“I’m sure I’ll be up by then,” she smiled.
I watched her go up the stairs, and her grip on the banister was a bit tighter than it needed to be. I knew something was tumbling around in her mind, and I wanted to scream at her to talk to me. I went into the kitchen and felt my anger bubble up into my throat, and when I balled up my fist, I whipped around and put it through the wall beside the fridge.
“Shit!” I bit. Why the fuck was she not talking to me? For the love of god, I stuck by her when she left me twice, and I took her in, no questions asked when she almost killed herself three weeks ago! She was pulling away because she was about to leave and the only thing I was asking for was for her to talk! To give me answers! I wanted to be a part of her life, damn it!
Why the hell didn’t she want the same!?
I got to cooking dinner, and I heard footsteps patter down the hallway just as I finished what I was cooking. Beans and rice with a side of cornbread were on the menu and extra sweet tea just how I knew Chelsea liked it. She came in and sat down without a word, and when we started spooning food onto our plates, I finally asked the question I knew would spark the conversation.
“What’s wrong, Chelsea?” I said lowly.
“Nothing, Flynn,” she smiled, “just still waking up.”
“Chelsea, you’ve been pulling away all day.”
“I’m just tired,” she sighed.
“Chelsea. Talk to me,” I urged. I reached over to take her hand but she wrenched away from me, and I knew that if I was gonna get the answers I wanted before she left this place and never looked back again, I had to let her come to me on her own watch.
Fuck.
“How was your nap?” I asked.
“Really nice.”
“Wanna take a bath tonight?” I asked.
“That’d be nice, thank you,” she nodded. We ate in relative silence while making mindless, asinine conversation, and pretty soon we were smiling over talking about how she watched me wrangle that bull and save that calf.
“You got any more pregnant heifers on your farm?” she asked.
“Two, actually, though neither of them are due for at least another month.”
“What do you do with the calves around here?” she asked.
“Well, I’m gonna raise the males for the rodeos, and I’m gonna keep the females for milk and breeding around the farm.”
“Your farm is incredible, Flynn. It really is,” she smiled.
“Thanks. I love it. I couldn’t see myself anywhere else.”
I saw something quickly flash behind her eyes, but before I could address it, it was gone. We finished our food and Chelsea cleared the dishes, and I made my way to her room so I could draw her a bath. Just because she was feeling better didn’t mean I was gonna stop taking care of her, so I poured some bath salts into the hot, steaming water while I watched it fill the tub.
“Knock knock,” Chelsea lulled.
“Hey. Almost full, and I figured I’d go pull out a pie for us and heat it up if you’d like a slice.”
“That sounds fantastic,” she smirked.
I reared up and made my way out of the bathroom, and I felt her hand come down onto my wrist, and it stopped me in my tracks.
“You’re not gonna get in with me?” she asked lightly.
“Gotta heat up the pie,” I thumbed behind me. I twisted myself from her grasp, and for once I was glad I wouldn't be pressed against her body tonight. God knows my body pulsed for her, and the mere mention of being in another bath with her caused my dick to start growing, but if she was gonna pull away, then I needed to do the same.
I needed to disconnect from her since I knew she was leaving this time.
“Flynn,” she breathed. I turned around and saw her standing in the doorway of the bathroom, and she looked absolutely radiant. Her robe was falling off her body, and her hair was fluttering around her head, and I watched her slowly walk towards me before she took my hand within hers.