An hour later I watched Molly walk through the doors at the Boseman Airport. I yawned.
"Let me drive home." Hunter said. I looked at him and nodded rubbing my eyes.
"I want to talk." I said. He nodded knowingly and walked to the driver side. I was beyond exhausted but we needed to do this sometime.
"Why'd you warn me about Amber?" He finally asked. I knew he'd ask that.
"Because....I didn't want to see you hurt." I mumbled.
"Why didn't you want to see me hurt?" He asked, oblivious.
"Because........when you told me that night you had a girlfriend......the reason I bailed was because I might've still liked you." I squirmed. I hated admitting my feelings. I was never good with talking about that kind of stuff.
"And the night that I saw you hurt, I knew that I liked you." He answered softly.
"Then why did you get another girl?" I asked. His jaw clenched.
"Because I wanted to make you jealous." He said as he rubbed his neck.
"It worked." I mumbled. I heard a snort come from him and a smile broke out on his face.
After hooking my truck up to my trailer, it was nearly 1:00 in the morning.
"I'm gonna hit the hay." I said, yawning.
"Same, can I talk to you before you leave?" He asked, hope glinting in his eyes. He was standing close, our chests brushing.
"Sure." I said opening the trailer door. He flashed me a million dollar smile and nodded his head, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Night." He said as I shut my door.
I crawled into my bed with the grown cash. Quickly, sleep over took me.
"You scream, I kill you." Dad growled. We were in the woods behind our house. His favorite beating place. He kicked me in the side to show his point. Grabbing my hair, he dragged me over roots, rocks and pine cones. He stopped and dragged his knife across my stomach.
I screamed. I was shaking, sweating, and had been crying. Still crying. I checked my phone. 3:00. I needed someone. I needed Hunter. I didn't care anymore. I felt safe around him. I needed to be with someone I felt safe with. My dad was still out there and I was too hysterical to make coherent thoughts. Throwing back the blankets, I climbed out of the bed and slipped on my slides. Quietly, I creaked open my door and stepped into the rather chilly, night air.
Softly, I knocked on his door. I heard a bed creak and soft mumbling. My breath was still labored and I was still shaking. I heard the click of the door unlock and it swung open. Hunter immediately perked up. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were glazed from being asleep. When his eyes met mine I officially woke up and realized how stupid I was.
"Amelia, what's wrong?" He asked in his husky voice.
"I-" I couldn't finish off the sentence before my voice cracked with emotion. Remembering the memory is too much. He stepped out of the doorway to let me in. I walked in, and he shut the door. Turning around he wrapped his arms around me. Crying into his shirt was not how I thought I would act.
"It's okay." He whispered into my hair again. I buried my head into his shoulder. I should've known this would happen. If I'm sleeping in a bed with someone the nightmares won't hit. I guess molly did more for me while she was asleep than anything.
"N-No it's not. H-he's gonna come back." I whispered.
"I know." He whispered. "Come on, you can stay with me tonight." He said, pulling away. I nodded and got in on one side of the bed. Laying on my side, I felt an arm wrap around me and pull me into a warm chest. I snuggled as close as possible. His breath warming my neck and sending me into a peaceful sleep.
I woke up on something hard, something wrapped around my back, and something playing with my hair. I opened my eyes. "Good morning." A husky voice said. I rolled over and saw brilliant blue eyes. "Morning." I croaked as I rubbed my eyes.
"You leavin today?" He asked as he handed me a cup of coffee. I sat up and leaned against the wall behind me.
"I think so. I don't know which rodeo to go to next." I replied. He nodded his head. Apparently he was thinking because he didn't answer until like five minutes later
"What about the Wild West rodeo?" He asked. Now it was my turn to think.
"I think I need to take a break. Trixy is getting more stiff and I don't know how long she'll hold." I said.
"Do you have a place to stay?" He asked.
"Not really." I answered, squirming under his gaze.
"Well you can always come and stay with me." He said warily. I looked at him wide eyed.
"Really?" I asked getting excited. But then it struck. "No I can't that's too much.
"It would be great to have you around. It gets pretty lonely and your fun. We have a lot of horses so.....yea." He said with a smile.
I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He laughed and wrapped his arms around my back.
"Thank you." I whispered. I was beyond thankful for being able to have someone like him.
"Your welcome." He whispered back. I pulled my head back and smiled up at him. His eyes held a gaze I've never seen before. They looked hard yet soft and there was a hint of something I couldn't tell.
"Can I kiss you now?" He asked.
"Ya, I think I'd like that" I whispered and nodded. His lips crashed against mine. His hand found my neck and mine rested on his shoulder. Fireworks erupted in the pit of my stomach just as he pulled away. Short and sweet. Nothing else.
"Why don't you go pack your stuff up and get ready and then we'll head out to my ranch?" He asked, rubbing my neck.
"Perfect." I mumbled as I leaned my forehead against his. He smiled.
I hopped in my truck and revved up the engine. I scratched Cash behind his ear. He barked in gratitude, earning a laugh from me. Hunter had given me directions so I punched it into my phone and selected my music. He lived in Idaho and we were in Montana so we had I little bit of a drive. 'Humble and kind' by Tim McGraw came on and me being myself, started karaoke.
As we entered the little town of Sandpoint, Idaho I could barely talk from singing so much. I turned on to a long gravel road and started the journey up a hill. Let's just say this place is different then Alabama. You can see for miles, wild flowers lined the roads, and horses ran freely along with your truck. I probably looked like a dork at how much I was smiling.
I hopped out of the truck and let cash out.
"Wow." I whispered. A big red barn sat adjacent to a cow pens and a little bit farther down was a two story log cabin with a wrap around porch. A chicken coop sat next to it and behind it were rolling hills with no doubt cattle in them.
"Isn't it amazing?" Hunter whispered in my ear as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I nodded.
"Come on, I'll have the ranch hand put Trixy into an empty stall while I show you to your room." He said grabbing my hand and leading me to my trailer door. "Okay." I managed to say. We grabbed all of my clothes and my toiletries then walked to the house.
As we walked in, I was strucked with awe. A fireplace, two leather couches, and a TV sat in the room that we were in. Walking up stairs to the right, Hunter led me to a suite. A dark floor, light grey walls, white dresser, desk and bed frame filled the room. The bedsheets were blue and a bathroom door sat next to the dresser. "What do you think?' Hunter said, smiling at my face. I smiled and hugged him. He placed a kiss on my lips.
"This is amazing." I said rubbing his shoulders. "I thought you'd think that." He whispered. I pecked him on the cheek and stepped away.