Cowboy Love

Chapter 6

Three weeks have passed sine I stabbed myself in the foot, and it's pretty much healed. I've found a part-time job at a fast food restaurant, Little Ceaser's, much to my granpa's unhappiness. I work there from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. The guy at Emery's school hasn't bothered me either with the exception of a few weird looks when I pick Emery up from school. 

"Do you have to work tonight?" Emery asks with a pout when I pick him up from school. 

"Yup until 10 p.m., so I'll be home after you're in bed. The good thing is though is since today is Friday, I can spend the time with you tomorrow until I go to work," I grin at him while we walk toward my truck. 

Emery pouts at me while he climbs into the truck; "But I miss you when you're at work."

"I miss you, too, Em, but I need to make sure I can help provide for us," I remind him as I drive us him. 

"Paw-paw says you don't have, too," he counters with his arms crossed over his chest with a huff.

"I know, but I need too, okay?" I say, trying to keep the sigh from my voice.

"Okay," he pouts. "Will you bring me home some food?" 

"Sure, do you want your normal?" I reply, happy he's dropping the subject for now. 

"Yes, please!" he happily replies bouncing in his seat at the thought of the bread sticks, he and I love them cold. 

"Then I'll bring it home for you, and you can have it tomorrow," I grin, turning onto the road the ranch is on. "How was school?" 

"Good! I made two friends today!" he proudly announces to my relief. "Nora Lane and Harry Moore."

"I'm so excited for you, Em!" I cheer softly. "Maybe one of my days off I can take the three of you out to do something fun in town."

"That would be awesome! I'll text them tonight after I do my homework!" he says bouncing in his seat again. 

"Good, see if they can do something Monday after school. Maybe we can go to the arcade, or something local," I say while pulling into the driveway. 

"Okay," he grins before quickly climbing out of the truck once I've parked, and he runs off into the house. 

I can't help the smile that crosses my lips as I watch him run into the house. He hasn't been this happy since before Kyle entered our lives, well with the exception of moving here. Climbing out, I head inside to shower and change into my uniform for work. After showering and dressing, I head downstairs, and into the kitchen to tell Emery, papa and paw-paw goodbye.

"Hey, I'm leaving now," I say as I enter, and I find Em at the table doing his homework while the granpa's are starting dinner. 

"Straight home after work," papa firmly says, even though I've never stopped anywhere after work. 

Papa has been cold toward me and paw-paw since the foot incident three weeks ago, but he's been fine wit everyone else. Paw-paw hasn't been any different with me since then, so I have no idea what's going on. 

"I know and I never do," I reply as I kiss Emery on the head. "Bye Em, and I'll see you in the morning. I love you."

"Bye Echo, and I love you, too," he grins up at me from his math sheet. 

Leaving the house, I climb into the truck, and as I look out the front windshield to drive away, I'm surprised to see Aspen and Rowan leaning up against the horse corral, and they're both starring intently at me. Smiling and waving at them, I pull away and head back toward town. 

Quinn's P.O.V.

"When are you going to apologize to Echo for smacking him and your coldness?" I quietly ask Ethan so Emery can't hear as we prepare the stew. 

Ethan sighs softly as he brings his sad and guilty eyes up to meet mine; "Tonight when he comes home."

"Good, and you need to lay off of him some," I remind him since we've discussed both topics. "He's a good kid, and you're treating him like shit because he got a job. Now, I'm not happy about it either, but you have to remember, baby, Echo had to grow up quickly when Kyle came into their lives. I'm sure Echo feels he has to do this, so we don't send him away."

"I know, and I wish we had known what was happening earlier than we did, so we could have done something about it," he sighs softly looking at Emery. "I just don't know where we went wrong with Evelynn that she thought allowing a man to do that to her children was alright. And what do you mean he feels he has to work so we don't send him away?"

"It's something he mentioned to Rowan the other day," I say softly with a shrug of my shoulders as I dump the cooked beef cubes into the pot. "We didn't do anything wrong with Evelynn since we raised her the same way we did the other kids."

"Yeah, your right, I guess," he sighs. 

Echo's P.O.V.

By 10 p.m. I'm exhausted and ready to go home.

"Echo, go ahead and clock out, and go home," my manager, Erick, instructs with a smile. 

"Okay," I say with a tired grin. 

I'm ready for a shower the food smell off me, and crawl into bed and sleep. Clocking out, I grab a bag of break sticks and sauce, pay for it, and leave. Ten long minutes later, I'm home, and I grab Emery's food, and head inside quietly since everyone is asleep. Opening the fridge door, I put Em's food on a shelf, and shut the door, and let out a shriek of fright when I come face-to-face with papa. 

"Wow. You've got serious ninja skills," I breath out with my left hand lying flat over my rapidly beating heart. 

"You bough home the bread sticks for Emery, right?" he asks avoiding my statement. 

"Of course I did," I reply as I start to walk around him to head upstairs to bed. "Goodnight."

"Echo, wait a minute, I need to talk to you," he says quietly, catching my left elbow in his hand. "Come into the living room with me."

Sighing at him, I ask; "Can't it wait until the morning, I'm tired?"

"No, this will only take a few minutes," he firmly replies. 

"Fine," I mumble walking into the living room after he let's go of my elbow; sitting down on the opposite end of the couch from papa, I sit with my hands in my lap and my eyes glued to my hands. Papa doesn't say anything for several seconds, and I'm about to leave when he finally says something.

"I'm sorry for slapping you three weeks ago when I caught you smoking. Not that you should be smoking, but I shouldn't have struck you. I'm also sorry for being an asshole toward you. I worry about you, and I can't figure out where paw-paw and I went wrong with your mama, and I'm terrified of doing the same thing to you and Emery."

The entire time he's talking his gaze never falters from mine, and I can see the guilt swirling in his eyes. 

"Don't worry about it, water under the bridge," I shrug. "Can I go to bed now?"

Papa sighs at me; "Echo, we just want you to be a teenager, not an adult. Soon enough you're gonna have to be an adult legally."

"A lot of teens have jobs at my age," I tell him with a frown. "Besides, this isn't the first job I've had."

"The point is, you help around here, attend school, and take care of Emery, so you don't need to have a job because you think we're gonna send you away if you don't," he replies searching my eyes. 

Frowning at him, I sigh out; "I'm keeping the job since I need to save for my future. Can I go to bed?" 

"Yeah," he sighs finally giving in. "I love you."

"Me, too," I mumble walking away; once upstairs I quickly shower, change into my jammies, kiss Emery gently on the head, fall face first onto the bed, and fall asleep instantly.