Her eyes widened in shock. “Wh-what isn’t going to work?”
“This. Us. I mean, if you’re going to be starting a new position within your family’s business, you’ll be working long hours. I’ll be working long hours and we’ll be almost three hours away from each other.”
Slowly shaking her head, her mouth parted open. “What are you doing, Jase? Do you regret what happened between us?”
“What? No!” I gasped. “What happened between us earlier was the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Why do you keep doing this?”
“I . . . I’m just not sure I deserve you and I would never want you to leave your job because of me.”
“Why do you think you don’t deserve you?”
My eyes looked over at Cammie who was sitting at the bar watching everything. I knew if given the chance she would tell Taylor about the night I spent with her and her friend.
Pushing my hand through my hair, I lowered my voice. “I’ve done something in my past I’m not proud of and if you ever found out about it . . . you might think differently of me.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “You think that little of me? So you have a past? I don’t care about that.”
My head was spinning. “I want to feel like I deserve you, Taylor. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
Taylor stood, pushing her chair back. “But yet you sit here and tell me it won’t work. I should have known you would do this. You got what you wanted and you’re casting me to the side . . . again. My sister was right about you.”
Pinching my eyebrows together, I stood up. “What? That’s not what I’m doing at all. I love you, Taylor, and I only want to do what is best for you.”
“So, fucking me and then telling me it won’t work is best for me?”
I quickly glanced around before turning back to her. “No, wait, that’s not what I meant.”
She held up her hand. “Are you with Cammie also?”
My head jerked back. “You’re seriously going to ask me that after what happened between us today?”
With a shrug, she stared at me. “Well, I don’t know, Jase. Maybe there is more to you I don’t know about.” She folded her arms across her chest while waiting for an answer. How could she think I would do that to her? “No, I’m not with Cammie. I’m not with anyone.”
Hurt instantly washed over her face as I pushed the chair back and walked away. Before I was even out the door, Cammie was walking up to me and following me out.
“It would have never worked, Jase. You have to know that.”
Once I stepped outside, the humid air hit me and took my breath. I turned to the left and walked. I had no idea where I was even going. Cammie followed me for a bit before I stopped and looked at her. “Leave me alone for fucks sake, Cammie.”
Her jaw tightened as she narrowed her eyes in anger. “Are you dismissing me?”
With a roll of my eyes, I shook my head. “Fucking hell yes! I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”
She shook her head. “You just made the biggest mistake of your life, Jase Morris.”
“Somehow I think the biggest mistake of my life was walking away from Taylor just now.”
Jase
October—Llano Texas
I sat and stared out over the pasture as my father went on and on about Ava breaking her leg and staying back in Montana.
“I’m sure she’s gonna be fine, Dad. Stop worrying.”
“Did you even hear a damn word I just said?”
Turning to face him, I gave him a blank expression. I’d spent the last few minutes dreaming of my lips on Taylor. Hearing her soft moans as I made love to her. “Yeah, you’re going on and on about Ava.”
He pinched his eyebrows and shook his head. “Son, I haven’t said a damn thing about Ava in at least ten minutes. Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting there nodding your head and mindlessly answering me.”
“Um . . .”
He shook his head and walked over to the fence we had just finished repairing. “Do you see this fence?”
Okay, where is he going with this?
“Yes. I see the fence.”
“I might as well have been talking to it for the last hour. What in the world is weighing on your mind, son? You haven’t been yourself ever since you got back from Europe, and I swear if I didn’t know any better I’d say your favorite horse died this morning with the way you’re sulking.”
Jumping off the tailgate, I smiled. “I’m not sulking and nothing is wrong. I’m just tired I guess. Went out last night with a few friends.”
He lifted his brow and gave me that look when he doesn’t believe that line I’m feeding him. “Tired? Well you better snap the hell out of it.”
I gathered up the tools and put them in the bed of the truck before facing him and asking, “How did you know Mom was the one?”
He stopped and looked at me. It never failed, any time he talked about or thought of my mother his eyes lit up. With a chuckle, he shook his head as if lost in a memory.