Dancing In The Rain
CASH
I was lounging on the couch playing video games with the guys when my phone started buzzing.
We had spent the morning drinking like there was no tomorrow, so shortly after Paige went to take a nap, I joined her and slept it off.
Now I was tired and hoping that Paige would come home soon because I missed her.
I picked up my phone and was surprised to see Taylor’s name light up on the screen.
I knew Taylor through the girls, but the only time she ever called was when Paige was too drunk to get home and needed a ride.
I’d picked up a tipsy Paige countless times.
I acted like I hated it, but part of me got a little thrill that I got to be the one to look after her.
It was still fairly early in the night so it was unlikely that she already needed me to pick her up, which gave my stomach a sinking feeling that something was wrong.
“Hello?” I said, standing and heading to the garage on instinct.
“Hey, sorry to bother you.” Taylor’s voice was hesitant.
“It’s okay, what’s wrong?”
“Lottie and Paige got into a fight and Paige walked out. We thought she just needed a breather but she never came back.”
“You don’t know where she went?” My heart was beating rapidly as I unlocked my truck and hopped inside.
“No. We’re really worried and she isn’t answering her phone.”
“I’ll find her. Thanks for calling me, Tay.”
I hung up and opened the garage door with the remote on the visor. Worry flashed through me as I took in the rain soaked driveway. Taylor’s house was easily six miles from the ranch, which meant Paige could be walking on the side of the road in the pouring rain.
I sped down the country road that led to town, keeping an eye out for a drenched Paige as I drove. She was nowhere to be found on the way to Taylor’s house. I pulled up Paige’s contact and pressed call, but it went to voicemail.
“Fuck!” I yelled as I tried calling again. Voicemail.
I was starting to panic. It was pitch black and raining. What if she got hit by a car and was lying underbrush on the side of the road? What if she got picked up trying to hitchhike and was being murdered at this very moment?
No. Paige was smarter than that. I took a deep breath and tried to think. Where would she go? Where would she consider a safe place?
A memory popped into my head as I pulled a U-turn in the middle of the road and banked a right.
There were a few shortcuts from town to the place that we would all gather.
Ways for teenagers to get there who didn’t have access to a car.
It was a long shot, but I pulled up to the clearing where we always hosted bonfires when we were younger.
Calmness took over as I spotted a sopping wet head of blonde hair in my headlights. Paige was sitting on a log, looking out over the mountains. I shifted the car into park and jumped out without even cutting the engine.
“Paige!” I shouted, but she didn’t look back at me.
When I rounded the log, I took in her red, tear-filled eyes. My heart shattered.
“Baby,” I said, dropping to my knee and cupping her face in my hands. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head without meeting my eyes. Black makeup was running down her cheeks and her gaze was void of emotions.
“This is all my fault,” she whispered in a hushed tone.
“What do you mean?”
“Lottie hates me.” She sniffled, her voice cracking on the words.
“No she doesn’t, P.” I used my thumb to wipe a tear off her cheek, but it did nothing as the rain pounded down on us.
“We got into a fight.”
“I know.”
“It was really bad.”
“I figured.”
“I don’t know how to make it better.” Her voice was filled with defeat.
“We can figure it out together, okay? Let’s just get you home.”
I stood and held out my hand to pull her up but she kept her arms wrapped around herself and sank lower onto the log.
I rubbed my lips together, trying to figure out how to get her up without tossing her over my shoulder. I knew that was an option, but she was already upset so I didn’t think that was my smartest move right now.
An idea popped into my head. I jogged back to the truck and hopped into the driver’s seat, pulling up closer to where Paige was sitting. I turned my truck speakers as loud as they would go and queued up a sultry country song. I left my door open so we could faintly hear the music over the rain.
I stepped up to Paige and stretched out my hand. “Dance with me.”
The words that started it all.
She peeked up at me, letting her sullen mood dissolve for a second, and glanced at my outstretched hand before taking it tentatively.
As soon as I felt her skin on mine, I tugged her up into my arms. With one hand on the back of her head and the other circling her waist, I held her close against my chest. We swayed to the music, letting the rain soak us head to toe without a care.
I felt Paige relax against my body as I gripped her tighter.
I would do anything to protect this woman, and that was a terrifying thought I was having a hard time ignoring these days.
“It’s going to be okay, Pip,” I said, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
She remained quiet, but I could tell some of the tension had dissipated, so I leaned down to grip the backs of her thighs and hoisted her up into my arms. Her legs wrapped around my middle, and her head fell into the crook of my neck as I walked her to the passenger side of the truck.
I placed her inside gently, reaching across to buckle her in.
As I leaned back up, I cupped her jaw and ran my thumb over her cheek. I couldn’t stand the sight of Paige in distress.
I forced myself to release her and rounded the hood to get behind the wheel. Cranking up the heat, I positioned the vents to point directly at her as she started to shiver.
I definitely broke a few laws speeding back to the ranch, but once I pulled up to the barn, I was out of the truck and ripping open Paige’s door.
I didn’t give her a choice as I carried her up to the apartment.
Normally, she fought when I manhandled her, but tonight her body was exhausted so she let me without protest. I carried her right to the bathroom, placing her on the counter.
Reaching into the shower, I cranked it up to hot as the air steamed around us.
I peeled Paige’s soaking wet tank top off her body and unhooked her bra before helping her stand and doing the same to her shorts. I stripped out of my own clothes next and then took her hand to pull her under the hot stream.
Paige didn’t move, her eyes empty of all life as I used her shampoo to lather her hair and tipped her head back under the water. I repeated the motion with her conditioner before cleaning her entire body with her vanilla scented body wash.
When I turned her back to face me, her eyes fell to the raised skin on my chest. The same scar she wore on the left side of her ribs.
It was tradition for the Brooks siblings to get branded on their eighteenth birthday.
Rumor was that Walker learned about the decades-old tradition and begged Michael to do it.
Walker then took on the job for the rest of the siblings.
It was like a badge of honor. Some of the ranch hands who had committed their lives to working for the Brooks Valley Ranch had them, too. The day Walker held me down was one of the proudest of my life.
Paige’s fingers traced the bold BVR on my skin like she was in a trance. On instinct, my fingers fell to cover the same letters on her skin. The day she got hers, I held her hand as Walker did it. That was before our lost time when we still considered each other friends.
That very same night, everything changed.
It was just another reminder of the history we shared—the future we would both be part of when this was all over.
Once we were clean, I cut the water and wrapped her in a towel.
I’d never seen Paige so defeated like this, and I didn’t like it.
This girl was always so full of sunshine and witty comebacks.
She didn’t shy away from a fight and she rarely backed down when cornered.
I wasn’t sure what was said between her and Lottie, but whatever it was rattled Paige to her core.
I tugged one of my shirts over Paige’s head and held up the blanket for her to slip into bed. As soon as I sank down next to her, I positioned her against my chest and kissed her forehead.
“I got you, baby,” I whispered into her damp hair.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispered back, surprising me.
I pulled up so I was looking down directly into her tired eyes. The blue was dull, as if to mimic how she was feeling. “What do you mean?”
“You tortured me for so long. Why are you being nice now?”
I thought about how to explain my feelings to Paige. It was hard to explain that it was all an act to make her hate me. It was hard to explain that I always wanted to treat her this way.
“I never felt like I was allowed to be nice to you. That was getting too close. Now, I can do whatever I want, and I want to take care of you.”
I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“I like it when you’re nice to me,” she said against my lips.
“Me too, Pip. Me too.”