Holding You

Page 17

Smiling sweetly at me, Lauren turned and looked out the front window. “The reason I’ve been pushing you away, and frankly just being a bitch to you.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever been a bitch, Lauren.”
Looking back at me, Lauren raised her one eyebrow and lowered her head at me. “Seriously, Colt. It’s okay, I know how I’ve behaved. That night I walked away from you at the party, I saw the hurt in your eyes and it killed me. I was mad and acting like a little spoiled brat.”
I kept my eyes on the road as I listened to Lauren talk. Things were amazing between us right now, and I didn’t really want to risk the chance of us getting into a fight over something that happened in the past.
Lauren fiddled with her ring. It was a small diamond and emerald ring her parents had bought her when she turned sixteen. She’d spin it one way, and then the other. It was a nervous habit she had since she got the ring.
“Lauren, we don’t . . .”
Holding up her hand, she sucked in a shaky breath. “Colt, please let me say this.”
Giving her a weak smile, I motioned for her to keep talking. We had been driving with the sunroof open and I couldn’t help but notice how the wind was sweeping around in the truck and blowing Lauren’s curls around. She didn’t seem to care one bit.
“My dream, since I’ve been a little girl, is to run Daddy’s breeding business. I swear I remember the first time Daddy put me up on a horse. The smell of leather, to this day, reminds me of it.”
Chuckling, I knew how she felt, because I felt the same way.
Clearing her throat, Lauren pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees as she kept talking. The smell of her perfume swept across my face and I inhaled deeply, feeling my dick jump in my pants.
“Daddy told me he thinks I can’t run the ranch by myself. He says I’m not responsible enough and need someone like . . . someone like . . .” Her voice trailed off and my heart slowly broke as I listened to the sadness in her voice.
“Someone like who, Lauren?”
Lauren looked at me and my heart stopped beating the moment I saw the tear. Looking over my shoulder, I quickly pulled over to the shoulder and stopped the car. Putting it in park, I jumped out of the truck and ran around to the passenger side. Opening the door, I reached in and pulled her out. Holding her in my arms, Lauren began crying.
“I’m sorry. I’m not normally like this. I don’t cry. Ever.”
Running my hand along her back, I whispered, “Shh, Lauren, baby, tell me what has you so upset.”
Pulling back some, I reached up with my hands and wiped her tears away with my thumbs. Lauren smiled the sweetest smile I’d ever seen.
“Daddy said he needed someone like you to run the family business.”
Sucking in a breath of air, I took a step back. Everything all of sudden became clear. The night she walked away from me was the same day her dad hired me to help out on the ranch. All the times I talked about my ideas and pitched them to Scott, and Lauren would get so pissed of. It all made sense.
My eyes landed on her beautiful baby blues. They were anxious as she searched my face for some sort of a clue to how I was feeling.
I felt sick. Knowing I was the reason she had been so hurt and upset. I was the reason she had been pushing me away and fighting with me. All the things I said to her, I egged her on.
“Oh God.” Turning, I leaned over and placed my hands on my knees and dragged in deep breaths. “I’m the reason you were so angry. I was the one who was pushing you away the whole time. It was because of me.”
Lauren quickly started talking. “No, Colt I should have talked to you or Daddy. I should have told my father how I was feeling. Instead, I took it out on you and let my hurt and anger push you away. I was also upset about you turning me down that night in your truck.” Tears streamed down her face as she attempted to keep talking. “If only I had stopped for two seconds to see that maybe we could do this . . . we could do this together.”
I made a vow to myself that Lauren would always be first in my life. I’d wake up every single morning with one goal in mind. Make her happy always.
Pulling her into my arms, I held her tight. “Lauren, I love you.”
Her body shook as she let out her tears. “I don’t deserve your love, Colt.”
Pulling back, I pushed her hair from her tear-soaked face. “Yes, you do. We deserve each other and I’m not going to let either one of us waste another second. Lauren, I want you to be happy and I need you to know that I will do whatever it takes to make you happy. If that means going and working for my father or Jeff, that’s what I’ll do, baby.”