Page 35 of This Time Around
Thirteen
Rebecca
“Get out of my way, Cooper.”
Damn him.Damn Jordan.
Push, push, fucking push.He was always pushing.Didn’t he ever realize I didn’t need it?I was dealing with everything the best way I knew how.
Or maybe I wasn’t, but who in the hell knew anymore.
I didn’t even have the time to think about it.Cooper stood in front of me, arms flung wide out to his sides, right in front of my ATV.
“Let me drive.Take you anywhere you want to go, but I’m not letting you go alone and not on this when you can barely see.”
Obviously I was crying.That couldn’t be hidden and my concealer was most likely dripping down my cheeks.Stupid cheap, drug store makeup never stayed when or where I needed it to.
I revved the engine to make him move out of my way, but he leaned forward, wrapping his hand around the grill.
“Get out of my way!”I shouted over the noise.
Cooper shook his head, his black hair blowing in the air.“Let me on and I’ll take you where you want to go, or I’m going to get the other and follow you.”
I could hide from him.I knew this land like the back of my hand and with a head start, I had no doubt I could outrun him and get to one of my favorite hiding places.
I also believed he’d follow me.
Storm clouds were rolling in and rain was coming.It was dangerous for us both to be out and alone.A Kansas rainstorm could turn into a tornado with little warning.
I laid off the pedal so I didn’t have to shout over the engine and jerked my head toward the barn.“Go.I’ll wait.”
He gave me a look.
I did nothing.
Then he took off running, and I looked back to the house.
Jordan was there, on the back patio, arms crossed over his chest—smiling.
Before I could process what that meant, Cooper’s ATV started and he came out of the barn.
I took off.I might not have taken off on him when he wasn’t looking, but if he wanted to chase me, I had adrenaline and anger to burn.
This wasn’t a casual ride through the pastures to check on cattle.This was me, trying to outruneverything.
I flew through the trails, the knot in my hair coming undone at some point and my hair whipped around my face and my shoulders, but I didn’t bother to fix it or slow down.
There was only one place I wanted to be, only one place where I could get far enough away from the house, away from Jordan, away from the truth he callously flung in my face.He wasn’t trying to be a dick.
He was just blunt, and pussyfooting around was never his style, and in turn, whenever he tried, it only pissed me off further because it meant he was coddling me.
I didn’t need that either.I didn’t need someone treating me like I was some precious, wilting flower they had to hold so gently or I’d be crushed.
Jordan never did that.But it didn’t mean the truth didn’t hurt, so I raced away from it, well aware of the hum of Cooper’s ATV right on my heels.
I drove until my tears were dried and my anger subsided.We rode for what felt like forever, kicking up dirt and mud, and until the clouds had taken over the sky.
I drove until I reached the creek before I pulled to a stop.
