Chapter 23
Shiloh
After we got done roping this afternoon, I offered to help Verge move his things into the loft, but Tyler quickly volunteered Cross, saying that I need to shower, then head to her trailer for my She’s all That moment.
Whatever that means. So I’m now getting out of the shower, and I look in the mirror, honestly trying to decide if I should dry my hair first or if she wants to.
It may sound stupid, but she seems as if she wants full control of this makeover. I shoot her a text.
SHILOH: Hair wet or dry?
Bubbles immediately form, and I laugh.
TYLER: Wet, I have a Dyson airwrap. Put on a button-down shirt too so you don’t have to pull it over your head when I’m done.
I laugh, walking into my bedroom to grab some sweats and a button-down shirt. As I’m about to walk out, Cash stops me.
“Looks like Verge is taking mom up on her offer?” He asks.
“Seems that way.” I smile at him.
He nods, looking outside, then back to me. “Where are you going?”
“Well, Tyler is insisting I let her doll me up for my date tonight with Verge, so I’m off to see the wizard, I guess.” I laugh.
He nods. “She’s cute. Glad Cross met her.” He smiles, looking back at me, then says, “And you.”
“Me?” I laugh, confused at his comment.
“Shiloh, I love you, but you need more than just guys to be around all the time. She's good for you too.” He replies, looking at me with our dad’s eyes. Cash has always looked out for me ever since dad passed, and I appreciate it more than he knows.
“Have fun tonight. Be safe.” He says, hugging me and kissing my head, and he walks off to his room.
I watch him pass until he shuts the door.
As much as he worries about me, I for sure worry about him.
He’s never been the same after Stella. He used to be the life of the party.
Not quite as goofy and carefree as Cross, but still, he was way more outgoing.
He’s quiet now and more reserved; he observes more than he speaks, which in turn does make him a good judge of character, so it does make me happy he seems to like Verge.
I then make my way out of the front door and head to Tyler's trailer. I open the door, and she’s in there setting everything up as if it’s some beauty salon. Cross is posted up on the couch watching TV, eating a bag of potato chips.
A smirk grows across his face as he says, “Hey there, Cinderella.”
I roll my eyes, plopping down beside him, snatching the bag of chips from him before I ask, “Where is Verge?”
“In the loft preparing to sweep you off your feet this evening.” He jokes, pushing me with his elbow.
“Are you ever serious?” I laugh. I know he’s not, and it’s what I love about him, his carefree attitude.
“I think you know the answer to that.” He laughs as he snatches the chips back from me.
Tyler walks down the stairs and says, “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” I sigh, rubbing my legs and standing up.
Cross leans back on the couch watching Family Feud, laughing his ass off, and I look at Tyler and we both laugh together.
“You’re a saint.” I laugh, walking up to her room.
She glances at him over his shoulder and says, “I think I’m in love.
” She scrunches her nose up, and I shake my head, rolling my eyes.
They both now have said that, and it makes me curious if they have ever said it to each other, but that’s none of my business.
They have for sure hit it off quickly, but who am I to judge? I’m in the same damn boat with Verge.
“Sit, my dear.” She says, using her British accent again, and I chuckle while taking a seat on her stool.
She starts with my makeup, telling me that I have to let my hair air dry a little before she can use her Dyson.
“What did you mean by my She’s all That moment?” I ask.
“Have you never seen the movie?”
I shrug.
“Oh, come on, Shiloh.” She says, stopping my makeup, looking at me wide-eyed.
“I don’t watch a lot of TV.” I laugh.
“Well, it’s about this girl who looks dorky, but when the guy’s sister gives her a makeover, she’s beautiful.” She smiles while continuing to do my makeup.
“So, I’m dorky?”
“No, you’re actually a natural beauty, my love. However, I am going to help you bring it to the next level.” She says with a smile beaming across her face as she starts my hair.
After about an hour, I am in her room alone with the dress laying on the bed and booties beside it.
She’s also laid out a necklace for me on the dresser.
It’s a simple horseshoe. It’s silver and not too gaudy, which I appreciate.
I take a deep breath, unbuttoning my shirt and taking off my sweats, and step into the dress.
I sit on the bed, putting the booties on next.
I open the door and nearly fall down the stairs but catch myself, and of course Cross laughs, then says, “Damn, Shiloh, girl, you clean up nice.”
I smirk, walking over to the floor-length mirror in her living room, and my mouth drops to the floor before I say, “Damn, Tyler, you are a wizard.”
She shrugs, brushing her shoulders off, and Cross kisses her on the cheek, smiling between us. I look at the time and see it’s 4:50, and suddenly a knock sounds at the door and I jump.
“That’s probably Verge.” Tyler smiles, and my stomach is in knots. I haven’t been on a date in forever.
Cross stands up, opening the door, and says, “Now you have her back by midnight or she might turn back into a pumpkin.”
“Shut up.” I say, walking over to him, pushing him, and stepping in the doorway, looking at Verge.
He’s dressed in a blue button-up and wranglers with his cowboy hat on. He takes me in and seems speechless. He takes his hat off, looking me up and down before he says, “Wow, Shi. You look beautiful, baby.”
I smile, and I can feel the heat rise in my cheeks before I say, “Is the dress too much? I didn't know what we were doing, it was Tyler’s idea.” I say.
“Not at all, you look perfect.” He says, holding his hand out to me, and I take it, walking down the stairs. As we walk to his truck, I glance back at Tyler and Cross, who are both smiling and giving me thumbs up like two little kids.
“So where are we going?” I ask.
“You’ll see.” He smiles as we make our way to his truck, and he opens the door for me. I climb in, and he shuts the door behind me, walking over to his side.
Once he gets in and cranks the engine, he glances over, looking me up and down, then drives back to the barn, putting the truck in park.
“Wow, all the way to the barn, fun.” I laugh.
“I’ll be right back.” He says, running in the barn, then up to the loft. When he returns, he has a few blankets in his hands and two jackets.
He hops back in the truck, smiling before he says, “As much as I love that dress you are in, it may get chilly.”
“I gather whatever we are doing will be an outdoor event?” I ask.
“Yeah.” he says shyly, and it catches me off guard.
He’s nervous.
It’s adorable.
We drive by and grab some burgers and fries, and to my surprise we head out towards Cross’ house, and within about 10 minutes we are pulling into Cross’ driveway.
“Verge. What are we doing?” I ask, and he pulls up to the fence, holding his finger up to make a phone call.
“Hey, yes sir, we are here. Left pasture? Okay, thank you again.” He says, hanging up and backing up to the pasture behind us, then opening the door to open the gate.
It’s then I gather this is the pasture where Uncle Tuff keeps his bulls, and my stomach twists in knots. What the fuck is going on right now? He then gets back in the truck, smirking, and I ask, “Verge, why are we going into the bull pasture?” I ask nervously.
“I wanna show you something.” He smiles, and my anxiety spikes a tad, but not a lot.
Not only does bull riding scare me ever since that day, bulls in general scare me.
I make a mental note to kick Cross' ass because I’m sure he asked Cross before even taking me here.
Why didn’t Cross tell him I was scared of bulls?
I’m sure, knowing him, though, he encouraged it.
As we pull into the pasture, he puts the truck in park, grabbing the food and blankets, and exits the truck.
I take a deep breath, putting my hair behind my ear, and put my hand on the door to open it, but before I can, there he is opening it for me.
I look up at him, and I’m sure my face is telling him what I haven’t.
“Do you trust me?” He asks, holding his hand out to mine.
“I want to.” I reply, still nervous as hell because now I see the bulls looking in our direction.
“Come on.” He urges, and I take his hand, stepping out of the truck.
He then sweeps me off my feet, and I laugh, holding his face in mine as he dips me slowly, kissing me.
I kiss him back, and my leg pops up as if this is a moment that needs to be captured, yet no one is here but us and the bulls.
He lifts me back up, and we both laugh together, and I jump in his arms when I see a bull standing beside us studying us.
I shiver in his arms, and he looks at me and goes to put me down, and I climb him like a damn tree, saying, “Oh no you don’t.”
He laughs. “You said you trusted me, right?”
“You, I trust. This bull? That’s another story.” I admit. Despite my protests, he still places me on my feet on the ground.
“Verge.” I whine, clinging to his arm, and he laughs, holding his hand out to this rather curious bull.
He walks up to the bull, and I’m shocked when he starts petting his ears, and the bull bellows in approval, and a laugh escapes from me. “It’s like giving Jake a belly rub.” I laugh out.
He chuckles, looking back at me before he says, “I wanted to show you they aren’t all bad and vicious. They just are doing their jobs while we are riding them, that's all.”
I nod, and my heart feels like a warm blanket is being wrapped around it. The fact that he was so thoughtful about this date has me falling harder. He’s so determined to show me his world and make me comfortable in it that he asked to come here and show me himself and make a whole date out of it.
He holds his hand out to mine, and I hesitate, but I take it, stepping forward. He puts his hand on the small of my back and grabs my hand, putting it on the bulls nose to pet, never taking his hands off mine. I smile as I pet the bull and giggle when he licks my hand.
I look up to him. His silver eyes are lost in the moment, and I lean over, kissing his jaw, and he looks back at me. “I want you always, Shi, but I can't give up who I am. I understand your fears, and they are valid. I know this may not ease all your fears, but I wanted to give it a shot.”
“You are the most thoughtful man, Verge. I wanted to hate you when I met you. I tried even, but something about you pulled me in, and I don’t think I could escape it even if I tried.
” I admit, and he puts his hand on my jaw, rubbing his thumb along it, and I feel as if the world has stopped right here, looking into his eyes.
His touch is like electricity running through my veins, and I can’t get enough of it.
He pulls back, grabbing my hand, and leads me back to where he had the food waiting on the tailgate. He lays a blanket out and puts a jacket over my shoulders.
Sitting beside me, he hands me my food, and we eat in a comfortable silence as we watch the bulls gather in front of us. After a while, he grabs his phone and turns on “I’m a Song” by Stephen Wilson Jr., The song we danced to the night Cross pushed me into his arms.
“Dance with me.” He says, standing up in the bed of the truck, holding his hand out to mine.
I smile up at him and stand. He wraps one arm around me, sliding his hand down to the small of my back and holding my hand as we sway along in the bed of his truck to the music.
I lay my head on his chest and look out to the setting sun on the horizon.
I look up at him and gesture with my head, “Your mother is saying hi with this sunset tonight.” I smile, remembering that night he was so lost in his thoughts and told me about how his mother always loved sunsets.
He glances to the sunset, and I see his jaw flex as he takes in the orange and pink sky.
His eyes go distant, and he looks back down to me and says, “I think she sent you to save me from myself.”
My breath catches at this admission because that quite literally may be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.
Just the other day, when he called me Shi for the first time, I felt the exact same way, as if my dad sent him to me.
My heart swirls with emotion as I press up on my tiptoes and kiss him.
I know I keep thinking it’s too soon, but I know in my heart, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am completely in love with this man.
And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him, even if that means letting him do the one thing that scares the living shit out of me. He’s worth 8 seconds and so many more.