When we’re home, my cum is gonna be dripping out of her sweet cunt. That thought gives me an odd satisfaction.
Sated and pleased I had my caveman moment, I close my eyes, hug her to me, and bury my nose in her hair. I hate to move, but I suppose we should get back to the ranch. I need to get the boys fed.
Something niggles in the back of my mind, like I forgot something.
My eyes fly open. “I forgot to put on a condom. Fuck.”
She yawns. “I’m on the pill.”
Is that enough? Amber was on birth control when she got pregnant with Gabriel. But I’ve always wondered how responsible she was about taking that.
Still, I don’t want any accidents.
Paige sits up and grabs my face. “Would having another baby really be the end of the world?”
I feel my blood run cold. Amber had severe postpartum depression and refused to get help. It’s one of the things that drove us apart. Aside from the cheating, that is. Not only was it torturous to watch her go through the pain of childbirth, she snapped at everyone. My brothers and I walked on eggshells for months.
I can’t imagine watching Paige go through that. It would kill me.
When I don’t say anything, she looks away. “I see.”
She pushes off me, and I reach into the glove compartment to grab some napkins. In the thick silence, we clean ourselves off.
“Wildflower, it’s not you. I just can’t?—”
“It’s fine. You don’t want kids with me. I get it.” She snaps the seatbelt, crosses her arms, and looks out the window.
My heart sinks. I don’t know what to say.
Sylvia’s words come back to me. I need to do things differently, but how? I’ve given Paige everything I can.
26
PAIGE
Sweat dripsin my eyes as I jog down the dusty road. I could work out in the barn where the guys have a little gym, but I don’t want to see any Walkers right now. I’m still upset about that condom conversation Rhett and I had two days ago. We’ve been tiptoeing around each other and pretending everything’s okay, but I know it’s not because he doesn’t reach for me at night.
I’m done making the first move. And I’m absolutely done putting myself out there again only to be rejected.
I run so far, I creep up on the McAllister ranch. It hurts to see it. The property is pristine, their machinery state of the art. They have a white picket fence around the perimeter of their huge house. I don’t know what the cattle equipment is called, but the chutes are new and not rusted like they are at our place.
Reluctantly, I turn around and start to run back to the Walker Ranch, but a huge black truck comes barreling down the road and slams to a stop right next to me. The tinted window lowers, and I come face to face with Cash McAllister.
His eyes drift down my body. “Look who’s all grown up.” He whistles. “Paige Lewis, who knew you were gonna grow up to be such a looker. Not sure why you thought you didn’t haveany prospects and needed to marry Rhett Walker. Think you could’ve done better.”
I scoff. “Like you?”
“I’m not exactly the marrying type, but if you were the tasty treat up for grabs, I’d consider it.”
“Cash, I’m happily married.”
“That why you’re checking out my ranch? Because you’re so content living with the Walkers? We both know they’re one bad season away from bankruptcy, and when Rhett finally taps out, I’m going to buy all his property.”
Shading my face from the sun, I squint at him. “Is that why you’ve been sabotaging his ranch? So you can get your hands on it?” All this talk about swooping in to buy our ranch makes me think Rhett’s right and Cash is behind all of our recent problems.
He laughs. “That’s not how I operate. I’m happy to wait until the Walkers implode on their own, and then I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”
“What makes you think we aren’t doing well?”
