Page 44 of Long Hard Road
“Damn.” Ronan scoffed and shook his head. “Good luck, man. The way you are looking at her… you are so fucked.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I am.”
16
MADISON
“Ithink you’ll really like this one.” Harper handed over a thick hardback. “I love this author.”
I checked the cover and smiled. “I do, too. Rylie Parker is fantastic. I didn’t know she had a new book released.”
“It’s not available everywhere yet. Rylie is from Crestwood. She sends me a bunch of copies of her books before they are available everywhere. They are signed, too.”
“That’s awesome.” I had no idea that one of my favorite mystery writers was from Crestwood. “I already finished my first book haul, so I’ve been desperate for some new reads. What else do you have?”
“You finished all those books already?” Harper let out an impressed whistle. “I thought Nate was keeping you busy.”
“He’s been busy with some stuff the last few days.”
It had been over a week since our mini make-out session on my sofa. Something had changed between us the night at the bar when Nate had lost his cool and attacked the jerk who slapped my ass. When we got back to my cabin, he’d told me goodnight and then went to the guest room to sleep.
I would be lying if I said that hadn’t stung. A lot. But it hurt even more when he took off the next morning after Ellison arrived with a team of bodyguards. Once Nate learned that I would have someone with me anytime I left the cabin and another guard staying behind to watch the place until I got home, he’d suddenly become very busy doing anything but spending time with me.
I still went to the bar on the nights it was open. Nate would take a short break and bring me a drink. We’d chat for about twenty minutes and then he’d go back to work and I would watch him for another hour or so before going home, bodyguard in tow.
“Hey, do you have dinner plans tonight?” Harper asked, stacking three more books on the counter in front of me. “My family always does a Sunday night dinner. Anyone who is free goes to the main house and Dad whips up something good for us. I know he would love if you came.”
“Family dinner? Harper, I’m not family.”
She laughed. “Not yet. If my brother pulls his head out of his ass, you will be soon enough.”
“Nate and I are just friends. Barely friends. More like neighbors who hung out a couple of times.” I didn’t want to admit to Nate’s sister that I was heartbroken by how quickly he’d changed his mind about me.
“Have you kissed?” she prodded.
My blush was the only answer she needed. “It was a mistake,” I hurried to say. “If you ask Nate, I’m sure he will agree.”
“Oh, Madi. The only mistake you made was believing that my brother wouldn’t fall madly in love with you after one kiss.” She leaned over the counter. “Look, I’m going to tell you something that I’m not supposed to know. About four or five years ago, Nate started dating a woman out in North Carolina. He was gone a lot for deployments, but they were together for a couple of years. I don’t know much about the relationship. He never brought her to meet the family, but I think it was serious.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this story. I didn’t want to picture Nate with another woman and certainly not one that he’d loved. Was he still in love with her? Is that why he’d been keeping me at arm’s length?
“Around the time Nate left the army, something happened between them and he ended the relationship. He spent some time in D.C. with our brother Brent while he recovered and then he moved back here when Dad had his stroke. I haven’t seen him with another woman since. My guess is that his feelings for you have scared him. He’s probably afraid he’s going to get his heart broken again when you leave town.”
“Why won’t he just talk to me about how he is feeling? He didn’t have to push me away so abruptly.” If he had told me this story himself, I would’ve understood.
“He keeps a lot of stuff bottled up. Nate isn’t as open as Chase or even my brother Evan. He doesn’t want his loved ones to worry about him.” She reached over and squeezed my arm. “Come to dinner tonight. As my friend. I will even pick you up so we can arrive together.”
“It’s going to look like I’m stalking Nate,” I protested.
She scoffed and waved away my concern. “Bullshit. I want you there. Chase and Ronan want you there. Lily has been begging me to invite you. If Nate has a problem with it, then he can leave.”
“I will go,” I said, then held up a hand to stop her celebration, “but only if you run it past Nate first. Make sure it won’t be a problem for him.”
“Fine.” She snatched her phone from the counter and started furiously typing. Her phone made a whooshing noise as she sent the text.
While we waited for a reply, she rang up my book purchase and told me about a book signing she was organizing for the following weekend. When her phone chimed, I held my breath as she read Nate’s reply. A huge smile spread across her pretty face.
“He said that he’s glad I invited you and asked if I could give you a ride there since he’s already on the ranch. But he promised to give you a ride home.” She waggled her eyebrows at me. “And maybe another ride after you’re home.”