Authors: Cerian Hebert
Craig shook his head. “What a mess.”
What an understatement.
“I’m glad she’s okay. Thanks for letting
me know.” Quinn turned away, hoping that would end the conversation, but a hand
gripped her arm and turned her around.
“Where are you going? We need to talk.”
He stood so close she could smell the
subtle scent of soap and shampoo. He’d showered and she wanted to inhale him,
but instead she gently pulled out of his hold.
“Talk about what? I think everything was
said that needed to be said.”
“You’re kidding, right?” He actually
looked astonished.
“No, I’m not kidding. You were listening
to your daughter, right? Where do we go from here? She hates me, Craig, she
hates the very idea you could have any feelings for me.”
“She was angry and she said things she
didn’t mean.”
Quinn gazed at him sadly. “She meant
them. Maybe she’ll change her mind eventually, but for now, look at everything
she’s gone through over the past few years. She lost her mother, moved to a
completely alien environment. I mean it’s not like you moved from Washington to
another big city, you moved her to
Falstad
, a place that could probably
take up one city block. That’s a lot to swallow. Then you throw me in the mix.
Too much too soon.”
She didn’t mean to cry, but when that
first hot tear escaped and glided down her cheek, she was doomed.
“Quinn.” Craig moved toward her, but she
held up a hand to stop him.
“You have to think about Marisol first.
She’s got a whole lot of healing to do, not just a few bruised ribs. I mean
everything.”
“We can get her used to the idea of us.
Gradually, like we planned.”
Quinn didn’t even bother to hide the
flood now. She wiped it away with the back of her hand. He took a step toward
her, comforting hand out. Again, she withdrew. Touching him would do no good.
Damn, why did he have to make this so difficult?
“It’s too late for that. Don’t you get
it? Maybe it would’ve worked if Robby hadn’t opened his mouth and let the whole
world know, but now, well, we can’t go back. What’s done is done and we have to
deal with the aftermath. I can’t forget what was said.”
She meant the words, both Robby’s and
Marisol’s, pointing out her inadequacies when compared with Elise. Craig’s eyes
narrowed.
“Neither of them meant it. You know
that. You are every bit as good… Don’t go comparing yourself to Elise. She was
a different woman, but Quinn, you have nothing to feel insignificant about.
There is nothing lacking in you.”
“Easier said than thought. I grew up
feeling that way, but that was my own problem. Back then I was the only one
comparing myself to her, and I was only a dumb kid. I got over it. It’s
different when someone else points out those insufficiencies.”
“Quinn, stop,” he ordered tightly. Even
in the night, his face looked darker and she could see the anger building in
him. His shoulders were rigid, and his jaw hard. Who was he mad at? Maybe it
was the whole situation. Two days ago, they were in love and looking forward to
officially beginning their public romance, but now that lay in tatters and
there was no putting it back together again. “There are no insufficiencies.
Maybe you’ll figure that out someday.”
“Yeah, I thought I had. Go home, Craig.
Please. Marisol needs you. She has so much potential, I’d hate to see that
ruined, but if she’s going to want to live here, to ride again, become a part
of this life, you need to concentrate on her, without anything distracting
you.”
“Like you.” His voice was dead now. He
shoved his hands into his pockets and glared.
“Like me. Us. Just better that way.”
“I don’t agree.”
“I’m not giving you a choice.” She said
it with finality. No more going round and round in circles. They could do that
until they were dizzy, it wouldn’t change things.
Before she could do anything about it,
Craig strode forward and wrapped his arms around her. His mouth descended on
hers with a fire bordering on harshness. She couldn’t do anything but slide her
hands up his rough jaw and into his hair. She wanted to keep going, let his
lips and hands chase away all the doubt and her newfound decision to end
things, but her senses remained in charge after the brief interlude into desire
and she gently pushed him away. It was painful to do it, and she avoided
looking into his eyes.
“Please,” she muttered, “go.”
“This isn’t over.”
“Don’t make it harder than it already
is.”
His hand touched her cheek, gently
pushing aside the flow of tears that had renewed. “I love you, Quinn. That’s
not going to change. This isn’t over.”
“I love you too. Just go.”
Before he could say any more, she pulled
away from him and rushed toward the house, needing the safety of four walls,
and a locked door between them, otherwise her waning resolve might give in
totally and then she’d be in a worse mess than she was already in.
His house. Everything in the place, even
if he hadn’t lived there for fifteen years, screamed Craig at her. The memories
of sitting in the kitchen, even when she dated Robby, and thinking of Craig,
knowing which room was his when he was younger, remembering how he decorated.
Every detail seemed fresher, bolder in her mind.
How in hell’s name could she live like
this? When she went to her own room, the pain struck a billion times harder
because those memories were new and blindingly clear. How could she sleep in
that bed every night and not remember the way he touched her, kissed her, made
love to her? The entire room was soaked in the memories.
She needed to get out. Just for a while.
A vacation to clear her head would have been great, but that never would be
enough. Of course it was the worst time, with a mare about to foal and with
Fire who needed serious work, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything
with all this sitting heavily on her shoulders, until she could move past this,
or at least get to the point where it was just a dull, but manageable ache.
The old homestead. The house surrounded
by cottonwoods that had been the center of her dreams forever.
Was this her answer? It wouldn’t exactly
be running away—which was her first instinct. But she couldn’t stay on here.
Not with everything that happened. Not with Marisol hating her so much. There’d
be no healing between Craig and his daughter while she was in the picture. She
couldn’t—wouldn’t leave town. But if Craig found someone else to run Emerald
then she could walk away and bury herself in her own ranch. Heal from her own
wounds.
Telling Craig was going to be the worst
part. She dreaded talking to him again, especially about this. He’d fight her,
tell her that she didn’t have to quit because of this.
She did, though. Quinn reached for the
phone. She had no other option.
“Are you crazy?”
Quinn furrowed her brows and glared at
her brother. “Says the man who took a chance and built this hugely expensive
lodge on a hope it would make him money.”
“This is different. I had financial
backing. Investors who helped me build this place. You’re nuts if you think you
can put the old homestead to rights on your own.”
“It’s what I’ve always wanted. For
years. God, Jacob, I
need
to do it. Hard work is the only way I’m going
to flush all this emotional crap out of my system.”
“Come on, Quinn, is that the best way to
deal with a broken heart? Couldn’t you go to Jamaica or something? And then get
back to work? If you can’t bear to work for Craig, then come back here. We’ll
figure something out.”
Quinn growled. “I don’t want to go to
Jamaica. I won’t walk out on my job, at least not until Craig finds a
replacement. But I can’t come back here. I want the homestead. More than
anything. It’s the only place that was ever felt like my own home.”
“Do you know how much work you’re
looking at? That barn is probably useless. God knows what shape the house is
in.”
“I know what I’m facing. A whole lot of
headaches. I’ll probably be in debt for the rest of my life, but I don’t care.”
“So, where do I fit in this picture?”
Now they were getting somewhere. Quinn
released the tension from her muscles and studied Jacob’s face. The flicker of
interest was evident. He liked a challenge just as much as she did. “I want to
sell you my portion of the property, well, most of it. Three hundred acres.
I’ll keep two hundred for myself. The rest to you.”
Jacob raised his brows and let out a
long whistle. “You think I have enough money to buy that much land? You
overestimate my bank account.”
“You’re family. I’ll give you a hell of
a deal. All I want is enough to put a new barn up and whatever needs to be done
on the house. That’s all I need.”
“You’re crazy,” Jacob repeated then
leaned back in his seat. “But if I’ve learned anything over the past twenty
some odd years, it’s that when you get your teeth into something you’re not
going to give it up ‘til the end.”
“Nice visual. You make me feel like a
Pit Bull.” Quinn grinned.
“Well?” Jacob raised his dark brows. “I’m
not buying your land, Quinn. That’s yours. To pass down to your kids someday.”
“If I have kids. Jacob, I appreciate
your sentiments, but I need enough money to get the homestead up. I don’t have
enough in my bank account, and I don’t want to go to a bank and use that land
as collateral. I’m not going to risk it going out of the family.
“Fine. I understand that. But I’m still
not going to buy it from you. I’ll loan you the money.
I’ll
use the land
as collateral if that’ll make you feel better. That way you can take your time
getting set up before you start having to make payments to me.”
Tears of relief welled in her eyes.
Quinn swiped them away with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what to say.
Thank you so much, Jacob. I promise I won’t spend any more than I have to. I’d
rather do whatever I can on my own.”
Jacob laughed. “I’m not worried. If
there’s something you’re not, Quinn, it’s an extravagant spender. I trust you.”
“Then keep your fingers crossed that I
haven’t bitten off more than I can chew. Kidding.” She gave him a wicked wink.
“What are you going to tell Craig?”
Quinn quickly sobered. “We talked last night
on the phone. I told him that he needed to find someone else. Made a few
suggestions. He didn’t give me much of a fight. Have you talked to him?”
“Nope. Wasn’t much time for talking
yesterday.”
“Don’t be too hard on him. Okay? He’s
got enough on his plate. Me bailing on him isn’t going to help.”
“I won’t. You tell me what you need.
I’ve got people I can talk to who’ll come in and get that barn going.”
Quinn smiled, but she didn’t feel the
joy she should have. “You’re the best brother. Thank you.”
***
“She’s not here?”
Craig had given Quinn a week to cool
down before he couldn’t take not seeing her, try to talk sense into her one
last time. He knew before he left the Shady H that it was probably wrong, that
he should give her the space she asked for, but he couldn’t give up so easily.
Not that Marisol had any sudden change of heart. She had given him the silent
treatment ever since they returned from the hospital. He supposed he deserved
it. He didn’t want the same from Quinn.
Though he understood her need to put
distance between them, giving her notice as manager of Emerald was nuts. She
didn’t have to do that for him, for Marisol, or for herself. They could work it
out.
“No,” Scott repeated. The boy looked
increasingly uncomfortable with his role of the messenger. “She spends a few
hours a day over there. Getting stuff fixed up.”
“Before I’ve replaced her?” Not that he
was upset that she was already hard at work fixing up the old homestead on Long
Knife Creek Ranch. He didn’t doubt that she was giving him his money’s worth,
but he didn’t want her to do anything drastic.
Like rebuilding an entire ranch.
“She isn’t slacking off here. Really,
Mr. Lynch, she gets up a few hours early to work here and stays up late. She
puts in plenty of hours.”
He sighed. “I know. Don’t worry, I’m not
worried about her not pulling her weight.” It was the fact she wasn’t facing
their problems. She’d run away from them. As far as she was concerned there was
no “them”. Not anymore. He hadn’t given up, though.
“Okay then,” he muttered. Now what? Let
her continue on? Not like he could tell her she couldn’t quit her job at
Emerald. No one was going to tell Quinn what to do. So, he’d carry on and hope
that everything would sort itself out. “If you need anything let me know.”
That was one fence to remain unmended.
Now he had another one to deal with. An apology to Jacob for the scene he’d
been a part of a few nights ago and for messing up with his sister.