“Uhm, no?” I asked, grabbing the top of the hat to remove it and hand it back. His fingers closed around my wrist, effectively stopping my movements, placing the hat back on my head.
“Wear the hat, ride the cowboy,” he smirked down at me. I looked up at him from beneath my lashes, not bothering to hide the thrill that coursed through my veins.
“You get a pass this once, because you didn’t know.” Dipping his head down and looking me directly in the eyes, he continued, “but, make no mistake Stella, that hat looks damn good on you and when you’re ready, I’ll give you the ride of your life.”
THIRTEEN
stella
The bright morninglight assaulted my senses, waking me from my alcohol induced slumber, and I rolled over with a groan. The heady feeling of a good night’s sleep was tinged with a bone weary exhaustion, the kind you can only feel after sleeping deeply without waking.
Reaching over onto the end table, I smacked around for my phone before checking the baby monitor. Judging by the light streaming offensively in through the blinds, both Charlie and I had opted to sleep in this morning.
We had gotten home at precisely midnight, fulfilling Ray’s promise that we would get in just before the clock struck twelve. I popped my head in as soon as we got home and gave Charlie a brief kiss on her forehead before padding across the hall to my own room and flopping on the bed fully clothed.
Things between Max and me at the end of the night had been surprisingly easy. There wasn’t any heavy awkwardness that I’d expected after agreeing to go on a date with him- it all felt so natural.
After we danced a few more songs, we finally managed topersuade Ray to leave with us, and then we carefully helped her into the passenger seat of Wade’s truck, which he had pulled up out front and was already waiting for us. She had somehow weaseled her way into a few more tequila shots, but we escaped the night without a fight. Wade had ensured that he would get her home safe, having only had one beer, then switching to soda for the rest of the evening.
Max, being the gentleman that he is, had done the same and drove me back to the ranch as I rambled on and on in his passenger seat about everything and nothing at all. It was a good night, and one I desperately had needed.
Forcing my eyes open in order to check the time, I sat straight up in bed with a jolt.
It was already ten in the morning. How in the hell had Charlie and I slept in that late?
A cold dread seeped into my bones as I snatched the monitor off the end table, each frantic heartbeat a hammer against my ribs.
What if something had happened in the middle of the night and I was so irresponsible about coming home drunk that I didn’t even register it?
Heart pounding, I scrambled out of bed, noticing the empty crib on the monitor, and raced to the door. I threw it open and tried to calm my rapid pulse as I ran down the hall to the living area. I wasn’t bothering to look in her room. The monitor had told me all I needed to know - she wasn’t in there.
Why didn’t I hear her cry?
What if she got injured?
How had someone gotten into the house to take her?
Why didn’t the house alarm go off?
The questions in my head swirled like a tempest, each onea sharp jab, and my breath hitched in my throat, tears threatening to spill. The overwhelming urge to scream and cry was weighted down by my drive to find my daughter. When it came to fight or flight, in Charlie’s instance, I’d always fight.
I sprinted into the kitchen and came skidding to a stop. The scene before me had me transfixed, not in fear, but in awe.
Sitting at the kitchen table was Max, scrolling through his phone. He had his thick black-rimmed glasses on and a cup of coffee steaming in front of him. Beside him, in her high chair and happy as a pig in slop, sat my beautiful and safe baby girl.
I released the breath I’d been holding and leaned against the archway into the kitchen in relief, willing my pulse to slow.
She was safe.
She was safe.
She was safe.
I repeated the mantra again and again, feeling my racing heart gradually settle into a calmer rhythm, each syllable a soothing balm to the overwhelming anxiety that had taken over my body.
I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn’t notice Max standing before me until his large hands, calloused and warm, gently grasped my upper arms. I flinched, still coming out of my panic induced haze, and he quickly released me, a pained expression flashing across his face.
“Stella, I’m so sorry.. I didn’t think..”
