Trust the Cowboy

Chapter Thirty-Two

"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Johansson!"

Everyone in the audience stood up and clapped. A few people yell out a some cheers. Abby and her now husband walk back down the aisle and he dipped her again and kissed her.

I glanced over at Tatum to see him already looking at me. I smile at him and he smiles back as he wanders over to me. He was one of the groomsmen and man did he look good. He was wearing simple dark jeans, a black felt cowboy hat,  and a black button up that somehow fit him perfectly that led everything to the imagination.

"Hey Gem," he says once he reaches me.

"You're not going to stop calling me that nickname are you?" I say back.

"Never," He says with a playful grin.

"Tatum! We have to take pictures!" Lena calls out to him. 

Tatum turns toward his grandma, "Coming!" 

He turns back to me, "I'm sorry I can't stay, but I promise to make it up to you."

I shake my head, "It's alright Cowboy, I'll see you in a bit."

He nods his head but grabs my hand kissing the back of it and then walks away.

What is this man doing to me?

*****

I was watching RaeLynn and her new cousins show me their dance moves on the dance floor when Tatum came up and sat beside me.

"Hey stranger," I say and smile at him.

He gives me a tired smile back, "Hey. I am glad those pictures are done."

I laugh, "Me too."

He doesn't respond he just looks at me, really looks at me and me being afraid of what he'll find, I look away. I clear my throat, "You have a really beautiful home here." 

Tatum seemed to snap out of his thoughts too and looked around at the makeshift, gorgeous wedding venue in their backyard. "Yeah, I used to play lacrosse back here with my dad and brothers." 

"Used to?" I ask. 

Something in Tatum's eyes harden, "Yeah. Used to."

"Oh. What else did you do growing up around here?"

"I got into too much trouble." He chuckles and I smile. I can see the lacrosse memory brought him some sort of pain and I'm assuming it has to do with the loss of his father. I reach across the table and put my hand on his. 

"Sometimes trouble is good." I say with a shrug of my shoulders. 

"Sometimes," he says and laces his fingers through mine. 

While we sit in silence, a song comes on, and next thing I know Tatum is standing and pulling me up with him.

"Dance with me," he says.

I start to shake my head, "Oh no I don't dance."

"Gem," he says and gives me a pointed look, "Dance with me."

I reluctantly stand up and we start dancing once we make it to the dance floor. All I can focus on is his eyes and the way the little lights hanging all around us make them seem a little brighter green. He spun me around and when I come back my back is pressed to his chest as we're swaying. He spins me around again and we're back face-to-face. Our foreheads press together and my eyes close. Relishing in this moment with him. As the song closes, he dips me down and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me. 

Once I was stood back up and facing towards him I was blushing hard. "You don't dance, huh?" he says giving me a cheeky smile. I roll my eyes and give him a little shove. I walk back over to the table as a faster-paced song takes place. 

Tatum sat next to me with his arm around me as we watched Abby and her husband cut the cake and feed each other a piece. I laugh at how Abby smudged it all over his face and he tried getting back at her. They popped a bottle of champagne and I jumped. 

"Get back here, Amber."

"I'm sorry," I said trying not to cry and trying not to let him see that he hurt me. I walked back over to him and he yanks my head over to him by pulling my hair. I bite my tongue so I don't scream out. 

"Disobey me again and this will happen." Next thing I know, he pulled a gun out and for a split second I thought he was going to shoot me but instead he shoots the wood beam that is next to us, that he's hit my head on before. I tried not to jump, but I did. 

"Do I make myself clear?" he asks. 

"Yes," I croak out. 

"Amber?" I feel someone touch my thigh and I jump. I look down at the hand and realize it's Tatum's. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to get some air for a moment." I tried to give him a genuine smile to reassure him but even I could feel how strained it was. I get up and exit the party and go to the other end of the yard, behind a tree, away from prying eyes. 

I take a shaking breath and try to get my emotions under control. But I can feel the tears burning, begging to be let go. 

"Gem?"

I jump and turn around and see Tatum. I hastily wipe away my tears, hoping he couldn't tell in the dark. Suddenly, I feel his hands grabbing my wrists, pulling them away from my face. He starts wiping away my tears with his thumbs. Instead of saying anything, he wraps his arms around me and I wrap mine around his waist.

I take a few more breaths to get myself under control and we stay like that for the longest time. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

I shake my head, "It's nothing you need to worry about."

"But I do worry. I care about you Amber."

It's something about the way he says my name, that ignites something in me and next thing I know I'm pulling his face down towards me and our lips meet. Tatum kisses me back and then I pull away, foreheads pressing together. "I care about you too. But I'm scared."

"Then just give me a chance to prove it to you."

I look at him looking for any lie, but Tatum's never lied to me. 

"Can I trust you?" I ask.

"Always."

*****

Ok but how cute are the Tatum and Amber moments?

Let me know by voting and commenting!

Have a good day! ~Kay