Page 65 of A Lot Like Forever

He fucking loved her. He’d never admit it to another soul, but he had fallen for Faith, he’d fallen hard, and getting over her wasn’t going to be easy. He wanted her in his bed, in his life, in his future, no matter how much he told himself he didn’t. He’d spent so much of his life scared of letting anyone close, terrified of being in love with a woman he might lose one day. And now he realized how stupid that had been.

He wasn’t his father and he never would be. Faith had gone and it hurt like hell, as if someone had tried to crush his chest with a load of steel. Instead of telling her how he really felt, he’d let her walk out of his life, and his pride would never let him chase her when she’d made it clear that they were over.

Which meant he had to suck it up and get on with life. With drilling for oil. Looking after his family. Focusing on the ranch.

It was all he knew and it was exactly what would keep him going when all he really wanted to do was smash the hell out of something until his knuckles bled.

Nate got out, got dressed, and collected his keys as he walked out the door. He ran a hand through his wet hair before jumping behind the wheel and heading down the road, not stopping until he got to the field where the drilling was prepped to go ahead. He took a deep breath as he got out and crossed the grass, pleased to see there were already two guys on-site. He was paying them a lot to get work under way immediately.

“Mornin’!” he called out.

The two guys looked up, both raising their hands before going back to whatever it was they were doing. Work. Work was what he needed to focus on. Oil was his future, not Faith.

“The machines are rolling in soon. You ready to become a very rich man?”

Nate laughed. “Now that’s what I want to hear!”

The field was all marked out and he walked around, surveyed the site, listened to the conversation between the two men. And then he heard a rumble, looked up, and held up a hand to shield his eyes from the bright morning sun.

“Here comes the cavalry,” Nate muttered. At least one thing was going right about his day. Soon the field would be a hive of activity, covered in machines. And he couldn’t wait.