Page 38 of The Runaway and the Rugged (Dusty Meadows #1)

EMELIA

I t had been three days since Garth and I had almost kissed.

And for the three long, torturous days, Garth had barely spoken fifteen words to me.

He made every effort to avoid me and when I was invited over to dinner by Winnie, he came up with the “very believable” excuse that he was going to visit an old buddy.

I was tempted to call him out right then and there.

Demand why he was making this much more awkward and painful than it needed to be.

Was he guilty about what could have happened? Embarrassed? Mad? Whatever it was, I deserved to know. And tonight was the perfect day to confront him about it. Garth called it an early day to go run some errands and Grace pleaded with him to stay here with me.

He very reluctantly agreed, but agreed nonetheless.

Even Grace knew something was up with him, but couldn’t figure it out.

Thankfully.

“How do you like your new bracelet?” Grace asked with her body sprawled out on the tiny sofa as she fiddled with the bracelet that was on her wrist. “I love the colors I picked for yours.”

I smiled, peering down at the “Best Friends 4 Ever” bracelet she put together for me. She brought a whole kit over to make them, even crafting one for her dad, Greta, Griff, and Beau.

“I love it, it’s much better than the one I made for you.”

It took me a minute to get the hang of it, but once I did, I found it surprisingly theraputic. Though hers said the same thing as mine, I threw in a few stars and hearts to make it extra special.

“No, this one is amazing. I’m never taking it off, ever.”

My heart erupted with an explosion of butterflies. Grace was determined to find her way into my heart, and before I knew it, she was becoming someone incredibly important to me. Someone who I didn’t know I needed until I found her.

A wild, spunky girl who had a heart of gold just like her stubborn dad.

“Me neither,” I whispered, my voice clogged with emotion.

For a moment we just sat there, me on the ground peering out the dark window while she continued to twirl the bracelet around.

“Can I… Would it be okay if I asked you a question?” She sounded so unlike the Grace I knew—nervous, unsure—it bothered me.

I twisted my head around to make sure she was okay.

“Of course. You can ask me anything.” I scooted my butt across the wood floor until my back was settled against the couch and her adorable face was close enough to read.

She swallowed, still clearly nervous.

“Do you think it’s too late for me to have a mom?” Her question had caught me off guard, surprise causing tension to curl through the air.

“A mom? Sweetheart, don’t you have one?”

She hadn’t looked at me yet, but she answered with a shrug.

“No, not anymore. She left when I was a baby.”

Christ.

My heart broke for her.

“I’m so sorry, Grace,” I laid my hand onto her arm and gave her a gentle squeeze. “And no, it's not too late. But if it never happens, I don’t want you to be upset because you’ll always have Greta, your grandmother… me.”

Her misted-over eyes sought mine out, my heart clenching with every heartstring she continued to pull.

“You could be like a mom,” she whispered. “You make me feel like you’re one.”

A single, stray tear dripped down the curve of my cheek and onto the cushion of the couch. I rarely ever thought of having kids, a family, but when I did, I imagined it to feel a little something like this.

Where you’d do anything in your power to make them feel loved and happy.

“I love that you feel comfortable and safe with me, Grace. You have no idea how much that means to me.” I gently used the pad of my thumb to wipe away the tears that shimmered beneath her eyes. “And I hope you’ll continue to trust me and find comfort in the bond we share.”

I wasn’t her mom. I had no right, no standing to agree with her, because I knew it wasn’t my place. Grace already had a mother, whether she was there or not, and to make things even more complicated, I was simply just a friend.

Maybe not even that anymore.

And as a twelve-year-old girl, she didn’t have the capacity to fully understand yet.

“Like family?” she asked, the hopeful glint in her tone impossible to dismiss.

“Yeah, a little like family.”

She eventually shifted the topic over to something lighter, more Grace-like, when the sound of knocking on the door had the two of us groaning for two completely different reasons.

“Great…” Her shoulders sagged in defeat. “I thought he wouldn't come back till a little later.”

A little later? It’s already ten at night.

“Come on.” I softly nudged her in the direction of the door. “I’m sure your dad missed you.”

“He misses me even when he’s with me,” she mumbled in annoyance, but kept moving until she clasped her hand around the doorknob and swung it open.

“Hi, Dad,” she grumbled low and unenthusiastically.

I’m sure it's every father’s dream to come home to a daughter who is completely uninterested.

“Bug,” he greeted with a grin. “Don’t smile too big now, wouldn’t want anyone thinkin’ that you actually missed me,” he teased, when suddenly his eyes had fallen on me.

I was hiding slightly beyond the door, but just enough to where he could see me.

“Hi.” I smiled with an anxious wave that had me mentally kicking myself.

Most wouldn’t have noticed, but his smile had shifted the second I spoke. It wasn’t bright like it was with Grace, but guarded instead.

“How was she? Hopefully not too much trouble?” He tucked his hands into his pockets, clearly unsure how to act around me.

I wanted to push him down the steps to knock some damn sense into him.

“She was good, no trouble at all.” I shot her a grin. “Just made some bracelets, ate some snacks, nothing too crazy.”

“Good.” He nodded. “Thanks again for agreein’ to watch her.”

Shifting on my toes, I shrugged.

“No problem, she can come over whenever she wants. Of course, if it’s okay with you.”

The reaction I received was of course nothing over-the-top and instead, he gave me another dismissive nod of his head.

I was over it.

Over this, over him, over it all.

“Grace, honey, would you mind waiting outside in the ATV for a little while? Your dad and I need to have a quick adult conversation,” I spoke sweetly, Grace’s eyebrows slowly lifted in confusion.

“Uh, yeah, I can do that.” She looked at Garth, but he was too focused on me, studying me intently.

“Thank you.” I pulled her in for a quick hug. “I had a fun night with you, maybe another night you can stay over and we can do our nails.”

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“Yes! That sounds like the best night ever! Doesn’t it, Dad?” She peered over at Garth who had narrowed his eyes, and suspicion etched into his gaze.

“Sure does.” His monotone voice irritated me to the point I was now glaring daggers into the man I wanted to kiss the other night.

“Okay, Well, I’ll be out in the ATV waiting!” Grace skipped out the door, leaving her dad and me in a silent standoff. He looked as irresistible as ever in a dark brown jacket, Wranglers, and a ball cap while I kept it casual in a simple T-shirt and cotton shorts.

“Look, I already know?—”

“No, you don’t know what I’m thinking or all the things I want to say to you, Garth. So, how about we start with the elephant in the room, shall we?” I placed my hands onto the curves of my hips, hoping to appear more menacing. “We almost kissed.”

Nostrils flaring like a bull, he averted his eyes but quickly brought them back.

“Big deal. If you regret it, then fine, but don’t treat me like I’m some stranger who you can barely tolerate being around.

Being embarrassed, or realizing it was a mistake, doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings.

Because I do, and because of you, my feelings are severely wounded and still healing from before. ”

He didn’t say anything yet, he just looked at me like he desperately wanted to say something.

“We can go back to how things were, where you teased and protected me. We can forget about what happened if that's what you want, I just don’t want you to be the bad guy, Garth. There’s already enough of those and I truly don’t want you to be one of them.”

Again, he just watched me.

Was it my nerves that made it impossible to read him or was he honestly being this way on purpose?

“You can say something, you know,” I mumbled, waiting for the moment he opened his mouth, but with a deep, steadying breath, his eyes dropped to the ground.

My heart sank even deeper than where it was.

“Fine.” I stood tall, laying a palm on the edge of the door. “If you don’t want to talk about it now, that’s fine.”

Don’t cry, Emelia.

Don’t you dare cry.

Sucking in a breath, careful not to let him see me cry, I glanced at him one last painful time. “Have a good night, see you at work Monday."

And with that, I slammed the door in his face, the echo of the loud bang lingering in the silence that followed. I leaned my back against it, heart pounding, eyes filling with tears. I hoped tomorrow would be a new day, a new beginning, because I sure wasn’t falling apart over another man.

Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

Falling asleep proved to be difficult when all I could think about was what had just happened with Garth. I tossed and turned, tempted to hop out of bed and go to his house to confront him one last time, but all that dwindled the second I heard a string of pounding on my door.

Who the hell could that be at this hour?

Slowly and cautiously, I rolled out of bed, turned the lamp on beside me, and started to walk toward the door.

“Emelia, it’s me.” Garth's strained, desperate voice appeared from the other side of the door. A part of me thought I was just dreaming, but as the steady, urgent pounding on the door persisted, I realized this wasn’t a dream.

This was real.

“Please, Emelia, I’m fuckin’ beggin’ you, just open the door so we can talk for a second.”

Begging?

My heart went into overdrive at the idea of Garth begging. Instead of opening the door, I let him sweat, and to make it even better, I made sure he heard that I was just beyond the door waiting.

“Fuck, baby, please. I know you’re right there, I can hear you walkin’ around.”

Did he… Did he just call me baby?

“At least—at least tap on the door so I know you’re listen’. So I know I haven’t fuckin’ lost you yet.” His hopeless tone was nearly enough for me to open the door, but I knew I wasn’t ready yet, so I gently rapped my knuckles against the door.

I heard him breathe out a long, relieved sigh.

“I don’t deserve anything you want to give me, Outlaw.

I’m a no-good-with-words, protective, possessive asshole who is beyond fuckin’ terrified to admit that he wants you,” he said, dropping his forehead onto the door with a thud.

“You’re the first woman who has made me question everything and I’ve been strugglin’ with accepting that the feelin’ ain’t goin’ away whether I ignore you or push you away.

It’s there, and it’s only growin’ more fierce by the day. ”

“Garth…” My hand reached for the door, but he swiftly interjected.

“Hold on, don’t open the door yet. Let me—let me finish what I have to say, baby.”

My fingers slipped from the doorknob and I reluctantly let him continue.

“I know you just got out of a relationship with a man who didn’t deserve you.

And I get that you’re trying to focus on yourself and, damn, I respect that more than you know.

So much that I pushed you away because I want you to be the woman you’re meant to be, even if I have to wait.

But the truth is, I’m terrible at bein’ patient, Outlaw. ”

A tearful laugh slipped past my lips.

“I’m not a rich man and I’m not an easy one either.

This is all I got, the ranch, the town, my daughter, my reason for everything I am.

You can have it all. If you’re willing to try, if you’ll give me a chance, I promise I won't let you down. I don’t care about how you got here, what happened before me, I just want you. I want all of you, if you’ll have me.”

Before he could stop me, I flung open the door and jumped into his awaiting arms. Swift hands caught me around the waist, where he smoothly slid them down my thighs and wrapped each leg around his hips.

We weren’t apart for more than a few seconds before our mouths connected in a blistering kiss. Weeks’ worth of pent- up energy surged between us as low, needy growls mingled and passed softly between our mouths.

It was everything and more.

Slow and languid, his tongue swept across mine with quiet urgency. Like he wanted nothing more than to demand more from me, yet reveled in the slow, sensual pace we shared.

Everything about it was reckless, but I wasn’t worried enough to care. I wanted Garth more than I wanted my next breath and when we finally pulled away to gather ourselves, he used the pad of his hard, calloused thumb and tucked my hair behind my ear.

The movement was sweet while his eyes filled with endless hope and possibilities.

“You with me, Outlaw?” he asked, his mouth red and moustache wet from our kiss.

“I don’t care if you’re wealthy or have nothing at all, Garth. That doesn’t matter to me. You’re a good man, an even better dad, with a heart of gold. It would be stupid of me to not forgive you. So, yes, cowboy, I’m with you.”