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Chapter Three
Ellie
Thefreshairdidlittle to calm my nerves as I got Daddy situated in the car. My hands trembled as I hefted his wheelchair onto the bumper-mounted rack on my four-door sedan, my mind running wild. I threw fearful glances toward the PT building, worried that he might come out and try to talk to me.
I had no idea how long Ty had been in town or when he’d leave again, but seeing him out of the blue like that had me riled and dazed. Three years without so much as a hello. Three years of unanswered text messages and ignored calls. And now, he was just…back?
Hopping into the driver’s seat, I slammed the door closed harder than I intended and the car rocked beneath us. I sucked in a deep breath, staring out the windshield. My skin prickled with heat and I cranked the engine, turning up the AC as I tried to calm myself. There wasn’t a reason to panic, was there?
I dug my phone from the depths of my purse and dialed the number of the only other person I’d known almost as long as Tyson Ranes.
Knox answered on the second ring. “Hey.” He sounded tired, but I didn’t care. There was only one thing on my mind.
“Did you know?” My voice was tense, on the edge of snapping like a taut piece of string.
There was a pause before he answered. “What’s wrong?”
“Did you know he was back?” I gripped my phone so hard it dug into my palm as the silence stretched on.
Eventually, he sighed. “El—” he began, but the pain of betrayal shooting through me made me hang up before he said anything else. I could tell by his tone. He had known. He’d known Ty was back in town and hadn’t told me.
I threw my phone back in my bag and clutched the steering wheel, trying to control my breathing so I didn’t completely break down right there in the damn car.
I put one hand on the gear shift. I needed to get out of here before I lost it. My fingers ached as my nails dug into the leather of the gear shift. I was frozen, heart hammering as old memories of Ty surfaced and flitted through my mind. The utter devastation that I felt when he first left hit me as if it had been only yesterday and not years ago.
I jumped as a hand fell over mine. Glancing down, Daddy’s thin hand covered mine. I glanced up at his face and his expression darkened. His thumb rubbed a small circle against my skin and the gesture made tears well. I let go of the shifter, turning my palm up to squeeze his hand.
“I’m done, Daddy. I’m not gonna cry.” I smiled despite the hurt in my chest and blinked the tears away. His fingers tightened slightly around mine. His eyes narrowed and he frowned, as if he didn’t believe me.
“You don’t need to worry.”
I placed his hand on his lap, patting it gently before grabbing the steering wheel. This time, I shifted into reverse and backed out of the parking spot and sped away.
I got Daddy home and settled in his favorite chair before I burst back outside again. I couldn’t be inside with him now, those knowing eyes watching me. What I needed was a safe place to clear my head.
I rounded the trailer, almost running by the time the field of budding wildflowers came into view. My father might live in a rusty, small trailer home, but the real prize was the land it was on. He spent his life savings to buy the place of his dreams; almost ten acres of gorgeous, sprawling land where wildflowers grew and flourished. I hurried through them, not even watching my feet for ant hills or snakes in my haste to reach the forest of willows and pine trees at the edges of the cleared property.
Memories of Ty flashed through my mind. We’d once been inseparable. Best friends. But then, everything changed. He had gone through a hard time, I knew, but instead of talking with me about it, he left. One day he was simply gone. And I had no idea why.
When I broke through to the brush and cover of trees, my wild heart eased. The smell of damp earth and the sound of rushing water made me feel at home as I ran down the slight incline toward the creek bed.
I collapsed onto the rocky earth when the water was in sight, curling my knees to my chest and burying my face in them. This had been my safe space since I was a little girl. It was a tiny sanctuary encapsulated by forest, the only spot I felt comfortable truly being myself.
I tried to focus on the sound of the flowing creek, but all I could see was Ty’s face and the way he had looked at me; as if it hadn’t been three whole years since he’d seen me. Three years since he’d uttered one word to me—the person he’d talked to every day since we were six years old.
Tears burned and I didn’t fight them this time. I let them fall, slipping down my cheeks and pooling on the bare skin of my knees. There had been so many times where I prayed Ty would come home. But he hadn’t. And as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months and then years…I lost hope. He’d ignored my every attempt at communication. The only reason I knew he was alive was because he periodically let Atlas know he was all right. The hurt from that festered within me, becoming a tangible thing trying to tear its way out of my chest.
I hadn’t been prepared to face him. Anger and betrayal shot to the surface until I was sobbing like a tiny child throwing a tantrum. The tears came no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I couldn’t remember the last time I cried like this; my chest heaving and nose running and head pounding.
Time passed, and then suddenly a heavy, warm arm wrapped around my shoulders. I jumped. The sounds of my own crying and the rush of water had drowned out his approach.
He didn’t say anything, but he rubbed my upper arm in soothing motions as I let out my uncontrollable emotions. I didn’t try to hide them. He was one of the few people I didn’t wear my mask for.
Eventually, my tears subsided until I was nothing more than a hiccuping mess. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I figured you’d come down here,” Knox answered. I’d known it was him before I looked up into his face, half shielded by the brim of his cowboy hat. He always smelled of leather and freshly cut grass. I’d recognize it anywhere.
I studied his face. Knox never gave away much, but I’d known him a very long time. The corners of his eyes were tight, his jaw hard beneath his smooth, golden skin. He was worried.
