Chapter 11 Greyson
PENNY
“Earth to Penny,” Karmen huffs, waving her hand in front of my face.
Snapping out of my daze, I direct my eyes to hers. “Yeah?”
“You’ve been folding the same shirt for ten minutes.”
As I’m about to refute her, I look down at the item in question, then over at the pile to the right, confused.
“You’d fold it, but instead of grabbing a new one, you’d shake it out and fold it again. You did it seven times before I said anything.”
Sighing, I press my eyes closed. “I’m sorry. I’m just distracted.”
“It’s fine. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I am, but…I don’t really know if I’ll ever be.”
“Do you care to talk about it?” Karmen offers.
“There isn’t much to talk about. I got jealous at the restaurant and I ran.”
“Do you regret that?”
“A part of me does, but it was bound to happen eventually. Women throw themselves at Grey, and that’s not going to change because he has a new baby. If anything, women will want him even more.”
“But does he want them?”
“How could he not?”
“Because he wants you.”
I roll my eyes. “You assume a lot.”
“Even you said you thought he did that night I picked you up. You’re just determined to ruin a good thing.”
I gasp, offended. “Excuse me?”
“Tell me I’m wrong,” Karmen challenges.
My lips part, but no words pour out, because deep down, I know she’s right.
When my parents died, I had no one. People who were supposed to be my kin turned their backs on me. It was only with the help of the ranch that I was able to get on my feet.
But the sting of my family’s rejection was always there.
“My family didn’t want me,” I confess.
“I know there was a tragedy, the fire, but no one ever talks about it,” Karmen says, smoothing my hair away from my face.
“My parents died when I’d just turned eighteen. It was due to a house fire. No one’s fault, really. Just kind of happened.”
“I’m sorry you went through that,” Karmen whispers.
“I don’t miss them, to be honest. They never wanted me, or any of their children, for that matter.
Feeling their contempt, my siblings left years earlier, some moved in with my grandparents, others made it on their own.
When my parents died, I was too old for government help, so I reached out to every family member I could, offering to work and pay rent, but they said no. ”
“That’s terrible.”
“With nowhere to stay, I went back to my house to just look at the remains. I think I was in shock. Greyson came out to make a bid on the land, knowing it would be dirt cheap, and found me crying. He asked what was wrong, so I told him. Everything. He hired me on the spot, and if it weren’t for that, I honestly don’t know what would have happened to me. Everyone just…abandoned me.”
“Sweetheart, those feelings of rejection you’re harboring are interfering with your relationship.”
Tears flood my eyes. “What relationship?”
“Greyson isn’t going to give up just because you walked out on a fancy meal before the check came.”
Despite my misery, I smile. “But this isn’t the first time I walked out on him, and it may not be the last.”
“Then come clean. Be honest with him.”
“If only it were that simple.”
Karmen’s hand folds over mine. “Then let me help you.”
As I’m about to snap at her, I see how genuine she is. And then it hits me: I’m not just bad at romantic relationships. I don’t know what it’s like to have a friend.
I swallow a thick knot in my throat and feel my chest grow heavy.
“I’m scared, Karmen.”
“I know, but I’m here for you.”
“You’ve already done too much by letting me stay with you.”
“How about letting me do more? I could speak with Grey?”
“And tell him I’m not crazy?”
She giggles. “Oh, I’ll absolutely tell him you’re crazy. But I think he likes it.”
I shake my head from side to side. “That’s not going to work.” I think back to the haunting memories I have of my youth. Of my mother’s despondency and my father’s fury. Of all the ways I felt rejected, not just by them, but by everyone.
Kar starts to turn away, and I grab her wrist. “Wait!”
She turns back and lifts her brow.
“I know what I need to do, and I need your help.”
GREYSON
It isn’t often in my life that I feel true pain.
Losing my mother was almost too much to bear, but I got through it with the help of my kin, and we came out stronger on the other side.
But that won’t happen with the loss of Penny.
It doesn’t take a genius to know what happened. She must have come out when Eddy was on my lap, refusing to get off. I didn’t want to cause a scene, and eventually, a waitress intervened. But by then, it was too late.
For five long days, I’ve tried to give Penny the space she needed to figure things out, but the more time that passes, the harder it gets for me to cling to the last shred of sanity I have left.
I feel helpless. Like a damn child.
And there’s nothing I can do to make it better.
A knock sounds on my office door.
“Come in,” I call, hoping to see Penny’s grumpy face when the door opens.
Instead, I see Duke’s.
“What do you want?”
He steps aside, and behind him is Karmen Sanders.
“Is something wrong?” I blurt, hoping Penny is okay.
“She’s fine,” Karmen assures me.
I slouch back in my chair. “Is this her way of dumping me?”
“No.” She pulls out a slip of paper from her purse and hands it to me. “She wanted me to give you this.”
Without another word, she leaves with Duke in tow.
I suck in a breath, hoping like hell it’s not bad news. What’s sprawled on the thin blue lines is an address.
And then it clicks.
I grab my coat, hop in my truck, and speed across Perish Prosper to the lot that once belonged to her family. I bought it, intending to build a storefront, but never got around to it.
Sure enough, she’s seated on a bench I had placed there, overlooking a garden the locals planted.
Unsure of what to do, I walk over and take a seat next to her on the bench.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” Penny says, her voice tight.
”How does it make you feel?”
”Angry. A little hollow.”
”I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”
”Quite honestly, if I hadn’t, I can’t say my life would have turned out any better.”
”What’s on your mind, Penny?” I ask, hoping I can save us from what I fear is Penny’s doubts.
“All those years ago, you saved me when no one else wanted me, but what I never told you is that no one ever wanted me, even before the accident.”
“No one?”
She shakes her head sadly from side to side.
“My mom was like a zombie, and my dad was so full of rage, I sometimes wondered why he even bothered sticking around at all. I can’t blame my siblings for leaving.
Just like I can’t blame my grandparents for not helping me. There were just too many to help.”
“They may have abandoned you, but I won’t. From now until my dying breath, I’ll never leave your side. And it’s not just because of the baby. I love you, Penny. I love you more than anything, and I can’t wait to have a baby with you.”
She smiles but looks tortured. “I love you too.”
“I’m glad I found you, Penny.”
“The thing is, I don’t know if I’ll ever believe that. I want to, and I almost did. But then I walked out of the restroom to find that girl on your lap, and I just…couldn’t.”
“Eddy Rae means nothing to me.”
“I know that. I knew it that night. But the feeling I got when I saw her on top of you…it was powerful, and so damn terrifying.”
“Then maybe I need to work harder to make sure I’m never put in that situation again.”
“And how are you going to do that with all your fancy parties and shindigs?”
“I just won’t go. Investors don’t need all six brothers at a party. And besides, Axel’s way better at that kind of thing.”
“Greyson, that’s ridiculous.”
“No. That’s what love is.” I place my hand on her back and give it a gentle rub. She leans toward me, resting her head on my shoulder.
“I want you, Grey, but I’m scared of what I’ll put you through.”
“Quite frankly, I’m excited.”
“Excited about me acting irrational and crazy?”
“My life was boring until we hooked up. Now I don’t know if I’m going to have the best sex of my life or end up sleeping in a river bed.”
“And you think your brothers and Pa are going to be okay with us after…everything?”
“I reckon they’re mighty happy right now. After going so hard on them all these years, they get to see me bossed around for a change. And my pops, well, let’s just say he has baby fever.”
“And Axel?” She grimaces.
“He’ll get over it, and if he doesn’t, well, he should have made his move.”
“He wasn’t ready, and quite honestly, I never thought we were very compatible.”
“So, are you coming back with me? Or should I drop you off at Karmen’s?”
“Take me home, Grey, and don’t you dare think of leaving me there by myself again.”