“How could you say that shit to her?” Another punch.
He heard their brothers shuffle toward them, crowding around them.
“What I said is between me and Sandy,” he said, spitting blood on the ground.
“Not anymore. I went to see her. She looks like crap because of you, you piece of shit.”
“Don’t you fucking dare throw another punch on my ranch, Luke Haney,” their dad shouted. “I mean it. You may be young men now but I’ll still put you over my fucking knee.”
Neal glanced over in time to see Cheyenne and his mom follow their father.
Neal couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing when he pictured Sandy bent over his knee or up against a wall. Shit, he was lost without her. He couldn’t contain his grief any longer or pretend he didn’t feel.
“Luke, Neal, stay. The rest of you get the fuck out of my sight.” His brothers dispersed. So did the rest of the workers. “Do you two want to tell me what happened or do I need to go hunting for the information?”
Neal got to his knees and lifted himself up. The left side of his face felt swollen. He tasted blood in his mouth. Tears spilled from his eyes like there would be no tomorrow.#p#分页标题#e#
“I badmouthed Sandy,” he answered.
He heard his mother gasp. Cheyenne snort.
“What are you going to do to fix the mess you’ve created?” his dad asked. “She’s a part of this family. I don’t want her thinking anything else.”
“I’ll go talk to her in a few days. I don’t want her to see this mess.”
“Luke, leave us.”
He watched his brother, sister and mother leave.
He and his father stood at the entrance to the ranch. In the last few minutes Neal had gone from feeling like scum to shit. He wasn’t fit to clean the mud off Sandy’s shoes let alone try to make peace with.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m scared,” he admitted. Many years had passed since he’d opened up to his father. Being the oldest of six children, he hated taking time away from the others. He liked being the one his parents could talk to.
“What are you scared of?”
“Wanting something I can’t have. What if I push her too hard and she leaves me?” Neal didn’t even know he felt this insecure until he spoke the truth to the one man who wouldn’t judge him.
“Has Sandy given you any cause to think she’d leave?”
He shook his head. Sandy had done nothing but open her arms to him. Even though he’d shot her down, time and time again.
“Neal, there’s a woman in town who wants to be with you. She doesn’t see anything but the love she has for you.”
“I know.”
“Do you? Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then I think you need to think real hard about what you want. A woman like that won’t take your shit forever. Either put your heart on the line and be prepared to get stung or rot in your own little cell and spend the rest of your life wondering what could have been.”
As pep talks went, it was powerful.
“What do you think I should do?” Neal asked.
“You’re thirty-five years old son. Figure it out. Until you do, get off my fucking property.”
His dad walked away.
Neal went to his truck. He needed to clear his head. The old man was right—being at the ranch would only cause more problems. Driving home, he thought about what his dad said.
Spending the rest of his life possessed by what could have been wouldn’t be a welcoming way to think of the future.
When he thought about the future, he saw Sandy. She was his everything.
He pulled up outside his house, walked around to the back and let himself into the kitchen. After he pulled his dirty boots off, he stripped down to his underwear. Moving to his bathroom, he glanced in the mirror, then winced. The left side of his face already looked like someone used it for a punching bag.
Every bruise he deserved.
Cleaning himself up gave him time to think about what to do. Going to her right now would be a mistake. He’d allow his bruises to heal, then ask for a second chance.
He poured hot water into the sink and washed the dirt away.
How quickly his life had changed.
Chapter Fifteen
Neal gave Sandy a week before he ventured into town because the next day his bruises were worse than the day before. He didn’t want her to see what happened. She’d only worry. He went to the salon but she wasn’t there. Neal drove to her house. She stood on the front porch ordering men around. He saw her furniture being moved and his heart skipped a beat. Was she leaving town?
“Yeah, take that to the secondhand store. They could use it. Excellent, thank you,” Sandy said to one of the men.#p#分页标题#e#