I flinch at the cold fury in his voice and the hate in his eyes. It’s my fault it’s directed at me.
Bo trusted me. We were becoming friends—real friends. It even seemed like I was growing on David. He even offered me the chance to stick around for another season if I wanted, and hetold me he wanted me to come back with Carlos next year. The three of us worked so well together on the cattle drive that it felt like we’d done it a million times over, like we were a team by choice instead of convenience. I fuckinglikedit here.
And I threw it all away for a pretty girl who doesn’t even fucking care about me.
“Yes, Sir,” I say hollowly.
Maggie’s hands fall limply to her sides as she turns to face me, and her voice breaks like glass when she says, “Bennett?”
Godfuckingdamnit.
How could I be so stupid? How could I let myself eventhinkabout Maggie? I knew the second I saw her that she’d be nothing but trouble, and I walked straight into it anyway.
It’s cowardly to slink away without even looking at Maggie, without evenapologizing, but it’s also the smartest thing I’ve done since I got here. David already said his piece, and I burned the foundation I’d started to build here down to embers.
There’s nothing left to do but leave.
“Bennett, stop!” she cries. “Just stay, we’ll figure this out! Where the fuck are you going?”
Bo’s furious glare is heavy on my back as I rush off, and Maggie’s heartbroken plea for me to stay echoes painfully in my ears.
I ignore it all.
“Bo, you ruinedeverything!” Maggie screams.
I don’t let myself think about the possibility of this being more than sex to her, even in the face of how torn apart she sounds.
I rush back to my truck and pack with shaky hands, stuffing things into the backseat haphazardly. The shit in my trailer will be fine for the ride home, since I don’t intend to stop. Thank God I never unhitched the trailer; I don’t think I could set it back up right now with how weak my arms feel. My cheeks throbsviciously with every breath I take, but I at least avoided a split lip.
My pulse is so heavy I can feel it all the way in my fingertips, my lips numb and my chest burning with an emotion I don’t want to put a name to. How could I fuck up this badly?
How could I let myself?
My ringtone pierces through the air, shrill and loud enough to make me curse in surprise. I look at the screen, guilt curling in my gut when I see who’s calling.
“Pa, hey.” Is my voice shaking? Did David call Pa and tell him everything that fast? “How’s it going?”
No, David doesn’t know who I am. He’d have beat me black and blue if he knew a Hernandez was laying hands on his little girl.
“All good news over here! Ana went into labor about an hour ago, so Carlos has been running around trying to get everything set up at home,” Pa says, sounding fondly amused. “You got any news for me,mijo?”
Well, aside from potentially ruining your working relationship with our biggest supplier…
“Nothing here.” Hopefully, he can’t hear the anxiety in my voice. “Cattle drive went well, everything David picked up looks good. Wrapped up early, actually, so I’m packing up now to head home.”
“Good, glad to hear it. Carlos will be out for a few weeks to help Ana with everything, so I’ll need you to take over for him when you get back.”
At least I’ll have something to get my mind off all this. Busy hands will keep my thoughts at bay, and I’ll be able to put all this behind me.
“Perfect timing. I’ll be on the road in about half an hour, should be back for dinner tomorrow,” I say, kicking the passenger side door to my truck closed.
“You’re leaving so late?” Pa asks, worry threading into his voice. “Why not wait for the morning,mijo? I don’t want you driving through the night.”
I could probably find a place to spend the night somewhere in town, but there’s no way David will let me stay asecondlonger than I need to. Too much has gone wrong here, anyway. I just want to be back home.
“Don’t worry, Pa, I’ll be safe,” I assure him. “If I get too tired, I’ll pull off somewhere and sleep, but I’m ready to be back home.”
There’s nothing left for me here, at the very least. All I have left is home.
