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“Remember what I said.” Dan strokes my cheek when he drops me off outside the house. “I love you, Savannah, I don’t want to leave here without you.”
“I’ll think about it, I promise.” Reaching over the console I press a kiss against his cheek. “Speak tomorrow sometime.” I smile before I get out the car and head into the house.
The atmosphere is tense when I step inside. Leia is chewing anxiously on her thumb while Maisie is trying to calm Garrett down.
“What happened?” I ask, suddenly worrying that Cole isn’t here, surely he’d be here for a family emergency, which is exactly what this looks like.
“Someone brought a pack of dogs onto the ranch and unleashed them on the herd,” Teresa explains as she passes Garrett a drink.
“Oh my god. Were there…”
“We lost over thirty. Cole and Dalton have gone after the men that did it,” Garrett explains, breathing through his nose like he wants to tear down the walls around him. “I should be with ‘em. I should be showing those cunts what happens when you fuck with…”
“No, Garrett, Mitch was right, you know how Harvey reacts to a scandal.”
“Yeah, well I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t set this whole thing up to test me.” Garrett downs his drink while Maisie wraps her arms around his waist.
“I’m gonna go call Zayne, see what else he’s got on these fuckers.” Garrett kisses the top of his wife's head before heading into the office and Maisie watches him leave before her attention turns to me and she drags me into the kitchen.
“What the hell was Dan doing here? When you came here I figured you’d broken up?” she scolds me.
“We had. I just hadn’t got round to telling him that.” I bite my lip, feeling all kinds of guilt for being so selfish. None of what happened with my parents was his fault and maybe he’s right, maybe that's what started me off with questioning everything about us.
“Cole was here, it was a pretty big shock for him too.” She raises her eyebrows at me.
“Wait a minute. Are you saying that Cole saw Dan?” I feel my stomach do a somersault.
“Yeah, Dan introduced himself as yourfiancé.How could you not tell me that you were engaged, Savannah? And Cole? You must know he likes you. Hell, we’ve all seen it.”
“Maisie, I’m not engaged. Dan asked me before I left but I didn’t give him an answer.”
“Well Cole heard the same as what I did, and he looked pretty cut up about it when he left here. I really thought you liked Cole too.” She shakes her head.
“I do like him,” I confess. “He’s just so….”
“He’s been hurt, and in a way that I hope neither of us will ever be able to understand.”
“We’ve been fucking,” I admit, watching my best friend’s mouth drop open.
“You and Cole? For how long?”
“Not long. But long enough for me to fall in love with him, and believe me, I tried hard not to.”
“Savannah, this is gonna crush him.” She looks really worried as she sinks into one of the kitchen chairs.
“He shared something special with me the other week, and ever since he’s been cold with me, he’s pushing me away. I don’t know what he wants.”
“Savannah, this is Cole. He’s… He’s damaged. He wouldn’t have gotten into something with you if you didn’t mean something to him.”
“Then why did he tell me not to fall for him?”
“Because he’s protecting you. He doesn’t trust himself. He doesn’t think he’s good enough for you. Cole has a lot of hate for himself.”
“I need to talk to him.” I head back for the door.
“You can’t, he’s out dealing with the latest situation. I don’t know how long he’s gonna be. But before you do, you need to be sure that it’s him you want and not Dan. Dan told me why he came here. He told me what he’s offering. It’s your dream, Savannah. Have you fallen for Cole enough to give that up? He may be grumpy, but he’s Garrett’s brother and I love him. I won’t let you hurt him.” Maisie smiles at me sadly before she leaves me to my thoughts.
I’m covered in blood and in need of a real good shower. It’s late after Wade and the River Boys showed up to help us clean up the Bambrook place. When we finally get back to the ranch, I’m just about to follow Finn, Tate, and Dalton into the bunkhouse when I hear her voice call my name.
