Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
I motioned between her and me. “This. Us.”
“There is no ‘us,’ so please don’t assume there’s anything left to say.”
Blowing out a breath, I said, “I’m staying in River Falls for good, Pi— Ensley. I don’t want things to be strained between us, and I don’t want my return to keep you from seeing my parents, who adore you. So I thought we should talk. Maybe I could explain why I left.”
Her one eye narrowed as she stared at me. “I don’t care that you’re staying, and I don’t care why you left. You being back in River Falls doesn’t mean shit to me. Do what you want, Colt.”
She glanced away, then looked at me again to add, “And nothing will keep me from seeing Lynn and Jacob, not even you, because I would never abandon the people I love.”
I nodded, knowing I deserved that. I should have let it go…but I needed to know. “I ran into Doug leaving your room. How long have you been dating?”
Her head snapped back to me again. “Why do you care?”
“It’s just a question, Ensley.”
Before she could say anything, the elevator jerked to life and started to move. Ensley jumped to her feet. “Thank God!”
Less than thirty seconds later, the doors opened to the lobby and four firefighters stood there.
Ensley practically threw herself out of the elevators. One of the firefighters caught her and smiled.
“Whoa! Are you okay, ma’am?”
“Yes! Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“Thank you for getting that going,” I said to one of them, as I shook his hand.
Someone from the hotel approached. “I’m so sorry you were both stuck in there, sir. We’ll be sure to make it up to you with some complimentary nights.”
“That’s very kind of you,” I said, as I glanced over toward Ensley. She seemed fine now, as she stood and spoke to another hotel employee.
“They’re going to shut this one down until they can get someone to come out and figure out what happened.”
I nodded and gave my attention back to the hotel worker. “That’s good. It stopped on me yesterday, as well, but only for a few seconds.”
“No one has come to tell us about it, so again, I’m very sorry.”
Hitting him lightly on the side of the arm, I said, “No worries. No one was hurt, all is good.”
“Thank you, sir, for understanding. If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to let us know.”
Smiling, I replied, “I will.”
Ensley was making her way out of the hotel, so I excused myself and walked faster to catch up to her. When I did, I fell into step alongside her.
“What do you want, Colt?”
“I’d like a chance to talk to you, Ensley.”
“Oh, now you want to talk to me? Because in the last ten years, you couldn’t find five minutes to call?”
“You have no idea how many times I wanted to reach out.”
She came to a stop and faced me. “No, I don’t. Because you never did. Not once, Colt. That first year you were gone, I waited for you. I asked your mother and father about you, and hearing that you were traveling to all these places, simply enjoying your life—without me—finally helped me understand that you never cared about me at all.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true!” she cried. “If you loved me, you wouldn’t have left me. I didn’t even get a goodbye, Colt. Just a stupid note about some stupid promise that you never kept! You made me feel like I meant nothing to you. I not only lost my best friend, I also lost the man I loved and thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with! Meanwhile, you cared so little for me that you left without even telling me to my face!”
“I wanted to tell you, Ensley. Hell, the night before I left, I almost asked you to come with me.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because I knew you would come—and I also knew you wouldn’t have been happy. You love your family, the ranch, your job. You would have hated me for taking you away from River Falls.”
“But you could have at least asked me! Or better yet, tell me you needed time. I would have understood, Colt.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think you would have.”
She gave me a look that gutted me. “Well…I guess we’ll never know, will we? Because you made sure of that.”
Closing my eyes, I drew in a breath and let it out before looking at her. “I was a coward. Yes, I ran. I should have called, but I knew you would be angry. One month turned into three, then six, then a year, then two. I figured you’d be happier without me.”
Tears filled her eyes as a small laugh slipped free. “Then you clearly didn’t know me or know how much I loved you, Colt. The last ten years of my life have been miserable. Do you know how hard it is to try to move on with your life when your heart belongs to someone who didn’t give two shits about you?”