“That…beautiful girl…you were with…who is she?”
A smilecreeps up on my face. “Her name’s Stella. And I’ll tell her thatyou think she’s beautiful. Her and her brother are staying at theranch while they look for a place on Dallas.” I pause. “She’s mycousin, Ellie. I was taking her to the grocery store.” Anotherpause. “Is that what this is about? You think I’m seeing someoneelse?”
“Well, you have no ties to me, Maverick. There is nothingcarved in stone saying that we belong together.”
My heartswells. Maybe I had Ellie wrong all along. If she didn’t care aboutme, she wouldn’t be questioning anything. She wouldn’t havefollowed me back to the ranch, and she surely wouldn’t be standinghere in her kitchen, fighting back tears, thinking that my heartdoesn’t belong to her.
“Ellie,” I say, but she interrupts me.
“No. Now, I know that what we had before the baby, wasdifferent. We had some passion and some fun, but something happenedwhen I was pregnant. Something between you and I. You can ignore itif y’all want to, but I felt it, and I can’t stop thinking aboutyou, and I’m so goddamn scared to be feeling what I’m feeling sosoon after my divorce. But it is what it is and I love you and ifyou don’t want to hear it then I’m sorry, but I said it once beforeand y’all didn’t answer, so I figured you didn’t love me back.” Shebabbles and I stop her by taking a step towards her and holding hertight
“Oh, darlin’, I love you with every beat of my heart. I’vebeen wanting to tell you for so long but I knew y’all weren’t readyto hear it yet.” My one arm is wrapped around her middle and theother is under her neck, pulling her close. I can feel and hear herwhimpering, letting all that emotion out.
“I love you, too, Maverick. I was so afraid to tell you. Ithought you were only acting like we were close because of thebaby.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I fell in love with you long before that. I’mnot sure when exactly, but the baby put the icing on the cake forme.”
Shesniffs. “I let you down when I lost the baby. I didn’t think you’dever forgive me for that.”
I pullback so we’re nose to nose. “Darlin’, you never let me down. Younever let anyone down.”
Shesearches my eyes. “But I lost the baby.”
“Ellie, it wasn’t your fault. Now, I don’t know how many timesI have to tell you that, love, but it wasn’t anything that y’alldid or didn’t do, darlin’. Sometimes things just happen withoutexplanation.”
“But you cried…when you found out.”
“Of course, I cried, Ellie. It was our baby. And I hurt formyself and for you, too, darlin’. Gosh, I never wanted to see thatkind of hurt in your eyes. And there wasn’t anything I could do totake that hurt away.”
Shecontinues, as if trying to convince herself. “And then I figuredyou didn’t want me anymore if the baby wasn’t in thepicture.”
I slidemy fingers through the hair at the sides of her head. “God, whatdid Will do to you to make you feel so unworthy of love,huh?”
And it’slike a cloud has lifted from her eyes. “Jesus.” Her vice cracks. “Inever saw it until now.”
“Saw what, love?”
“Will. I think maybe because he was so needy and I was alwayslooking after him, that I thought if I couldn’t look after him, hewouldn’t love me.” She pauses, still mulling through. “I guess Igot into thinking that so much that I saw you as not loving meanymore because I lost your baby.”
I pullher close. “Ellie, I love you no matter what. I never stoppedloving you for a minute. I’ll never stop loving you.”
She’ssobbing into my neck. “I’m so sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for, love.” I say softly, stroking herhead tenderly. I kiss her head and she pulls back.
“I missed you so much.”
I searchher eyes. “Not a moment went by that I wasn’t thinking about you.”My voice is soft. Then one side of my mouth lifts into a smallsmile. “When did you tell me you loved me?”
The lookon her face is so precious. Like she’s admitting to a wrong. “Whenyou were sleeping.”
My smilegrows. “In the future, y’all should try telling me when I’m awake.”I wink.
“I will.” She murmurs. I want to kiss her so bad and themoment her eyes move to my lips, I plant a soft one on her mouth.When our lips part, she’s looking at me like she wants more, so Ikiss her again, this time letting it linger.
“I missed you so much.” She repeats in a whisper, and her toneis almost desperate.
“I missed you, too.” Another kiss, being careful to keep itchaste. The look on her face as the gap between us widens aftereach kiss is unreadable. It’s like she wants more but she’s beingtentative. “Something wrong, sweetheart?” I ask in amurmur.
