Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Cole
I t was the calm before the storm. Sucking in a deep breath of the humid air, I stood at the edge of my parents’ porch staring into the sky as the dark clouds rolled in. I hadn't been home in two years, but it looked exactly the same as the day I left, and I wasn't sure why that surprised me. I'd expected something to change, but my parent's old wood frame house was still a faded pale yellow and decorated in horrendous chicken decor, the porch was still overcrowded with plants, and a grayish blue porch swing and the stables still had the loft full of hay where I'd kissed Taylor for the first time.
Every corner of this place whispered her name. The porch swing creaked with phantom laughter, and the stables echoed with stolen kisses. I hated this place and all its memories. I hated that I saw Taylor everywhere I looked, and worse was that it was all happy memories until the last time I saw her, but that was the one memory that still haunted this place.
Bailey emerged onto the porch, her lips curving into a hesitant smile. "Hey, brother." The last time I saw Bailey was over a year ago when she showed up at one of my gigs in Texas.
"Hey, little sis." I smiled. Even Bailey looked the same. Her dark hair was a little longer, and she looked a little thinner, but she still had the same big brown eyes.
Bailey leaned against the porch railing, her eyes searching mine. "How long are you back for?"
"Just long enough to convince Kylie to come back to Nashville with River."
"What about Taylor?"
I groaned. That was a loaded question. I was furious with Taylor and Caleb. I was angry that they decided my future for me without me. I was mad at what they took away from me, the future I thought I was going to have. "How long have you known?" Her eyes met mine, and her smile faded. "Did you know when you came to my show?"
"Yes." She nodded. "And if your next question is, why didn't you tell me? Because you wouldn't have listened. You're so freaking stubborn."
She was right. I wouldn't have listened. The minute I heard Taylor's name, I would have shut her out. "It doesn't matter. Nothing's changed; I don't want to see her again."
Bailey's frown deepened as she crossed her thin arms over her chest. "God, Cole. You're still so fucking stubborn." She shook her head, exasperation evident in every movement. She turned like she was going to walk away but stopped and twisted back to me. "I don't agree with what Taylor and Caleb did, but I understand it, and if you could get your head out of your ass, you would too. It wasn't like she took the easy way out. And I will be forever thankful for what she did for Caleb during his last few months, and really, she did it for you."
My jaw clenched, bitterness seeping into every word. "I'm sure she got his life insurance."
"She did." Bailey's gaze shifted past me like she was deep in thought. "Caleb left her enough to pay off her parent's land, but our mother threw such a fit that Taylor surrendered all of it just to keep the peace. Now she owns a bar she doesn't want but won't let go of because it was Caleb’s, and she's over her head in debt all so that you could reach your dreams, Caleb wouldn't die alone, and her dad could be buried next to his wife."
I wasn't even sure how to respond, but I didn't have a chance. The wailing screams of the tornado siren echoed in the distance.
I ran a hand through my hair, frustration evident in every movement. "Shit. I damn sure don't miss this." We had tornados in Tennessee, but not like we did here in Bridgewater. My gaze flicked up to the black skies. "You stay here; I'll set the horses free."
"We heard the weather may get rough, so Colt set them free earlier." Colt had been our ranch hand since I was a kid. The wind picked up, whipping through the covered porch and taking several plants with it. "I'll get Mom and Dad into the storm cellar."
My breath caught in my throat as a familiar worry gnawed at my gut. "Taylor." Her plane landed in Bridgewater this morning. She would be home by now.
Bailey's eyes met mine, understanding flashing between us. "She'll be at the stables. She just got home and she doesn't have anyone else to set the horses free."
"Damn it," I muttered. Of course she would. She always put everyone and everything above herself.
Bailey tossed me a set of keys. "Take the four-wheeler." I caught them reflexively, muscle memory from countless summer nights kicking in. The path to Taylor's on this exact four-wheeler would be etched in my mind forever, each turn and gateway as familiar as my own name. "The gates are always open." I fixed her with a withering stare. I knew that the gates were always open. It wasn't my first time here. "Where's River and Kylie?"
"In the city for tonight, seeing her grandparents," I said, stumbling down the steps. "Do me a favor and call and check on them. Make sure they aren't coming back tonight."
"I will. Go." She pointed to the four-wheeler sitting at the edge of the porch. "And be careful."
Shoving the key in the ignition, I kicked my leg over before shoving down the throttle, and the four-wheeler zipped forward. Flicking a glance over my shoulder, the rain started to trickle down, and by the time I jerked to a stop in front of Taylor's stable, I was soaked.
I leapt off the four-wheeler, my voice carrying over the howling wind as I sprinted through the open bay doors. "Taylor!" Her parents custom-made these stable when Taylor was ten. It was Taylor's favorite place in the whole world growing up. "Taylor."
She froze, her blonde hair slicked to her face and her clothes dripping wet. "Cole?"
"We have to go now." The sirens still echoed in the distance.
Taylor's fingers fumbled with a stall latch, her eyes darting between the horses and the gathering storm. "I will as soon as I release them." Taylor loved her horses, and if she had to choose, she would always pick her horses over herself. Apparently, she would always pick everyone over herself. "They aren't safe here."
I twisted back, taking in the clouds and their funneling formation. "Fine," I hissed. "I'll help, but then we have to get to the storm cellar fast." She nodded. "You get that end, and I'll get this end."
There were over twenty-five stalls, and thankfully, not all of them were filled anymore. I ran from side to side, releasing each door and setting every horse free until I came to the last stall that read Rodeo over. Rodeo was Taylor's horse. He was an Appaloosa that was white with brown spots, and he was beautiful, but he was too old to ride now. "Hey, boy." The horse sauntered up to the door and bumped the hand that I held out for him. This horse had been a huge part of Taylor and I's past. "Been a long time." I scratched his nose, and he nudged me like he'd remembered me. I pulled the latch and opened the stall, releasing him.
The wind whistled, shaking the old building, and a scream ripped through the silence. "Taylor?" I shouted, taking off running. My heart pounded, and my pulse raced at the thought of something happening to her. "Taylor?" I rounded the corner, spotting her lying on the ground like she'd been knocked down. "Holy shit." I slid down to the ground at her side.
She winced, struggling to push herself into a sitting position. "I'm okay."
We both glanced at the large piece of siding lying beside her. It wasn't from her house or stable, which meant the winds had carried it from somewhere else, and considering Taylor's parent's land was over seventy-five acres, who knew where it came from.
"You're bleeding," I said, looking over her for any other damage. "We need to go." She nodded, and I didn't wait for her. I pushed to my feet, pulled her over my shoulder, and ran to the four-wheeler. Setting her down, I jumped on, flicking a glance around while she climbed on. The wind and rain are so loud I can't hear myself think. "Hold on," I shouted as I hit the throttle. Taylor's house was only a few minutes away, but the rain hitting our faces felt like tiny shards of glass slicing through our skin. I tried my best to use my body to protect hers.
I slid the four-wheeler to a stop in front of her storm cellar and killed the engine. "Go," I shouted, and we both made a run for it. I pulled at the lever and jerked open the doors, and we both climbed down, letting the door close behind us, and everything went quiet.
Taylor flicked on the light, her eyes scanning the shelves as she wrung water from her hair. "I think we have some towels."
The storm cellar was a twelve-by-twelve room with a small couch, a folded-up cot, two tall shelves with several clear tubs filled with different necessities in an emergency, and a few green lawn chairs. This wasn't Taylor and I's first storm together, but it was our first time stuck in a confined space since she decided to lie about everything and marry my brother, and that felt slightly overwhelming.
"They should be in one of these," she said, pulling a large blue tub down as blood trailed down her arm.
Blowing out a heavy sigh, I walked over to her and stopped her. "Go sit down and let me clean this up." My voice was soft and gentle. I hated that she was hurt, and I hated it more that I'd let it happen. Her gaze flicked to her arm, and her eyes went wide. "Where's the first aid kit?"
"On that shelf." She pointed towards the first of the tall shelves as she dropped into one of the chairs.
I grabbed the red kit and a roll of paper towels before kneeling at her side. "This looks like it might need stitches," I said, working to clean up the gash in her arm.
"It's fine." She smiled, her gaze shifting to meet mine. "Nothing some antiseptic and some bandaids won't fix."
My eyes shifted back to the wound, but hers lingered. "What?"
Her eyes searched mine. "Why did you come here?"
"What do you mean?" I knew what she was asking, but I was stalling because the truth hurt way too much.
"I mean, why would you come here and help me when you hate me?"
My gaze shifted to meet hers. "I'm still really angry at what you and Caleb did, but I don't hate you, Taylor." My voice was low and gentle. "I've never hated you, even when I wanted to." My voice dropped to a whisper. "I never stopped loving you."
Her body tensed against mine, a shiver running through her. "Cole..." The whisper was barely audible over the storm outside.
I cleared my throat, cutting off her words. That tiny confession made me vulnerable, and I hated feeling vulnerable, especially to someone who destroyed me and had the ability to do it again. "That should do for now. Once the storm is over, you should have it checked out." I pushed to my feet, looking down at her. "You should probably see if you have some dry clothes."
She nodded, and I was thankful she had dropped whatever she was going to say.
I packed up the first aid kit, and she pushed out of the chair and moved back to the tubs, quickly digging through them.
"Here," Taylor said, tossing me a towel from a nearby box before pulling one out for herself. "I think my dad had some clothes down here that you could borrow."
"I'm fine." I pulled off my baseball hat and tossed it into a chair as I swiped the towel over my face and hair.
"Oh," she sighed, but the tone in her voice had completely changed as she pulled a grey t-shirt out of a box and held it up. "It's yours. This is your box."
"It's still down here?" After we got caught in a massive downpour that ended with tornado sirens, her dad suggested I keep a box with some stuff, too.
She nodded, shoving the box my way. "But it looks like my box was taken out."
I pulled the oversized grey shirt out and tossed it to her. "Here. I'm pretty sure you stole that from me a long time ago."
She smiled, catching the shirt. An awkwardness filled the room as we both realized there was nowhere to change privately.
"I'll turn around so you can change." It wasn't like we hadn't seen each other naked. If this had been before, I would have taken her clothes off for her, but it was different now. She wasn't mine.
I worked myself out of my shirt. "So you haven't been down since..."
"Yeah," she said. "The last time I was down here was with you when we got caught in the storm on our horses when the sirens started."
I laughed, remembering using the towel to dry myself. "The time the storm blew something over the door, trapping us, and we had to wait for your dad to let us out."
"Yeah." She chuckled. "I thought he was going to be mad, but he was so happy I wasn't stuck down here alone." She paused. "He loved you."
"What did he say when you told him you were marrying Caleb?" I worked my pants down. "Did he walk you down the aisle?"
"No," she whispered.
"Why?" I pulled on a dry pair of boxer briefs.
"Because there was no wedding." She sighed. "And because I never told him."
My brows pulled together. "Why not?" I turned, completely forgetting that we were changing, and my breath caught in my throat when my eyes dropped to her beautiful, tanned skin. I couldn't remember what we were talking about; it didn't matter. My hands twitched with the need to touch her.
Her chin dropped, and she glanced over her shoulder and out the corner of her eyes as her arm covered her chest.
I stepped forward, pressing my bare chest to her naked back. "Did my brother ever..." It wasn't any of my business. They were married, but I needed to know.
"No," she cut me off. "We never... We never even kissed. He shook my hand on our wedding day. We never would have done that to you."
A wave of relief washed over me. My large hands curled around her hips, pulling her harder against me, dropping my mouth to her shoulder as my eyes closed and I breathed in her sweet scent.
"Cole," she whispered, her body melting into mine. The heat of her body surrounded me, seeping into my bones as memories of when she was mine surged forward.
My eyes flashed open, and I snapped back to reality. "The storm should be over by now." I stepped back and leaned forward, grabbing her shirt and handing it to her. I needed to get out of here. I needed to breathe some fresh air. I grabbed the only pair of jeans in the box and realized just how skinny I was two years ago. I'd spent a lot of time in the gym taking out my frustration on the weights for the last two years. I spun around and sucked in a sharp breath. My eye raked over her bare legs and up to my t-shirt. The way her gaze trailed over me, her eyes filled with desire, made my dick twitch.
Fuck.
I stumbled back a step, my hand rubbing the back of my neck as I averted my gaze. "I'm going to, uh..." My throat bobbed as I swallowed hard. "I'm going to go make sure it's safe and..."
"I'll just come with you..."
"No, please." I paused, holding my hand out. I leaned forward, swiping my phone off the ground and shoving it into my unzipped jeans. "Please just give me a minute."
She nodded as her eyes softened with sadness, tugging on her shirt as she dropped to the couch. Fuck me.
I climbed up the stairs and shoved open the cellar door before crawling out and sucking in a deep breath of fresh air. It was still pouring down rain, but I welcomed the cool water that hit my heated skin. "What the fuck are you doing, man?" I ran a hand down my face, and my phone vibrated in my back pocket.
Pulling it out, I swiped right and pulled the phone to my ear. "Hey, everyone okay?"
"Yes, but we lost power. How about you two?"
"We're good." I shifted to glance back at the house that had no lights on. "Powers down here, too."
"Kylie and River are staying in the city for a couple of days because all the roads are blocked, and I'm going to crash with Colt and Daisy. You should stay with Taylor until the power comes back."
"No, Bailey," I said. "I can't stay here... with her." There was no way I could stay here with her. There was no way I could sleep this close to her and not have her.
"Sorry, brother, but we are out of options. Should only be a night or two." And the line went dead.
Fuck…