymore. I still want to be a part of Dakota’s life. No one is going to stand in the way of that.
I also decided that I needed to know what happened with Samantha. Why did she leave? Where has she been? Why did it take Wayne passing for her to come home? She had to know I’d see the truth as soon as I laid eyes on Dakota.
I thought for so long that Dakota was a man. That was the reason Samantha ran away. Now, six years later, I find out that I was wrong and I don’t know what went wrong at all. I know I was difficult to deal with after the accident. I was an asshole.
Did my attitude run her off? She couldn’t have thought my feelings for her changed just because I was hurting and took it out on her.
Or did the fact that I wasn’t a big rodeo star make her realize I wasn’t worth it? That explanation doesn’t sit any better than the others I’ve tortured myself with. I need answers and I will have them. Even if I have to drag them out of her.
It’s still really early when I walk into the big house. I don’t head for the coffee machine as I normally would. I head straight to the area of the house I know Wayne built for Samantha. He was just as devastated when Samantha left as I was. I’m pretty sure that my actions after her disappearance told Wayne everything he needed to know about my feelings for his daughter.
I’ve never stepped foot back here in this part of the house. I didn’t want to see the things Wayne did to attempt to bribe her back home. Knowing that Wayne was in contact with her was the only thing that kept me from leaving the ranch and chasing her down. I never told the guys that I knew where she was. Never told them she ran to Meg.
It didn’t matter because after I finally picked myself back up, I refused to chase after a woman who didn’t want me. Even if everything in me still screamed that I belonged to her. And I damn sure wouldn’t let Matt run off and get his heart broken for a second time when she turned him away and told him to come home.
Now I wonder if I did the right thing. Maybe I should have chased her down. Perhaps if I did, at least I’d have been in Dakota’s life. What are Samantha’s plans now? She can’t expect me to know about my daughter and not be in her life.
When I walk through the door to the extra wing, I’m taken aback by the sight before me. Laying on the sofa, snuggled together are Samantha and Matt. He looks more content than I’ve seen him in a while and she looks.. peaceful.
