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“Oh, Bella.” He pulled her back in his arms. “Don’t cry. I’m sure Liberty feels just as hurt about your fight as you do.”
“She has a funny way of showing it.”
He sighed. “I hate to admit it, but Liberty is a lot like me. We keep our emotions close to our vest. When someone hurts us, we completely shut down. That’s what I did when my mama kept dropping me off with relatives. I just shut down and acted like I didn’t care.” He hesitated. “But I did care. Liberty cares too. We’re just not like you and Sunny. Y’all wear your emotions on your sleeves and that’s not a weakness. It’s a strength. So why don’t you just do what you really want to do and go see her? I know she’ll be happy you did.”
She lifted her head. “You think so?”
He smoothed back her hair. “I know so. When Sunny and I fight, I’m secretly happy when she shows up and refuses to let me sulk.”
A smile tickled the corners of her mouth. “You are a sulker.”
“Just one of my many flaws.”
The smile faded and she reached up and cradled his jaw in her soft hand. Something entered her eyes that made his heart tighten and his breath get locked in his chest. “You don’t have that many flaws, Corbin Whitlock. You like to make people think you do, but I know better. I know underneath that tough exterior is a soft heart that when it loves, it loves completely. If your mama couldn’t see that, then that’s her problem not yours.”
That soft heart felt like it was swelling right out of his chest.
Which scared the hell out of him.
He forced a laugh. “Boy, do I have you fooled. Now come on, let’s get dressed. You have a sister to go see.”
He volunteered to keep Gilley, but the dog whined so much when Belle went to get in the car that she ended up taking him with her. Corbin knew how the dog felt. As he watched her car drive away, he wanted to whine and chase after it.
What had she done to him?
The last few days, he had thought of every excuse he could think of to get her out to the ranch—something was wrong with Homer, Mimi’s tomato plants looked like they might be dying, he bought some new flowers to replace the ones Gilley had trampled but didn’t know how to plant them. At night, he thought of more excuses to show up at the trailer—he’d left something he needed for work, he wanted to make sure the air conditioner was working, he accidentally bought dog treats for Tay and thought Gilley would like them.
He knew Belle saw right through his excuses, but she never said a word. She just showed up at the ranch or welcomed him into the trailer. That was just who she was. She was a giver.
He, on the other hand, was a taker.
He was taking from her. He knew he was taking. But he couldn’t seem to stop. She filled the hollow emptiness inside him. An emptiness he had ignored all his life. Now that he knew how it felt to feel full, he wasn’t sure if he could ever live with the emptiness again.
And what if he didn’t have to?
The question dropped into his head out of nowhere like a thousand-pound barbell. It jarred him, causing him to tense and wake up Tay who was sleeping in his arm.
“I’ve lost my mind, Tay,” he said as he stroked the kitten’s head. “If I’m actually considering making things serious between me and Belle.”
The kitten blinked her blue eyes at him as if to say, “And you aren’t already serious?”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Damn. How do I think this is going to work? Do I think she’s just going to smile and bear it when I kick her family off their ranch?”
Again Tay stared at him and he what she was thinking.
“Oh, no, I’m not taking on all the Holidays.”
Except as soon as he spoke the words, he realized he’d already taken on all the Holidays. Hank, Darla, and Mimi were living under his roof. And Belle was living in his—
“No!” He shook his head adamantly. “Absolutely not. Belle has not taken over my heart. I’m letting good sex make me think things I have no business thinking. I’m not in love with Belle. I like her—I like her a lot. But I don’t love her.” He pointed a finger at Tay. “Got it?”
Tay only stared back.
Frustrated with his thoughts, he headed inside and spent the rest of the day working on anything and everything to keep his mind off Belle. It didn’t work. No matter how busy he was, thoughts of her drifted in.
It was a relief when Sunny, who had gone into town for groceries, came home in the late afternoon and walked into the office. Her sprain had healed and she was back to being as feisty as ever.
“Whatcha doin’, big brother? Besides making loads of money for me to spend.”
