Cowboys & Horses

Chapter 32

Sure enough, as Dr Tate had promised, I was back at the ranch by Sunday evening. I was due to fly out at the end of the week but had already been told that I was grounded. Marvellous.

So, with a set of crutches, pain meds, and scheduled appointments for the next few days all set up, Brady finally took me back to some sort of normality. He drove me to my chalet and helped me inside.

"Right," he said, glancing around. "What do you need?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're coming to stay with me until the doctor has cleared you for flying."

I snorted, looking at him in disbelief. "I don't bloody think so."

He jerked backwards as if I'd just slapped him. "Why not?"

"I'm not playing third wheel to you and your wife." He grimaced when I said this. "No. I hadn't forgotten."

"If you just let me explain—"

"There is nothing to explain, Brady. You're married. End of. The fact you slept with me makes you just as bad as Ben, if not, worse."

"I think that's a little harsh, Sophie. You should know I'm nothing like him."

I sat down on my bed, my leg already aching. "Why should I? I knew him for ten years until he side-swiped me with my sister."

"But I'm not him, Sophie." He rubbed his hands over his face. "How long are you going to keep clinging onto the bitterness he's left you with? Are you going to compare every man you meet to him and what he did?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If you've only ever had one breed of horse and it nearly kills you, would you go buy another?"

"No. I'd try something else."

My cheeks burned. I'd set myself up for that fall. Why couldn't I make him see what I was trying to say? My whole body was an aching throb, my head was all over the place, and my emotions scattered everywhere. I just needed some relief.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to drop you back here knowing that he was in here waiting for you?" He bent down in front of me and placed his hands on my knees. "For all I knew you were delighted to see him and couldn't wait to get him in your bed."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you being serious right now? Do you really think after giving myself to you for three days straight that I would do that? Is that really what you think of me?"

He squeezed my knee. "No, Sophie. I'm just trying to make a point here. It drove me insane the second you closed that damn door behind you. I stood outside listening because I couldn't bear to leave you with him. Why do you think I suddenly appeared with my chain?"

I had no response. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I blinked furiously, trying my hardest not to let more tears spill.

"Forget, Anna," he said. He cupped my cheek and ran a thumb across my skin. "She's completely irrelevant. It's you I love." He gave me a dazzling smile and said, "I love you, Sophie."

I gasped. Sure, he'd told me last week that he was falling for me but that's different to actually hearing those three little words. They hold the power to change an entire relationship in a split second.

Bursting into tears, I became a jumbled mix of half-laughing, half-crying. I was desperate to say it back to him. The words were there, peaked on the end of my tongue ready to bask him in the same warmth now spreading through my chest. But I couldn't. I just wasn't ready. I didn't want to say them just because he'd said them to me or because my head was a mess. If I was ever going to tell someone those words again, it would be because I meant it and the moment was right.

"Thank you," I said. "But I can't return that to you now."

He smiled. "I know. I didn't say it because I want to hear it back. I said it because I want you to know how I feel about you."

I offered a half smile but didn't waiver. "It doesn't change the fact that I'm not going back to your house. I still can't get my head around everything going on, let alone the fact you're married." I sighed and strung my fingers together. "I need some time."

He nodded. "I understand. I'll stay here with you like last week."

I couldn't help but cringe. The words that followed next tasted nothing but sour as I spoke them.

"No. I mean I need some time...away from you."