“Yes. And it was in a truly awful way. And, honey, he’s never looked at another woman since.”
“She was his one.”
“Yeah, I think she was.”
She knew she didn’t have to explain what she meant. Mia had already found her one when she’d found Alec.
“Oh.” Suddenly she wasn’t hungry for grilled cheese. In fact, she felt kind of sick.
“I’m so sorry, Flick.”
Flick shrugged. “Not your fault. I always did like to make things hard on myself. Do you think he will ever find someone else?”
Mia shrugged. “If it was anyone other than West or his brothers, I’d say there’s always a chance. But these Malones love hard. They don’t love often. I mean,” Mia blushed a little, “obviously they like to play around. All the younger Malones do anyway. Not Alec, West, or Jaret. But, actual love? No, it doesn’t happen often with them. So, I’m just not sure. And I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
Too late, Flick thought to herself. But she made herself smile brightly at Mia. She didn’t want the other woman to feel bad for her. That was one thing she hated, being pitied.
“He lost her when they were young?” she asked, picking at her sandwich.
“Yes,” Mia said quietly. “As far as I know, he’s never had anyone since.”
And it was highly unlikely Flick was going to be the one he fell for.
Damn. That really fucking hurt.
2
West heard the thundering of hooves. He straightened and looked off into the distance. A horse was pounding its way towards him. He frowned. As it grew closer, he knew it wasn’t one of theirs. The rider was a woman and he knew it wouldn’t be Mia since Alec had banned her from riding as soon as he’d discovered she was pregnant.
So that only left one person who he could conceive of it being. The one person he really didn’t want to see. She hadn’t been around these last few days, and he figured maybe she’d finally clued in. Maybe, after he’d been a complete prick in the diner, she’d come to understand he really wasn’t interested in her.
Mia had ripped him a new one over the way he’d had spoken to her, so much so, he’d briefly considered apologizing.
But West Malone wasn’t a man who apologized, and the point of being an ass had been to make sure she stayed away from him, something that would be ruined if he went over to her house and told her he was sorry.
He figured she was on her way to the main house. He walked towards the back of his truck to grab the tools he needed to fix the fence, but instead glanced back over as she grew closer.
How long had it been since he’d seen her at the diner? Four days? No, five.
And there she was, riding her damn horse with a purple cast on her foot. Was the woman an idiot? Without thinking, he started striding towards her, waving his hand. She didn’t acknowledge him. He let out a low, piercing whistle, and she turned to look at him. She slowed the stallion.
She looked ridiculously small on top of the huge beast. And he wondered what her brother was thinking, allowing her to ride around on such an enormous animal. If he threw her, she could be in very real trouble. Especially since she was riding around with one foot in a cast.
He should probably just let it go. Should let her ride on past. Instead, he strode over to her and, reaching up, lifted her down from the horse. He just held her steady with his hands around her waist as she rested her weight on her good foot. Her crutches were attached to the rear saddlebags. They’d been shortened and tied together.
“West? Is everything all right?”
“No,” he barked. “It’s not.”
Her eyebrows came together. She looked up at him, confusion filling her violet-colored eyes. He’d never met anybody with eyes that shade. Her dark hair lay in loose waves down her back. He fought the urge to twist it around his hand and draw her face back.
He wasn’t a Dom like Alec. He didn’t go to BDSM clubs and play with submissives. But he was most definitely a dominant man. Any woman in his bed would be doing what he said.
One of the many reasons he’d never get involved with Flick O’Malley: she couldn’t handle what he needed.
“What do you think you’re doing, girl?” he grumbled.
“Um, I was going to go see Mia,” she replied. Her eyes widened, panic filling them. “Is she all right? Is it the baby? Is that why you stopped me? To tell me that something’s wrong?”