The Line, page 3
I rushed out of the room to keep up with Cody and threw a quick wave over my shoulder to Joe, who was still watching me intently.
I followed Cody back towards the front of the house and we made our way up the staircase I saw when I first entered the house. Beautiful paintings of the orchard and the house adorned the walls at the top of the steps, and I stayed a step behind Cody down a long, narrow hallway before he stopped at the second door on the left. He swung the door open and headed right in, throwing my bag on the floor and plopping his ass on the four-poster bed in the middle of a giant room.
“Holy shit,” I breathed out. The room was incredible.
Lavender curtains hung around a large bay window complete with a beautiful window seat beneath it. Splashes of color dotted the walls from the gorgeous paintings of what I could only assume was this farm, and the corner of the room even held a small fireplace. I surveyed the king-sized four-poster bed Cody was currently reclining on and my chest pinched in panic.
This room. This house. It was built for a Southern princess. Not a piece of trash off the streets who didn’t even know who she was or where she came from. Not a girl who’d picked through trash cans for her next meal.
“Are you sure this is my room?” I asked Cody quietly. It had to be the wrong room. This had to be a mistake. This could not be my room.
“Everly,” Cody said from the bed in a singsong voice. “This is your room, sugar. Now, come get your sweet ass in this bed and give me a cuddle.”
The pinch in my chest eased, and I smirked at Cody. “Not a chance in hell. I don’t have the right parts, remember?” I said, making my way towards the en suite bathroom and groaning at the huge claw foot tub inside. Holy cow, my own damn bathroom. And that bathtub!
“I take it that groan is for the giant bathtub in that bathroom and, sadly, not for the hot stud in your bed.”
I turned back to him in time to watch him clutch his chest and let out a long sigh while throwing himself even farther back into the bed.
I had a feeling my new cowboy friend would bring more drama into my life than any potential girlfriend I’d ever have. I giggled and threw myself beside him onto the big bed. I’d never in my life suffered anything as menial as girl drama, and I somehow found myself looking forward to it.
“Where is your room?” I asked, turning my head to face his on the pillow.
He seemed pretty far away, and I wondered how huge this bed really was. Did everyone’s room here look like it was straight from the set of Gone With the Wind?
Cody turned to face me and propped his head in his hand. “Most of us don’t live here, sugar. I rent a house a couple of miles from the property and drive in every day. We do have a small bed and breakfast on the front side of the farm that people stay in, and of course boss, Missy, and Joe live here.
“Boss?” I asked. Joe wasn’t the boss?
Cody touched the tip of my nose with his pointer finger. “Yeah, Cole. He runs things here since Joe can’t get around like he wants. Cole is his right-hand man and practically like family. His small cottage is right behind the house, and he keeps the farm and orchard running in tip-top shape.”
I chewed on my lip and stared at Cody. I had no idea what I was doing here. Was I supposed to be helping on the farm? Helping care for Joe? I brought my hand to my mouth and chewed on my thumbnail. I hated the unknown—it almost always meant bad things for me. And the fact that my mood was fluctuating between giddy excitement and dread was making me sick.
Grabbing my hand and holding it in his, Cody said, “Everly. You’re going to be fine here. You’re going to love Joe. You’re going to love Cole. Mostly because he is the most orgasmic peace of cowboy eye candy ever!” He chuckled quietly and then continued. “But mainly because everyone is going to love you, sugar! You’re going to fit in just fine, so stop gnawing on those pretty fingers, yeah?”
I sure hoped Cody was right. I wanted to fit in there, but I’d never felt so out of place in my entire life. I glanced around, wondering how my poor, low-class, thieving self was going to make it a whole summer in this castle built for a Southern princess.
Jesus fucking Christ. I didn’t want to have this conversation with Joe again. We’d been having it for months now, and I was over it. Beyond over it. And no person should ever be as fast as Joe was in that Goddamn wheelchair. He’d been scooting behind me in that Godforsaken contraption for the past hour, hounding me to fucking death.
I was feeding the horses, and he had his ass parked right behind me. If he were any closer, he’d officially be up my ass.
“Cole, I know you’re still hurting, but at some point, you have to think about the kid, ya know?”
He couldn’t be serious. Of course I was thinking about the kid. I’d done nothing but think about that child for the past three months, and every time I did, my heart broke into a million pieces. I could barely breathe when thinking about him. Even now, as I shoveled shit and hay, an unbearable ache burned in my chest.
I threw my shovel down and turned to Joe. “Don’t you fucking dare, Joe. Just don’t. You have no idea what I am thinking about or how I feel. You’re like family to me, but just back off. I’m done having this conversation.” I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans and pulled my black Stetson off my head. Then I used the end of my white T-shirt to wipe my forehead and let out a deep sigh.
“I had a child once, ya know?” Joe said so quietly that I thought I’d heard him wrong.
I placed my hat back on my head and stared at him. “What?”
“She passed, Cole. I didn’t get the option to have her in my life. You understand what I’m saying? That choice was taken away from me. You still have the option. Go see that baby boy if you want to, son. Don’t let your anger and hate keep you away from your son.”
“Damn it, Joe. Don’t you get it? That’s just it! He isn’t fucking mine! She lied. He lied. It was all a lie. He’s not my son. He’s Austin’s, and there isn’t a Goddamn thing I can do about it but accept it.” I tagged the hat from my head and threw it across the barn.
And, God, it stung. The ache in my chest burned like fire, and my stomach churned. For six months, that baby boy had been mine, and to say it had been the most amazing time of my life would have been an understatement. I knew when I’d proposed to Marla that it hadn’t been for love, but I had hopes that the accidental baby I’d put in her belly would bring us closer—until we’d grow to love each other.
All of my hopes had been dashed the moment I’d found her sleeping with my brother when I came home from work early one day. They’d grabbed my baby and hightailed it out of there like their asses were on fire. Not that I could blame them. I’d lost my mind. It hadn’t even occurred to me until later that night that Greyson might not be mine. I’d lain there trying to figure out how long this had been going on right under my nose and the thought had hit me like a sledgehammer to the heart. What if those soft, chocolate-brown eyes and those dimples weren’t mine after all? What if they belonged to Austin? And if I’d thought I had lost my mind when I had found Marla with my brother, I’d been wrong, because nothing compared to the sheer torment and anger I’d experienced when the paternity test had confirmed that I was definitely not his father.
But, for six sweet months, I’d had it all. And, for the past three, I’d been in a living hell.
Joe’s sad eyes on me were too much. I’d finally lost it, and he knew it. The pity in those eyes nearly undid me. I ran my hands through my hair, pulling on the strands, hoping the sting in my scalp would ease the ache in my chest or somehow eradicate the emptiness in my heart, which only six months ago had been full to overflowing.
“I know you’re hurting, Cole, but it’s only your stubbornness that’s keeping you from being a part of that boy’s life.” Joe made his way around me with his chair and took off for the barn’s exit. He was so damn fast that a trail of dust and dirt floated in the air in his wake.
Jesus. He was right. I was damn angry and I had every right. Marla had used me, all the while fucking my brother behind my back. When I thought back, it made perfect sense. I was the brother who had my shit together. I was nothing more than the safe bet, the better option. I had a vested interest in this farm. Meanwhile, Austin spent his days trying to get on the rodeo circuit and gambling, and he sure as hell wasn’t reliable. I was steady like a rock, while Austin absolutely was not. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why she’d pinned the pregnancy on me. I couldn’t even really blame her. My brother has always been a fuck-up, and now, I could add my fiancée to the long list of shit he had put me through over the years.
I put the rest of the hay out and thought hard about Joe’s words. Joe had been a father figure to me most of my life. I loved him like he was family. He’d been there for me and my family so much. Now that my momma was gone, he was pretty much all I had. I didn’t feel cheated though. Having Joe was having an awful lot. I was beyond surprised that he’d had a daughter and she had passed. I didn’t think Joe had any secrets from me, but still, my heart ached for him. I understood completely, because when I found out Grey wasn’t mine, I’d mourned just as surely as I would have had he passed away. He was no longer mine to hold in the middle of the night. I wouldn’t be around to experience his first steps, his first tooth. He wasn’t mine to teach to play catch or ride a horse. It wasn’t just my child Marla and Austin had stolen from me. They’d taken my dreams, too.
I didn’t know how I would ever get over this. It just didn’t seem likely that I would ever be able to forgive Marla and Austin. I didn’t know if I could ever see Grey’s precious face and not wish he were mine. It just didn’t seem possible.
Sweat trickled down my brow and into my eyes as I walked from the barn to the big house for dinner. My eyes burned, but I welcomed it. It was a good distraction from the desolate feeling that never seemed to go away anymore. I hated being angry and sad like this all the time, but I couldn’t seem to help it, so I pushed the sadness away, embracing the anger. It made me feel stronger and more in control.
A female voice coming from the kitchen caught my attention as I entered the house. It didn’t sound like Missy. She was here most of the time, cooking and cleaning and taking care of Joe when needed. She’d been with Preston’s for years, and I could tell immediately that it wasn’t her.
I came around the corner and found an extra person at the small eat-in kitchen table. She was female, but I couldn’t see her face. Her head was lowered, her brown hair blocking my view of her features as she pushed the vegetables around on her plate.
Joe spoke as I pulled a chair out and plopped myself down in front of the new woman, who seemed to be studying her food a little too hard.
“Glad you are finally joining us, Cole. I thought I was going to have to come hunt your broody ass down for dinner,” Joe said, pursing his lips.
Missy turned her chair sideways to feed Joe and pushed her grey hair off her forehead, giving me a scathing look. We didn’t miss dinner together. It was one of Joe’s rules, but after our fight today, I had been dreading this meal. I’d stayed out in the barn a little later than usual. I’d started working at this farm when I was just seventeen years old. My father had never been in the picture, and Joe had been all too happy to take my cocky teenage ass under his wing and teach me. Even though Joe was only fifteen years my senior, he was like a father to me. Fighting with him was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, placing my napkin on my lap and reaching for my sweet tea.
“Got that shit reined in now?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
Missy spooned some chicken and potatoes into Joe’s mouth while he waited on my answer.
“Yes, sir,” I answered, digging into my own food. My jaw ticked in irritation and anger still, but Joe deserved my respect, and I’d always give it to him no matter how mad he made me.
“Good. I’ve been excited for you to meet Everly. She’ll be here with us for the summer, helping out wherever we need her. Everly, this is Cole Briggs and he runs Preston’s,” Joe said, turning his wheelchair towards the brown-haired girl.
Her head rose. Her eyes clashed with mine. I flinched in surprise, our gazes meeting like a head-on collision, and it was a wreck of epic proportions.
Recognition.
Shock.
Horror.
Resignation.
They all traveled across her face quickly, like the train we’d met on four years ago.
I clenched my silverware tight between my fingers, overcome with emotion. It couldn’t possibly be. What in the hell was she doing here? What was going on?
Those blue eyes. They might have been brighter. That smooth, pink skin. It might have been healthier, fuller. But I’d never forget them. I’d recognize her anywhere. After all, I’d spent an entire day trying to save her. She’d been so thin. So young. So frail. And I’d wanted to help here so damn badly.
I was railroaded, bombarded with memories, submerged so deep in them that I immediately went back.
“I do see something I like,” I said, smiling up at her.
I could tell she wasn’t used to that reaction. She was trying to throw sex between us like a brick wall. She was using it to make me go away, and that wasn’t happening. She looked starved and helpless. I’d once been helpless like that, and this small girl reminded me. I wanted to help her.
Tentatively, she took the seat next to me but made sure her body was in no way making contact with mine. She pressed her side all the way against the arm rest the farthest away from me and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Her hair fell all around her face, obscuring her features from me. I could feel her hiding behind all of her hair—behind her big, baggy clothes.
I reached into my black book bag on the floor and pulled a cereal bar out. “Hungry?” I asked, leaning over and holding the bar near her face so she could see it.
She quickly snatched it from my hand, opening the package just as fast and then taking a hungry bite. My stomach lodged itself firmly somewhere in my throat as I watched her. I knew when I’d seen her she was homeless. Her soiled clothes, her dirty hair, and her tiny frame had given that away. But seeing how hungry she was was heart wrenching. She was tiny, so I was having a hard time gauging her age, but she looked to be about fourteen-years-old. So young and helpless.
“I’m, Co—” I started, but she cut me off with a shake of her head as she shoved the rest of the bar into her mouth.
I raised an eyebrow at her. I wasn’t allowed to tell her my name?
“Well, am I at least allowed to ask your name?” I asked, baffled.
She shook her again and chewed the rest of her food. I passed her a bottle of water out of my bag, and she tipped it back, nearly draining the entire thing.
“Thanks, Cowboy,” she mumbled at me from behind her hair.
Ah, I was to be dubbed cowboy, then. I smirked. It was fucking cliché, but she was talking to me, so I’d take it.
She handed me the wrapper and the empty water bottle, staring straight ahead at the seat in front of us, and I placed them into my bag.
“And what am I to call you?” I asked, leaning my head forward so that I was in her line of sight.
She continued to stare straight ahead and deadpanned, “Nothing.”
“Hmmph. Nothing?” I chuckled at the balls on her.
She’d just taken my food and drink and was sitting next to me in the seat I’d offered to her and she didn’t even want to talk to me. I’d give it to her—the kid had plenty of spunk.
She tilted her head back to the headrest and blew out a big breath, and a low groan resonated from her throat. There was a hint of a smile on her lips, and I felt myself grinning along with her. I got the impression her belly hadn’t been that full in a long time, and I was all too glad to be the one to feed her.
Studying her face, I noticed a bit of cereal bar stuck to her cheek. Leaning towards her, I slowly lifted my hand, careful not to frighten her. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t shrink away, so I took that as the all clear. I gently wiped the crumb from her face. She immediately shot me a dirty look and growled.
“What? Were you saving that for later?” I asked, chuckling.
A small grin hit her lips, and the pale skin on the apples of her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink I’d ever seen. Those cheeks sporting that sweet, pink hue reminded me of the peaches that hung from the rows and rows of trees back home at Preston’s.
“Peaches,” I said into the air between us.
The smile slipped from her face, and a tiny wrinkle between her eyebrows appeared. “What?”
“Peaches,” I said again. That’s what I’m going to call you.”
“Peaches.”
The whispered name hit me like a bolt of lightning, and any hopes of him not recognizing me flew out the window—along with all of my plans for the summer. Because I immediately recognized him. He looked older, broader, and harder, but I’d know those eyes anywhere. My cowboy.
Yes. Mine. Somehow, over the last four years, he’d subconsciously become the star of every one of my hero-worship fantasies. I couldn’t have stopped it if I’d wanted to. He’d seen me when no one else had, and he’d taken the time to try to help me when no one else did. He’d been handsome and kind, and he’d turned my sixteen-year-old self inside out—in just a single night, he’d stolen my young heart.
It had only been four years, but it could have been an eternity and I’d never forget my cowboy.
He seemed a little darker. His eyes didn’t hold the gentle mischief and sweet understanding that they had four years ago. His hair was a little longer, and he’d lost his lanky build and was sporting muscles for days. He had a few more wrinkles on his face, but they only made him appear mature and more gorgeous. Cole’d been eating his Wheaties or drinking the hell out of some milk, because my cowboy had turned into…well, a cow-man. And I wasn’t the least bit mad about it.
Still, my anxiety was through the roof, because while I considered Cole my cowboy, I could see that he didn’t think much of me at all. Nothing good, anyway.
