Chapter Twenty-One
“Cole, are you in here?” Daisy yelled from the front of the barn as she pulled the hood of her jacket off her head and shook the water from her arms.
Cole walked out of one of the stalls. “What do you need, Daisy?”
Daisy headed toward him briskly. “I need to talk to you.”
“If it’s about Emily, then no.”
Daisy’s heart hurt at the expression on his face. It matched the one Emily wore a short time ago.
“It is about Emily.” She latched on to his arm when he turned to walk away. “Wait. That man is her ex. She never lied to you.”
Cole froze and shook his head. “How can you be sure?”
“Because Emily said.” Daisy held up a hand when he opened his mouth. “No, wait, Cole, listen. Would the Emily we know really lie? And about something a person can find out pretty easily?”
Cole wiped his hands on a rag he pulled from his back pocket, his head lowered.
“Cole, think about it? We’re talking about Emily.”
A long moment passed. Before shame crossed Cole’s face, he threw the rag down. Cole pinched the bridge of his nose, then he hung his head. Oh, Lord, he’d messed up. “Damnit. You’re right. She wouldn’t lie.”
Daisy hugged him. “Don’t blame yourself, Cole. Lisa messed with your head so much, you’re bound to trip up with Emily a few times.”
Cole pulled away and took a few steps toward the barn door. “Thanks, Daisy. I’ll go talk to her. I need to apologize for my stupidity and beg for her forgiveness.”
“You can’t. Emily’s gone.”
Cole froze and turned to face Daisy.
“What the hell do you mean she’s gone?”
Daisy felt so bad. Cole and Emily were hurting, and there was nothing she could do.
“She came to the house to ask for another cabin. Her ex wouldn’t leave, so she left. We don’t have another cabin available. I told her I’d ask you about staying at the house. She said no. She also said she would be back tomorrow to get the rest of her stuff.”
A feeling of utter despair raced through him and made his throat tight with Emotions. “Dammit. Where is she?”
“She drove off. She talked about finding a motel for the night. Cole, she looked devastated but tried really hard to hide it.”
He walked rapidly toward the barn doors and cringed as a bolt of lightning hit within a half mile of the house. “Are you fucking kidding me? It’s storming out, bad. She shouldn’t have done that.”
“I guess she was desperate to get away from her ex.”
Cole hit the palm of his hand against the open barn door. “And me. She probably wants to get away from me now.”
Daisy punched him lightly on the arm. “You can fix this, Uncle Cole. She’s worth a fight.”
Cole pulled Daisy into his arms. “You’re right about that, Half-pint.” He laughed when Daisy groaned at the nickname he gave her when she was young. “I’ll be back tomorrow. With Emily.”
He heard Daisy laugh as he raced into the rain. When he got to his truck, he was drenched, but he didn’t care.
As he drove away from the ranch, he vowed he’d find Emily and fix the damage he’d done to their relationship. There was no other option.