Freed (19 page)

Becky straightens from the wall. “I’ve already thought about it, and the answer is no, Greer. You made your bed, now you’ll have to lie in it,” she seethes and scoots past us both.

Greer slumps against the wall. I glance around to see if we’re alone before moving toward him. Ransom’s not due from class for a while yet, so I have some time to talk to him. Leaning against the wall next to him, I nudge his shoulder with mine. “You OK?”

He blows out a breath and angles his body toward mine. “I’m better. Trying to make amends. It’s about as easy as it sounds.”

“I know what you mean,” I agree, with a little smile.

“I asked Becky to straighten out that rumor about you, since she’s the one who spread it here. Tried to find out how she even knew about it in the first place. She’s not talking.”

“Oh, Greer. I wish you’d just leave it alone. I’m doing well, and honestly, I think most people have forgotten about it. I’m old news, and besides, nobody really likes Becky anyway.”

“Don’t you want to undo all that, though?”

“It can’t be undone, Greer. It’s the past, and we have to let it go.” My brow pinches together. “I know you want to help me, but I promise you, I’m doing well. I’d rather you focus on yourself.”

“I’m better. Therapy has helped a lot. I’m ready to go home for break. When are you heading out?”

“Oh, um, soon. I’m not going to Anaconda though.”

“Why not? Where are you going?” The look I give must say it all. “Seriously, Denver? Your mom’s OK with that?”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, seriously, and you know my mom doesn’t give a shit about what I do.”

“I do. I give a shit. You could stay with us if you don’t want to see them. You don’t have to go with him just to avoid home.”

My mouth drops open for a split second before I burst out with, “After what your mother did to me? I don’t think so.”

“What my mother did to you? What do you mean?”

Shit. I hadn’t meant to say that. I never wanted him to know about that. “Greer, just leave it. I need to go anyway.” Pushing myself off the wall, I squeeze his hand quickly. “Have a nice break.”

“No, Denver. I need to know. What happened with my mom?”

“She confronted me after that weekend about … breaking up with you,” I say for lack of better words. “Compared me to my mom and how she played your uncles. Found me decidedly worse than my mom.” I hesitate. “Then she slapped me across the face.”

Greer just stares at me like I’ve suddenly sprouted two heads. “My mom? Julia Tanner? Slapped you?”

I nod. “Twice.”

“Oh my God. Why didn’t you tell me? Shit, Denver.”

“At the time, I figured I deserved it. I put you through a lot. She knows that. I wondered what you told her though. She was pretty worked up.”

“Not much really. Just that we didn’t work out. She pressed me for details, but I couldn’t tell her everything. I ended up telling her you had moved on with someone.”

“Yep, that’s what she implied. A slut just like my mother, hopping from one man to the next.”

“Jesus. I know you’re sick of hearing it. I’m sick of saying it, but I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I really do need to go.”

“I told my father. All of it. He’s the one who’s been helping me. Got me set up with a therapist. Talked me down.”

“Talked you down?”

“I was in a bad place after that, Denver,” he sighs. “He was afraid I was going to hurt myself.”

I pale. That was something I never considered. “I’m so sorry, Greer.”

“One day we’re going to have moved past all this, and I promise I’ll never do anything else that has me having to apologize to you. I miss being your friend. I’m hoping we can get back to that.”

“Me too. I want us to be friends again. I miss you like crazy.”

I feel him before I see or hear him. “Denver, you good?” Ransom calls from the landing.

Greer steps back and nods his head in greeting toward Ransom. I turn and am relieved that he doesn’t look upset, just concerned. “Yeah, I’m good. Just saying goodbye to Greer.” He searches my face as if looking to find evidence of the contrary before glancing at Greer, his look inscrutable. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I open my mouth to try to end it, but Ransom beats me to it.

“I’ll be upstairs,” Ransom states before moving away.

“I’ve gotta go. Greer, really, you and I are … getting there. You don’t need to make any more amends or anything like that. I just want you better. I want us to get to a place where things aren’t awkward. Most of all, I want you to be happy again.”

“Then we’re on the same page.”

The drive from Bozeman to Big Timber is only a little over an hour, and Ransom spends most of it regaling with me stories of his youth in the tiny Montana town. He, Austin, and Pete sure knew how to bring some excitement to the sleepy little village.

“What’d you say the population was again?”

“Around 1700. And yes, everybody knows everyone else’s business, but it’s good in a way. We weren’t allowed to get away with much. It’s a good group of people.” The hand that holds mine squeezes gently.

“And I thought my town was small.”

“Shoot, Anaconda’s the big city compared to Big Timber.”

“Oh, yes. You know, ‘cause we have ten times the people y’all do.”

Ransom laughs. “I love that you say
y’all
. You know you’ve gotten most of our crowd saying it now too.”

“Yep, it’s a handy pronoun. You can thank my dad and his southern roots for that.”

“Denver,” Ransom says somberly. “I know I told you my mom’s sick, and she is doing better but …” I slide my hand over his thigh and squeeze. He gives me a slanted smile. “I just want you to be prepared. She’s weak from the chemo. She’s not a vain woman in the slightest, and I know you’re not squeamish—”

“I understand,” I interrupt. “My grandmother had cancer. It’s a scary, living hell.”

“You got that right. This is her second battle with it. She just took her last round of chemo a couple of weeks ago. I chatted with her on the webcam a couple of days ago, and she looked beautiful as always. She’s still so self-conscious, though.”

We fall back into silence as we cross over into Sweet Grass County. Before long, Ransom says, “Don’t blink. You’ll miss it.” I notice the proud sign leading into his little town, and I don’t care how small it is, I have a fondness for it right away. It’s where he grew up. “Downtown,” he announces, driving the few blocks of commerce.

“It’s charming,” I muse, as we pass through the clean, well-maintained businesses. I barely finish my statement before we’ve moved beyond the city limits. “You were right about blinking. How far do you live outside of town?”

“About ten miles or so. My mom still lives on her former boss’s ranch. She tried to move on when she couldn’t work anymore, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He’s a good man. Shit,” he says quietly.

Ransom whips over to the side of the road, catching me by surprise. His gaze is intense. “You’re starting to make a habit of urgently needing to talk to me while we’re driving, Ransom,” I joke.

“I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me before now. I guess because it’s not a big deal to me, but it may be for you, even though I can promise you there’s nothing to worry about.” His tone has me instantly worried.

“Just tell me.”

“I told you how I grew up on the ranch, and Mr. Edwin, the owner, took me under his wing, teaching me about farming and raising cattle.” I nod. That’s harmless enough. “I’ve told you about Victoria, my ex.”

“Yep,” I manage, without a trace of the bitterness I harbor. He may not be prone to jealousy, but I sure as hell I am.

“Well, Victoria is Edwin’s daughter, and I’m sure we’re bound to run into her while we’re here.”

I can’t help but groan. I was really hoping to avoid the whole awkward running-into-your-ex business this week. We run into Greer a lot, and it’s always uncomfortable. “Umm … OK. Well, what’s she like? I mean, should I watch my back, or can she be civil?”

He gives a low laugh. “She’s civil. She’s working on her master’s right now in applied meteorology and climatology. Anyway, that keeps her busy, but I’m sure she’ll be around at some point.”

Oh my God. I bet she’s beautiful, and now she’s fucking smart too. Really smart from the sound of it. I hope she’s not sweet ‘cause I may have to scratch her eyes out if she directs all that at my man. I have no illusions about her not wanting him back. I heard enough to know that breaking up was definitely not in her plan.

“Yeah, she’s really a sweet girl.” I turn my head and roll my eyes.
Yep, sweet. Called it!
“I’m sure you won’t have to worry about her playing any games or anything like that. We’re just friends now. We’ve been broken up for years. I mean, I wasn’t even out of high school.”

I take a deep breath and turn back to him, pasting on a dazzling smile. I imagine a little ding sound at how bright it is, and almost make myself laugh. “It’ll be fine, Ransom. I promise to be on my best behavior.” I consider that for a second, and under my breath add, “As long as she is.”

He grins at me for a second before his gaze darts down to my mouth. He gives me an appreciative once-over, focusing on the braid that hangs over my shoulder. His fingertips feather over it before I feel a tug on the rubber band. “You know how I feel about your braided hair. You look entirely too sexy to meet my mom. I won’t be able to behave myself.” Oh God! My insides clench as he flashes that lopsided grin. He weaves his hand through my hair, guiding the waves to spill out over my shoulders. My head falls back on the seat, and I groan. I love it when he plays with my hair. His thumb comes to rest on my lower lip before he pulls my lip from between my teeth.

“Fuck. That didn’t work,” he rasps, just before his mouth collides against mine. Sucking my bottom lip between his teeth, he bites gently before licking it. When his tongue teases mine, I open to the onslaught of his kiss. I swallow his moan, and my body bucks toward his. Two clicks, and our seatbelts are off in a flash, with me on my back and him pressed against me even faster than that. His hands slide down my sides, shifting me so that we’re flush against one another. One hand grasps the back of my knee, and he pulls my leg up around his hip, forcing us even closer together.

“Ransom,” I gasp, as his lips tease my neck. “Your mom’s expecting us.”

He pulls back slightly to murmur, “We got an early start. We’re good.” His mouth is back on mine, and his hand squeezes the back of my thigh before moving up to my ass to do the same. And with that, I’m gone. I lose myself in this moment, knowing we probably won’t have much time alone for a while. When he tries to right himself, I pull him back down for a few more minutes. Groaning, he thrusts his hips against mine, and his hard length rubs me in just the right way.

“Yeah, I’m afraid we better move now before it’s too late,” he grumbles. He rests his forehead on mine while we take a few calming breaths.

Once we’ve made it back to planet Earth, we sit up and adjust ourselves. Ransom mumbles about cold air doing him good and hops out of the truck to walk around back for a minute. I almost giggle at the affect I have him until I pull the rearview mirror down and see the state of my own arousal.

“Ransom!” I shout.

“What?” He reappears with a look of shock at my outburst.

“Look at me!” I glance back to the mirror. My lips are swollen and red. My hair is wild. My pupils are dilated and wide. “Your mom is not stupid. She’s gonna take one look at me and know we were up to no good.”

“It wasn’t good for you, baby?”

“Shut up. Seriously,” I complain, running my hands through my hair.

“You look beautiful,” he states, climbing back into the truck and pulling back onto the road.

“I look like I just got jumped by a horny cowboy and liked it.”

“Well, there is that.” I just roll my eyes and continue fussing over my appearance. I really like to make a good impression on his mom. It would be nice, for once, not to be seen as a girl with loose morals. Maybe she’ll just think I have naturally full lips or something. I finally give up and focus on the scenery as we pull into a driveway.

Rolling hills give way to grassy meadows as we make our way down the long, gravel road. When the land levels out, a beautiful, rustic house appears against a densely populated forest. “Oh, wow,” I breathe.

“Yeah, it’s gorgeous, huh? My mom getting that housekeeping job was a miracle, and it completely changed my life.”

Once we’re closer to the house, I can tell it’s massive, even though it’s completely understated. “Are you still close with Edwin even though things didn’t work out with his daughter?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s fair-minded, and uh, I’m pretty sure she explained things to him.”

“What do you mean?”

Ransom tosses me a grin and then proceeds to blow my mind. “She cheated on me when she went away to college. Broke my heart at the time, but once I got some distance, I realized it was for the best. It wouldn’t have worked out with us.”

My mouth falls open. What the hell? What kind of idiot would cheat on this guy? “Well, I stand corrected.”

“About?”

“I was sitting here thinking she was fucking smart. Now, not so much.” I plant a kiss on his neck. I move in to do it again, but he turns his head and catches my mouth with his for a second.

Passing the main house, we reach a second clearing with a small, wooden cabin. It’s homey, and the way that the glowing, oranges and pinks of the setting suns spills out around it, makes it look like a little slice of heaven.

“I know it’s not what you’re used to, but it’s home.” Ransom says.

“I may have a big, impressive house, but it’s empty, Ransom,” I sigh. My eyes flash toward his. “I’m excited about spending time with people who genuinely like and love each other. It’ll be an all-new experience for me.”

“You know I like turning you on to new things,” he flirts. “Come on,” he says, hopping from the truck, dragging me behind him.

He grabs a couple of our bags from the truck bed, and I follow behind him to the back deck. “It’s cold, Mom. What do you think you’re doing out here?” Ransom’s voice is gentle, but terse.