A Tender Touch: A Donnelley Brother's Novel (Logan Point Book 4) (3 page)

BOOK: A Tender Touch: A Donnelley Brother's Novel (Logan Point Book 4)
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I was a problem he’d never been able to
take care of
- and even though it had been years since he’d walked his selfish ass out the door - I still replayed his words in my mind every day. They were a constant reminder that I wasn’t enough. They were a constant reminder that I couldn’t be loved - not the way I longed, so desperately, to be loved.

I smiled at my friend, knowing she needed me to agree to breakfast. “That sounds great, Kami.”

“Great!” She beamed. “I’d better get going. I promised Kyle I’d be home before he went to bed unless the wine came out, of course.”

I laughed. “Of course.”

She winked as she walked backward to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you, Kami.” I called as she closed the door behind her.

For a moment, I just stood in the center of the living room, feeling utterly lost. And then the door opened and Kami popped her head back into the entry of the cabin. “I forgot to tell you I filled your fridge and pantry with everything you like to eat. And I got you that shampoo you like and a toothbrush, just in case you forgot to pack those things yourself. And...”

I interrupted her. “Thank you, Kami. Please, I don’t want you to worry about me.”

She leaned her head against the door, pressing her temple to the wood. “I know you’re struggling. I can see that much, Ember.” She paused as though to gather her thoughts. “But you’ve got a new start here at the Ranch. Take it. Stop holding onto past pains, Em, because if you never let it go, you’ll never be able to move on.”

I felt the salty warmth of tears sting the back of my eyes. “I’m trying.”

She nodded somberly. “I know. You’ll get there.”

“Yeah.” I agreed. “I’ll get there.”

“Kay.” Kami pulled herself from the door. “Sweet dreams.”

I didn’t have time to reply before the door was closed and Kami was gone. Sighing deeply, I moved slowly to the door. After twisting the bolt lock on the door, I moved back through the cabin to the bedroom where I stripped down from my clothing. I felt sticky and uncomfortable from my long, uninterrupted drive out to the Ranch. Before I went to bed, I wanted to be fresh.

Kami was right; I was here at the Ranch. I had everything I needed for a new beginning - all I had to do now was grip the reins and navigate my new beginning into the direction I desired to travel. Bitterly, I thought, right into Cinderella’s fucking sunset.

Chapter 3

The sound of the shower water pulsing from the showerhead echoed into the small space of the bathroom around me, but I still hadn’t stepped beneath its stream. Instead, I was standing before the mirror. I’d caught sight of my naked body in the mirror, and I couldn’t help but study my image.

I’m pretty in that unconventional way. I’m not tall, but I’m not short either. I’m average. At five foot five, I don’t know another way to describe my height - but average. My skin is creamy and pale pink. Every inch of my flesh is scattered in pale, barely-there freckles.

I have long thick red hair that reaches to the center of my back. It’s straight and glossy - healthy. My brilliant red hair is the one thing I have from my father.

I hate my hair, but I’ve never changed it. As stupid as it is, it’s the one thing my absent father gave to me that he can’t take away.

My eyes move slowly down to connect with their reflection in the mirror, and like so many who meet my eyes with their own, my breath catches. I have beautiful, startlingly beautiful eyes. They’re blue - a bright, deep blue. I’ve heard that red hair and blue eyes is the rarest combination in all the world. That thought makes me smirk humorlessly into the mirror. It is that fact that proves to me that I am everything that wasn’t supposed to be.

I am recessive.

I never should have been born.

I was a mistake. I was one night of carelessness and every day that I looked into my reflection, I saw proof of that fact in my image.

I am recessive. My mother’s black hair is dominant over my father’s red - yet I have red hair.

My father’s amber eyes are dominant over my mother’s brilliant blue - yet I have my mother’s eyes.

I was never meant to be. Again, I am recessive. I am an abomination. It pains my heart, as I realize, not for the first time in my life, that I was never meant to be. Yet, here I stand.

As my eyes take in the round shape of my head, the defined line of my jaw, the full shape of my lips, the slope of my neck into small shoulders and thin arms, the steam swirling in the room closes over my image, leaving me with the sight of all that I am, all that wasn’t supposed to be, burned into my mind.

***

As I pull up to the cafeteria in the morning, I take a deep breath to calm the nervous beating of my heart. I’m a cheery person, so I need to do what Kami says and let all the bad go. I’m in a new place and it’s my chance, for the first time in my life, to take my days by the reins and just ride.

I want to be happy...

It’s on that thought that I push the door from my car open to step out from the drivers seat into the crisp morning air. As I glance out over the brilliant landscape surrounding me the view takes my breath away. Literally.

The sun is rising over the high peaks of the mountains, it’s new morning glow a soft shade of pink that, in war with the moon still bright in the same sky, casts an explosion of soft purple over the land. The snow is not a brilliant white that is so known with winter, but instead, it shimmers in the glimmer of the rising sun like a sea of soft lavender.

The veins in the stone of the mountains pulse with life as a new days light bleeds into their dark crevices, igniting every deep gray line in ribbons of light from the rising sun. For a moment, the world is at a standstill. There is no darkness and there is no light. As the moon and sun face off, there is balance. It is this sight that fills my body and soul with the strength to lift my chin, form a smile over my lips, and walk into the cafeteria.

The aroma of coffee and baking intoxicates me as the door falls closed behind me. Stomping my booted feet against the mat at the door, I watch as pebbles of snow fall onto the mat before melting where they land.

I make a quick beeline for the small coffee line as a familiar voice stops me in my tracks. “Ember Brighton?”

Turning slowly to face the familiar voice, I felt a true smile claim my face. “Gracie!” I stepped slowly toward her. “How are you?”

“I’d be better if one of my favorite girls who I haven’t seen in over a year gave me a hug!”

I laughed. With Gracie Donnelley, laughing was to be expected. Actually, it was downright impossible not to laugh when in her presence.

Stepping into her warm arms, I felt a little like I was coming home - as odd as that was. I’d been coming to the Ranch for ten years now and I’d hugged Gracie plenty of times, but this time felt different. This time, it truly felt like I was home.

Pulling back away from her embrace, I tried to banish the confusion floating through my mind at the new feeling blooming inside.

Gracie spoke. “When I saw your name in the bookings chart, I was so excited. I worried last summer when I didn’t see you or your mother.” Her eyes were settled firmly, but gently on my face as she asked. “How is Allison doing?”

“She’s well. And we couldn’t not come back to the Ranch, Gracie.” I took in a deep breath. “This place, it...” I didn’t know how to explain the way I was feeling inside. “I just couldn’t imagine never coming back here.”

Gracie’s smile was soft as she spoke. “Will Allison be joining you?”

“Not until later. Probably July.”

Her brows rose and I wondered if she’d not realized how long I was booked to remain at the Ranch for. Then she replied. “I realized you were booked for an extended stay, but is there a reason for that? Is everything alright?”

I nodded. “Everything is fine. I just needed a vacation from life, you know. And I missed Kami.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “Kami told me you were friends.”

“She did?”

“Of course.” Gracie chuckled. “She’s married to one of my sons.”

“Yes, she is.” I looked out the windows to the mountains, drawing in a deep breath and their strength, I replied. “I miss her so much, but I’m so happy she finally found someone and someplace to call home.”

“Home is where our hearts are.” Gracie said matter of fact. “You’ll find your home soon enough, Ember.”

I felt the sting of those hot tears in my eyes once again and I struggled to keep them from rolling down my cheeks. “The only place I’ve really felt at home since I was thirteen was here.” I smiled. “You know, the mountains and the horses...” I felt my voice stutter on an emotion filled breath. “It was this Ranch that actually inspired me to take schooling toward becoming an equestrian veterinarian. I’ve done my first four years in University and have another four years of specialty college. Right now, I am a qualified assistant.” I sighed again. “I’ve worked so hard and I feel like I still have such a long way to go. So that’s the reason for my extended stay. I’m looking for that perspective I always seem to find when I’m here. I need to find what’s important in life again and where I really want to go, because where I am right now, I just don’t want to apply for another four years of school.”

As soon as I was done with my speech and silence filled the little space between us, I realized I’d just poured all my problems onto Gracie Donnelley - the owner of the Ranch I loved with my entire heart and soul - the mother of the man I had daydreamed about since forever - and the woman who always made my mother and I feel welcome even when our budget didn’t offer much in the means of extras. She’d always cut corners and offered us an extra day or two for free in the cabins. She was a good-hearted woman and I had just unloaded all my problems onto her.

I stepped back, feeling shocked and ill. “I’m sorry...”

“Ember Brighton, don’t you dare walk away from me.” Gracie’s tone was motherly and I stilled. She took a step closer to cover the distance I’d put between us. “Now, you listen to me, and you listen good. I’ve seen you every year since you were just a little girl. I’ve bandaged your scraped knees and I’ve watched you ride your first horse. I think of you as a wonderful extension of our family here at the Ranch. And I know you know you’re always welcome here.”

“Thank you.” I felt my cheeks burn with the painful heat of a blush.

She didn’t miss a beat. “If you ever need anything, someone to talk to, to yell at, or to cry with, you come to me, you hear? I want to know what’s going on in your life and if I can help you in any way, you know I will.”

“Gracie...”

“And for as long as you need, you know this place can be your home. Whatever you decide to do, Ember, you are welcome here. You just listen to the words in your heart and you won’t be led astray.”

I sniffled, unable to help the running of my nose as emotions begged to pour from my body, if not in tears, than in the slobbery form of ugly sniffles. “You always know just what to say.”

Gracie chuckled. “I raised four boys, Ember. If you don’t think they have their fair share of problems...” she snorted. “Let me tell you they do! They’ve got problems, but they’re my boys and I’ll do anything I can to help them through.”

I smiled. “You’re a good mom.”

“I know.” She beamed proudly. “Now, since you’re here at the Ranch and you’ve got all this training in science and Kami tells me you worked alongside an equestrian veterinarian last summer, how do you feel about helping us in the stables?”

“Oh, really?”

She nodded, grinning widely. “If you’re available?”

“Definitely!” I laughed, the sound nearing on hysterical happiness. Straightening my spine, I tried to find some sort of professionalism. “I mean, yes. I’d like that.”

Gracie shook her head on a giggle. “You can start as early as today. Just go on over to the stables as soon as you’re finished with your breakfast and tell Luke I sent you.”

At the mention of Luke’s name, my heart fluttered and I felt a betraying blush rise into my cheeks. “I will. Thank you, Gracie.”

She pulled me into another hug, squeezing me tight. This time, I squeezed her just as tight. For the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful. The possibilities for my life were endless.

Gracie pulled back, tucking a strand of red hair behind my ear. “I think your breakfast dates are here.” She winked. “You’ve got the whole posse of Donnelley women, and soon to be Donnelley woman, staring at you from that table right over there.”

I stretched my neck to look where she was pointing and found Kami sitting with two women I had yet to meet, and a baby. They were all leaning into the table, huddled together as though conspiring as they watched Gracie and I. I felt my flesh pebble with nervous goosebumps as I eyed each woman intently.

“Why are they staring at us like that?” I whisper-asked Gracie.

She whispered back. “I don’t know. You should go find out.”

I nodded. “Okay.” I took a step toward Kami and the women before turning back to Gracie. I caught her in the middle of a thumbs-up sign to the women that she instantly dropped as soon as I’d turned to face her. Narrowing my eyes on her, I spoke through my uncertainty. “Thank you again - for everything.”

“Oh, you’re very welcome, Ember.” She said softly. “As I said, we need help in the stables and you’re more than qualified.”

I offered one last smile before I turned to join my best friend and her new
posse
of Donnelley women, or soon-to-be Donnelley women. And I realized, that I was jealous. Although, I wasn’t sure if I was jealous because my best friend had new close friends, or because they were all, in some form, Donnelley women and I wasn’t.

I lowered myself onto the bench beside a blond woman and I knew instantly, without introductions, that the woman was Hadley. She was the woman, or - um, goddess - as Kami called her who had tamed Collin of his player ways.

Pulling in a deep breath, I announced. “I’m Ember.” I grinned as I fell in touch with my easy-going, sometimes rambunctious ways (as Kami called them). “There’s no need for introductions.” I pointed to a surprised Reese. “You’re Reese.” I looked to Hadley. “And you’re Hadley.”

BOOK: A Tender Touch: A Donnelley Brother's Novel (Logan Point Book 4)
6.73Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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