Page 3 of Wandering in Love
“Samson.”
When she doesn’t say anything, I look up at her. She’s staring at me with a hurt so thick it suffocates me.
“I’m sorry.”
“I see,” she says, putting her cup down and standing. “It’s late and I’m helping Melanie with a delivery tomorrow, so I have to be up early. I’m sure she would be happy to see you.”
Melanie is the matriarch of Rojas Ranch. She’s an amazingly kind woman, but I wouldn’t want to fight her in a dark alley. She raised two boys while working that ranch, while her husband spent his days in the fields or with the horses.
Momma heads to her bedroom, and the door shuts with a soft click. As I lean back on the couch, my head falls back, and I stare at the ceiling.
This was a mistake. I should have stayed gone.
The storm that was chasing me cracks overhead, the rolling thunder shaking the house. I can feel the power of the earth in my bones during the storms around here. Something about the way the town lies between the mountains makes the storms here better than they were in Samson. Standing, I head out to the porch and wait for the rain. After the thunder and lightning, there’s always rain. The power is displayed like a warning of her wrath, and then the rain comes and washes the sins away. I have a lot of sins I need cleansed from me.
This street is pretty quiet; only a few families live out this way, so when the fat drops of rain start, I run into the road. My lavender hair whips around my face in the wind while my heart is rinsed clean. The scent of rain fills my nostrils and I open my arms wide, catching as much of the water as I can. My head falls back on my shoulders and I spin in a slow circle.
This is what I needed. Just this.
It’s cold, and I’m quickly drenched, but my soul is clean. My bare feet are soaking up all the energy the lightening has forced upon the earth. I’m high on energy and a clean heart.
When I left this town and everyone behind, I was scared. Terrified. Things were being demanded of me that I wasn’t ready for. I was petrified of being stuck here forever, having not experienced life on my own.
Looking back, I’m sorry I left the way I did. Ian and Momma deserved more from me. I have a lot to make up for.
Chapter Three
IAN
My office phones have rung no less than six times in the last fifteen minutes. You would think the town was burning to the damn ground with the way these people are reacting to a strange car parked in front of Miss Trent’s house and a purple-haired girl standing in the street. No one seems to know anything else.
“Stacy!” I holler as my phone rings again.
“Yes, Ian?” the flirty blonde that’s about ten years younger than me asks, leaning against the door to my office.
I’ve known her since she was in diapers and she’s the daughter of the last sheriff. If I want to keep my head where it’s currently located, I’ll keep my distance from her. Her daddy is a damn good shot.
“I’m going out to Miss Trent’s place to see what’s going on. Field these damn calls.”
I’m out of my chair with my sheriff’s cap on and my gun at my hip, stalking toward the green SUV parked out front. Around here, we need vehicles with 4-wheel drive during the winter so SUVs and trucks rule supreme.
Hopping inside, I grip the wheel and take a deep breath. Miss Trent doesn’t have visitors besides my family. Eva disappeared years ago, and no one has seen hide nor hair of her since. From what I understand, she doesn’t even call to check in.
In a town this size, news travels fast, and we don’t get many people just driving through. We’re pretty secluded out here, and it’s the way we like it. Most of the folks are ranchers and like to be left alone.
It’s a few streets over and past my family’s ranch to get to the house I’m looking for. There, in the middle of the street, is a drenched woman, standing with her arms out and her head back, looking completely at peace with her surroundings as she spins in a circle.
Pulling to a stop at the end of the driveway, I grab my jacket and step out.
“Excuse me, ma’am?” I call out, heading directly toward her.
Her head comes up and she stops spinning when she’s facing me. Bright green eyes stop me in my tracks. I know those eyes.
They haunt my dreams.
Every woman I’ve dated has been compared to her and found wanting.
My wildflower.