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“Wade and Leia have gone to visit her mom and sister, Garrett’s got lots of work to do, and Teresa is reading in her room. You wanna chill out and watch a ridiculous over-the-top romance movie like we used to?” She smiles.
“That sounds perfect.” I place the drink back down and head over to the couch.
“I’ll go make us some popcorn while you pick the film.” Maisie hands me the remote control before heading into the kitchen, looking a little brighter than she has been lately. I’m flicking through the selection of chick flicks when I hear the door knock, and since Maisie is on popcorn duty, I call out and tell her I’ll get it.
“You just make sure you don’t burn those kernels,” I laugh, remembering how popcorn was never something Maisie would let me be in charge of when we lived together. Not after I nearly set fire to the kitchen in our old apartment.
The smile quickly drops off my face when I open the door and see who’s standing on the other side.
“Dan?” I can barely believe my eyes, and my heart immediately starts to up its tempo. I guess this is themeasuresmy father took,and it’s a low fucking blow, even for him.
“Hey, babe.” Dan flashes me that cute all-American boy grin. “I thought it was time for me and you to talk.”
She’s right, of course, she’s fuckin’ right. I am being a coward. I think back to last week and how good it felt lying beside her and opening up the way I did. I should never have let the voices back inside my head. But I did, I’ve let them scream at me and curse me in my sleep. I allowed guilt to dispel any hope Savannah had given me of having something good with her, and now I’ve hurt her instead. I have to stop doing this, not just to her but to myself. Savannah has proven to me that I can be happy with her. Avoiding her these past 7 days has been almost impossible. Do I really want to live in self-pity and loathing for the rest of my life? Am I really gonna let a girl like Savannah, who makes me feel as if my heart was never broken when I’m with her, slip through my fingers? No, I ain’t. I’m gonna walk over to that ranch and I’m gonna tell her how I really feel, and she better be ready because I’m gonna break every damn rule we ever made.
I march across the yard and fling open the door and when I see the tall man standing in the living room with Maisie, I can’t help wondering who the hell he is. Maisie suddenly looks very nervous when she notices me. Like she’s worried I’m gonna do him some harm.
The preppy bastard is dressed like he’s just stepped off the fuckin’ golf course, wearing chinos and a polo shirt, and I’ll bet he’s one of Harvey’s little moles, come here to check if we’re all walking to heel.
“Who’s this?” I look at Maisie and gesture my head at him.
“Cole. It’s fine. I’m dealing with it.” There’s no sign of Savannah here or Garrett.
“I said, who is he?” I step closer to the stranger and stare him right in his eyes. He seems harmless enough, but I’ve learned the hard way that looks can be deceiving.
“This here is ermmm… It’s…”
“My name’s Daniel, I’m Savannah’s fiancé.” He holds out his hand for me to shake and when I ignore it and look toward Maisie, she shakes her head and closes her eyes as if she is as clueless as I am.
“Her what now?” I question the fucker standing in front of me.
“I’m her fiancé, I came here to try and talk some sen–”
“Where’s Savannah?” I cut him off and ask Maisie.
“She left, she got in Leia’s car and drove off,” she informs me.
“Cole.” Garrett comes storming out of his office and I can tell by the fury on his face that something’s happened.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“We need to get to Grid 2 right now.” He tosses one of the rifles he’s carrying at me.
“What happened?”
“The herd’s been attacked.”
“Wolves?” I sling the gun onto my shoulder.
“No, dogs. A fuckin’ pack of ‘em.” Garrett shocks me.
“What the…”
“Come on, we gotta check it out.” He grabs his truck keys from by the door
“Garrett, Savannah’s gone,” I tell him.
“Yeah, and what?” He shakes his head like it ain’t a big deal.
