She squeezed my hand, leaning into me a bit more as the porch light from our house sprung to life in the distance—a shining beacon promising warmth. “You can tell me. You know about my mama.”
I blew out a breath. “Thank you, I appreciate that, and I do wanna tell you, but…” I couldn’t look at her as I choked out, “I ain’t quite ready to share that ugly part of me yet. With anyone. It’s too dark. Too raw. I…” I shook my head, finally meeting her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
I expected annoyance, maybe even anger from her. I mean, shehadtold me about her past. What I’d gone through—it was bad enough to be plagued with the memories. But talking about them? Dredging them up, reliving them, speaking about them aloud. I didn’t have the strength to tell her yet. As I looked into her eyes, I didn’t find a shred of anything other than affection. Love.
“That’s okay,” she said softly. “When you’re ready, I’m here. There ain’t no rush.”
Chapter forty-five
Hold My Halo
Cheyenne
The bathroom of Cowboy’swas dim, the music slightly muffled and drowned out by the near constant chatter of women talking and laughing and gossiping as they came and went. Charlie fussed over her outfit in the wall of mirrors, every inch of her exuding worry and self-consciousness as she kept her gaze down anytime someone looked her way.
“I can’t believe Cash convinced everyone to come out to a bar,” she huffed, tucking her bangs behind her ear. “They have a jackpot roping tomorrow. They should be home getting rest.”
A part of me agreed, but everyone could use a little fun to let loose. Things had been so tense with mine and Charlie’s looming due dates. I think this was Cash’s odd way of showing us a fun time before the babies came and we couldn’t just go out any Friday night and dance the night away.
I chuckled as I came to stand beside her. “It’s a dance hall,” I clarified, nudging her hip with mine. “There just happens to be like four bars in it.”
She rolled her eyes even as a smile graced her lips. “Semantics.” Her gaze flicked to a random girl who glanced at both ofus, her curious stare going to our stomachs. There wasn’t any possible way to hide it now. The moment the girl disappeared into a stall, Charlie turned to me, shame lingering in the furrow of her brow, the downward pull of her lips. “This is so awkward. Literally everyone is staring at us.”
I turned to her, forcing her to meet my gaze. “First off, fuck everyone who’s starin’ at you. They’re all just jealous they don’t look as drop-dead gorgeous as you,evenbeing eight months pregnant.”
I wasn’t lying. Charlie looked stunning in the black long-sleeved dress that hugged her curves. I was more of a color girl, myself, but Charlie wore the hell out of black, looking all sleek and edgy and sexy. Her copper hair always stood out so well against it.
Charlie’s mouth tugged upwards slightly, but she pegged me with a pointed glance.
I went on before she could protest. “And secondly, who cares? We have just as much right to be here as them. It’s adance hall,we came here to dance. It ain’t like you or I are drinkin’.”
The smile she fought so hard to suppress finally broke through, like the sun peeking through a sky of clouds. “We do look pretty good, don’t we?” she said with a smirk.
I grinned, turning back to look at our reflections once more. “We look fuckin’ fantastic.”
Charlie laughed. “How are you always so confident?”
I shrugged. “I just know my worth, girl. Time you learnyours as well.”
“Have you met my mom?” Charlie asked, her stormy eyes meeting mine in the mirror.
“Ah, to hell with whatever bullshit she says. Don’t give her the satisfaction of tearin’ you down.” I grabbed one of her hands and squeezed.
With a smile, she squeezed it back before sighing. “Alright, let’s go back out there.”
We walked out together, the loud music replacing the chatter in the bathroom. People moved and mingled all around us, the neon signs and blue lights of the dancehall casting everything in a cool tinted glow. I spied our table across the way. Ryder and Maverick stood there talking to a couple of their friends. Bad and Violet surprisingly enough had joined us, and hadn’t come off the dancefloor since we’d gotten here an hour ago. Cash hung out at the other side of the table, closest to the dance floor, charming the pants off an entire group of girls, while keeping his arms wrapped around the waists of two more.
God, he was such a man-whore, but at least he was upfront and honest about it. There were no games with him. You knew exactly what you were getting. A wild night, a great story. A one-night stand. Maybe that’s why I didn’t hate him for what he did. The women who gravitated toward him knew exactly what he was all about, and they wanted him anyway.
My gaze went back to Maverick, who watched me now, a hungry, possessive look in his eyes. I shivered at that look. At what it meant.
A wide grin blossomed on my lips as I tossed my hair over my shoulder and made my way towards him—
Before my right arm was wrenched backwards, my entire world spinning as I was whipped around, coming face to face with none other than…
“Nate?” Disbelief coated my words, unease thrumming to life in my chest.
He towered over me, anger brewing in his eyes like a summer storm. “I thought I made it fuckin’ clear you weren’t keepin’ it.” His tone was sharp, deep, his grasp on my arm biting as he squeezed tighter.
