Chapter 37
CHAPTER 37
BLAIR’S EX IS HERE.
Griffin
Uneasiness courses through me.
My palms feel sweaty, and I can’t bring my heart rate down to a normal rhythm as I make my way back to the barn to give them a minute. My boots in the dirt feel louder than they are with every step I take away from them.
Her ex-husband is fucking here.
I wanted to be true to my word and give them exactly one minute.
I don’t know why my gut tells me not to trust him. Based on the things she’s told me and his infidelity; he doesn’t seem like a good person. For him to drive sixteen hours to come here. To do what? Win her back?
My head is pounding from everything that just happened. How the hell did it go from the most perfect day, an even better moment in the barn, to her past coming back into her life?
I scoff out loud as I pace the inside of the barn, kicking up dirt and letting each second pass in slow painful torture. Just as I turn around for another pass from my back and forth, something crashes inside the tack room. Running to see what the heck that was all about, I swing the door open to find Nan with a large brush to groom a horse in her hand, ready to fight.
“What the hell?” I say, narrowing my eyes at her.
“Oh, it’s you.” She relaxes. “Sorry, I was trying to make myself scarce here. I heard some cars and thought you two were leaving, but then I saw another fancy-pants car pull up and I thought, hmm, better not.”
Bringing my hands to my hips, I just stare at the crazy old woman.
Even with the anger bubbling inside of me and being unsure of what’s happening outside of the barn, my shoulders somehow relax at the sight of Nan.
She tips her head to the side in confusion as if she caught onto my body language. She steps out of the room and stands before me, placing a delicate hand on my shoulder. “You know you can talk to me anytime, Griffin.”
Sighing, I close my eyes for a brief moment. Thinking about how to even explain something I can’t even explain myself.
Thoughts swirl with the idea of her taking him back. All I can think about is her getting in the passenger seat of his car, and him driving her back to her place to pack up her things and go back to the city.
Maybe that was her plan all along.
Maybe I was just something to hold her over until he wanted her back.
“Blair’s ex is here,” I tell her, but wince as the words leave my mouth. Just saying it out loud makes it feel all too real.
“And?”
Shaking my head, I look down at my boots to avoid her stare. Of course, she wouldn’t understand. While I didn’t have a long relationship with Blair like I did with my ex, it stings feeling like the cycle is repeating itself with Blair. It just feels like the same thing that happened to me before is happening again.
This one hurts more because I allowed myself to picture a future with Blair when I shouldn’t have. I feel like a fool because I should have never left my heart open enough for this to happen.
Her past is back in the present.
She has a history with him. A big one.
I’m safe to assume they can work things out.
I close my eyes and release a long exhale. “I took her to ride Storm today.”
Her eyes widen, knowing what that means to me.
“As we were leaving, a black sports car call pulled up as if they were looking for us, or someone. He got out of the car and told us he was looking for Blair. The moment I looked at her, I knew it was her ex-husband.” I shake my head at the memory from not long ago. A moment that will be engraved in my head for days to come. “He called her babe.”
Nan scoffs. “That means nothing.”
I narrow my eyes in confusion at her.
“Did she send you back in here for them to work it out? Like, what did she say to you?”
I don’t answer as I replay the interaction in my head.
I didn’t give her a chance to say anything.
Regret churns in my stomach because I should have fucking stayed out there with them. No. I should have put her in my truck and drove us away from her past, leaving it where it belongs.
As if Nan can sense my uncertainty, she continues. “Listen, I don’t know what happened or how everything played out, but I do know Blair cares about you. She’s got this weird twinkle in her eye when she looks at you,” she says with a chuckle. “And just because someone from her past showed up doesn’t mean she’s going to run back there. It doesn’t mean she’s ready to pack up and leave. She doesn’t seem like the type.”
I raise an eyebrow. “She ran here, didn’t she?”
“She also bought the house,” she rebuttals. “Not rented it. She showed up in town with every intention of staying.”
Nan makes a very valid point .
But the part of me that has built these walls to protect my heart from the cycle of my life repeating itself, is struggling to come to terms with that.
“I feel like I’m being brought back to the past and reliving everything all over again,” I admit.
She eyes me with consideration, realizing quickly that Blair means more to me than I’ve expressed out loud before.
These feelings have only grown stronger with every moment I’m with her, or think about her. The way she smiles and lights up every dark part of my soul. The way her contagious laugh has helped me remember how to laugh again myself. The way her kiss has made me feel things I told myself I would never feel again.
“Can I tell you what I think you should do?” Nan cuts through my thoughts.
“No, but you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“Yep,” she says with a curt nod, placing both hands on her hips. “I think you’re jumping to conclusions here. Which is justified, considering your past. You’ve been through some shit, only making you come out stronger in the end. The light may have been turned off for a few years, but it’s time to turn it back on for good,” she says with a pat on my chest. “However, you two have something that neither of you can deny. Maybe she’s out there right now telling him to fuck off.”
Just as the final words roll off her tongue, shouting forces both of us to snap our heads toward the open barn doors. I move before I even have a chance to register what’s being said.
“Fuck you, whore,” I hear him say to her.
When I turn the corner, I spot her standing halfway to the barn, as if she was on her way back here.
On her way back to me .
My chest feels tight, my head feels lightheaded. The only thing I can hear is my own heartbeat before I hear her ex-husband shout to her, “This was the biggest waste of time. You’ll never be nothing more than a piece of shit. ”
My vision clears.
My feet move on their own accord.
Blair is still facing him, and neither of them notices my presence as I stalk toward the entrance of the ranch. He’s already turning around to walk to his car when my feet turn into a jog to catch up to him.
Flying past Blair, I hear her gasp, but she doesn’t stop me.
My focus is on one thing and one thing only.
Reaching him, my hand grips his shoulder so tight, that he startles in surprise before turning around to face me with wide eyes.
“What the fuck did you just call her?”
The asshole stares at me for a moment before he smirks and then continues to remain silent. There isn’t an ounce of worry in his face, as if he knows he’s going to get away with whatever he just said.
“I don’t know how things work in the city,” I growl. “But you’re in my territory now.”
“Is that supposed to scare me?” He gestures behind my shoulder to where Blair stands. “City or not, she’s still the same girl she was. A fucking whore,” he spits out.
“That’s what I thought you said,” I say calmly before I rear my fist back and drive it straight into his nose. He falls to the ground instantly bringing his hand up to cover it.
“Fuck! Did you just punch me?”
I tower over him, looking down at the piece of shit in the dirt. “I can do it again if you need confirmation.”
The look on his face dares me. A sly grin, and a raised eyebrow.
Just as I’m about to rear back to give the man another shot of what he deserves, the cock of a shotgun echoes behind me.
I don’t bother looking back.
It’s fucking Nan.
He turns to face Blair. “This is where you moved?” he shouts, telling me she’s still a good distance away. “These people are nuts. This is a good enough reason for you to get in the car and come home.”
I hear footsteps in the dirt—multiple sets—but I don’t turn around to see.
Blair comes to one side of me, while Nan rounds the other. Her ex looks between all of us towering over him. While he still shows no fear by keeping that stupid smirk on his face, I know he’s going to get out of dodge quicker than he arrived.
“This is my home now,” Blair says with a soft, even tone. She crouches beside him, bringing a hand up to check his nose. “I’m not leaving.”
Her words hit me square in the chest and I feel the tension in my shoulders evaporate with three little words. Three little words that make the other three words want to pour out of my mouth.
While this isn’t how I wanted to hear them, it’s exactly what I need to hear.
“And if you think for one second I’ll get in the car after you called me a whore—not once, but twice—then you’ve lost your ever-loving mind.” She laughs, but it’s laced with sarcasm. She lifts her hand from his nose, rearing back quick enough, and smacks him across the side of the face. It was so quick that even he didn’t have a chance to respond. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
That’s my girl .
“And don’t ever let me catch you in my town again,” Nan chimes in.
Her ex scuffles back enough to allow himself some room to stand, brushing the dirt from his dress pants before mumbling profanities under his breath as he gets into his car and speeds off. His tires screech as he heads in the direction of the interstate.
Away from Bluestone Lakes.