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“Don’t touch me,” he rasps, his voice coming out weak and pained.
“Cole, what happened?” I ask because something inside him has changed.
“What happened? My baby niece got kidnapped, my brother got murdered, and I found out my mom is a psychopath all in one night.” He storms past me toward his truck.
“Where are you going? We need to talk.” I chase after him.
“There’s nothing to talk about. Go home, Savannah.”
“No. I’m not gonna do that anymore, I’m not gonna stare across the breakfast table and pretend that me and you…”
“I didn’t mean back to the ranch, I meant back to L.A. Go to Paris or wherever Danny wants to take ya, just get away from here and get away from me.”
“No.” I block him from getting to his truck door.
“Cole, I’m not going anywhere. I told you last night. I belong here with you.”
“No you don’t,” he hisses through his teeth at me.
“Bad shit happens to good people if you hang around here too long. Now if what you told me is true, and you really love me, you’ll get back in Wade’s truck, drive to the ranch, pack your shit, and leave.”
“Why are you so intent on making yourself suffer?” I strain to hold in my tears. “Don’t you realize that in doing this, you're hurting me too?”
“I warned you not to catch feelings,” he tells me coldly.
“You think I’m gonna make this easy on you by leaving?” I laugh at him bitterly.
“No, Cole, you don’t get to stamp on a woman’s heart and pack her off on a plane. I’ve found a home here with people I like and people I care a whole lot about. The same people I know you care about too.” I poke my finger hard into his shoulder. “I’m going nowhere. Guess we’re just gonna have to suffer that breakfast table.” I turn on my heels and storm back toward Wade’s truck and when I feel his hand grip my arm and spin me around, I go to shove him away but he drags me close and slamshis mouth hard over mine. His cold, soaked hands cradle my head between them as he consumes every part of me.
“A cowboy kiss isn’t gonna fix this,” I warn him when he eventually pulls away.
“That wasn’t a cowboy kiss, darlin’. That was a goodbye kiss.” He starts stepping backward toward his truck. “You're right, you shouldn’t have to leave if you're happy here. I’ll go.”
“You're breaking my heart,” I tell him, hoping that knowing what he’s doing to me will make him see some sense.
“I’d rather you hate me than love me. It’s safer that way. Red.”
His forehead furrows and I see the pain he tries to hide from me before he gets inside his truck and slams the door. I feel my hope shatter when he starts up the engine and pulls away, leaving me standing here, mad at myself for breaking all the rules.
“He was just a boy,” I hiss at her once I’ve tossed her in the ground. I’m a man of my word so I did what Cole requested and dug her hole in a place where she can see the Ridge. No one ever comes out this far anymore, and here on the edge of the woods is the perfect location for this bitch to rot.
“He had a whole life ahead of him.” I wish I’d killed the bitch myself.
A bullet in the head was far too good for her after the years of hurt she’s caused this family and the damage she was prepared to do. Teresa has been the root of all the trouble around here. She was a temptress who lured Hank into her little web and then got him fuckin’ killed. My tears burn my eyes as I strike a match and light my cigarette. I don’t know all the details yet, but I know my nephew died trying to protect his niece. I know I’ll never be greeted with that dumbass smile of his when I step in the bunkhouse again, and that right now feels too hard to fuckin’ bear.
I stand and stare at her awhile and wonder where we go from here. I don’t like the idea of lying to Garrett and Wade. And Cole keeping this to himself ain’t gonna be good for him either. What he did took a lot of courage, and now he’s gonna need time to do some soul searching. I’ve watched that kid grow up to be a man.I’ve seen him do things that even made my stomach turn and I often wondered what his limit would be. I guess this right here was it and I refuse to let it destroy him.
I close my eyes and see Dalton, pale, and lifeless, laid out on the Bunkhouse table. He’ll be gone when I go back. We may have Sheriff Nelson on our side but there's only so much he can do. I hate the idea of strangers taking him away. The thought of him being alone in some mortuary makes my own blood go cold. He deserves better than that. He deserves the rest of his fuckin’ life.
I shake my head one last time at Teresa before I shovel the dirt over her. It takes me some time, and my muscles still ache from having to dig alone, but I find the endurance to get the job done.
Once the ground is full, I drag some debris over the fresh grave in case anyone happens to wander out here, then I dust off my hands and walk away.
JD is waiting patiently for me where I tied him to one of the trees. He carried her all the way out here on his back, which is another thing the bitch didn’t deserve. I should have tied her by the ankles and dragged her out here.
“Good boy.” I pat his neck before I climb on his back, leavin’ Teresa to feed the worms as I kick him on and head off to check on Everleigh.
The woods hide the cabin that Hank’s father built as a safehouse all those years ago. I didn’t have much time to make it liveable, but I did what I could, and since I’m stuck out here for the foreseeable, continuing to work on fixing it up is a much-needed distraction. It takes me over an hour to get back and after I’ve settled JD in the lean-to on the side of the cabin, I make sure he has some fresh straw and water.
