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What was that in her tone? She sounded a little...annoyed?
Maybe she was annoyed that instead of having a nice conversation with him, she was going to be fixing up his face. He wasn’t sure. Regardless, he said, “Do you think you can get yourself outside without some other dude trying to drag you off?”
“You know, in all my life, I’ve never had a problem with men wanting to drag me off somewhere. Figures you’d walk in on the night where that suddenly became an issue.”
“I think maybe you just have never noticed.”
She laughed. “I don’t think so. But if you want to phrase it that way, I guess I’m not going to argue with you.”
“I’m glad I walked in when I did,” he said, his eyes serious.
Some of the amusement faded out of her face as she nodded in agreement. “Me too.” Then she smiled again, but it didn’t seem to reach her eyes. “Go on. I’m coming.”
He jerked his head up, still watching her, because she just wasn’t acting quite right, and he knew that once they went out with Shanna, he wouldn’t have a chance to ask her about it. But she turned and started walking away before he could say anything, and so he walked outside, determined that whatever it took, he would get to the bottom of it.
Chapter 8
Ellen put a hand on the freezer and tried to still her trembling fingers. Her whole body felt like Jell-O. She had been scared to death that Travis was going to get hurt. He didn’t even seem to hear her calling for him to stop, but she’d shut her mouth after he’d been able to get himself up enough to block Chalmer’s punch and get in one of his own. She’d been terrified that something was going to happen to him after he had finally returned after five years away.
Then, after Chalmer was on the ground, and they’d gone inside to get things with her straightened out, it finally hit her that he bought Shanna’s lunch bucket. It was like high school all over again.
But he’d insisted they should just be friends. And she’d honored that, although she hoped for more all the time. He promised he was going to kiss her. But apparently it was Shanna that he had been pining for, since the night he got home, he was already eating supper with her.
She tried to swallow the feeling of bitter disappointment. Push aside her heartbreak.
“Are you okay?” a voice asked from behind her. The general murmur and laughter of the townsfolk was muted in the kitchen, although she could still hear them. The hustle and bustle that would have been going on earlier as everyone grabbed food and drinks and got seated had died down, and the kitchen had been deserted. At least she thought it had been.
She turned around to see one of the Clyborne sisters, Claudia. Claudia was about the same age as she was, and they had become good friends since Claudia had moved in with her family. They bought the Sweet View Ranch complex outside of town and, with the help of a few anonymous investors, hoped to make the ranch a roaring success and bring even more commerce dollars into Sweet Water.
The family was an asset to Sweet Water, although Ellen didn’t know them all well. Claudia had been kind, and Ellen considered her a friend.
“I’m fine.”
“You look white as a sheet, and your fingers are trembling.” Claudia lifted her brows, but her voice was gentle. She wasn’t accusing, she was asking. Stating what she saw and then inviting Ellen to tell her what the issue was if Ellen so chose. Ellen appreciated the fact that she wasn’t trying to force her way into Ellen’s life.
But at the same time, she really wanted to tell someone. Or at least talk to someone. Maybe not bare her heart. Could she?
“You saw Chalmer buy me.”
“Yeah, I felt bad for you. If I had had more money on me, I would have bought you myself. It didn’t say that it had to be a man.”
“No. And that would have been a relief, trust me.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I was sitting there thinking to myself that I was really glad that I had brought a lunch bucket to put on auction, because if I hadn’t, and they sold me... I don’t know if I would have gone through with it.”
“I didn’t want to. But honestly, I didn’t really think they would force me to do it. I guess I could have insisted, but it would have been a scene. And I’m not very good at that.”
“I know. You’re so sweet. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just I can see how they would have railroaded you into it before you even realized it.”
“Yeah. That’s exactly what happened.”
“So it didn’t go well?” Claudia raised her brows.
“No. You could say that.” Ellen laughed a bit, and Claudia looked intrigued.
“Spill,” she commanded.
Ellen sighed, opening up the freezer and getting the ice tray out before going to the drawer looking for a Ziploc bag as she spoke.
