All I See Is You

31. Homewrecker

Chapter thirty-one

Homewrecker

Quinn

I hadn’t slept. Shocker. And with each hour that passed by this morning, the pit of worry in my stomach only seemed to grow wider and wider. I’d worked out, showered and gotten ready, even tried to read some of my new book, but nothing could distract me from thoughts of Hux.

I was still hurt and upset at how he’d blown up at me, but more than that, I missed him. I didn’t like that I didn’t know where we stood. I shouldn’t have left like that last night, but you could argue he shouldn’t have yelled at me in front of an entire crowd. We’d both made mistakes. We both needed to take responsibility for them. I didn’t want to bother him at work though. He’d likely be riding horses right now while it was still—relatively—cool out.

By 10 AM I couldn’t take it anymore, though.

Whit was still sleeping, so I figured I’d just send her a quick text later instead of wake her up. It didn’t take a genius to know where I was headed.

I shouldn’t even have bothered with showering. By the time the barn came into view, I was dripping with sweat. Not the way I wanted to go into this conversation that was likely going to be hard and frustrating and might involve more than a few tears.

Steeling my nerves and taking a deep breath, I left the main road and strode down the path for the barn. Muffled voices echoed from within. Great, I didn’t want to interrupt him if he was busy with one of the hands or something. But then a familiar, obnoxious voice drifted on the wind. I couldn’t make out what was said, but my gut churned all the same.

Georgette.

What the hell was she doing in the ranch hands' barn? Her and Dad didn’t have any horses. And aside from the grand tour I got on the first day, I'd never once seen her out on the grounds in the last couple weeks.

Hux’s deep timbre sounded far off, but I could at least make sense of the words. “I’m not interested, Georgette.”

My stomach did a somersault, and I thought I might just throw up right there on the pavement.

“But I’m interested.”

Okay, what the hell was going on?

I hurried toward the open barn doors and slipped inside only to feel like I’d been hit by a ton of bricks. Hux stood against one of the stall doors while Georgette kissed him.

What the hell was happening? Why was she kissing him? My mind and heart had gone into overdrive and it’s like I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing.

Hux pushed away immediately, revulsion written plainly across his face as he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “What the fuck, Georgette?” he snapped.

Before she could do anything else, he was stomping down the barn aisle toward the doors I stood in. He didn’t get far as he crashed into the wheelbarrow and stumbled over himself. Georgette was there before I could even take a step forward, ready to sink her claws in. To do what exactly, I wasn't sure, but if she'd already tried to kiss him, I don't know what else she'd try to do while he was vulnerable.

God, I really hated that bitch.

Anger boiled like lava in my veins as I stepped forward, finally making myself known. I’d seen enough. “Do not. Fucking. Touch. Him. Again,” I spat, the words like venom on my tongue.

“Quinn! I—he. He kissed me! He came at me and—”

“I know exactly what happened,” I said with a calm I most certainly didn’t feel. My hands trembled at my sides, tears of anger burned in my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall.

“Quinn.” Hux’s tone was a mixture of shock, relief, and a twinge of fear. I flicked my gaze to him, finding the look on his face pleading as he gazed in the general direction of my voice. He looked so vulnerable and scared in that moment. Like he thought I’d actually believe Georgette’s words. “I didn’t. I promise.”

And even though I was still angry with him, even though we still needed to talk about last night, I made my way to his side and slid my hand into his.

Aiming my gaze at Georgette, I said, “I think you need to leave.”

“Quinn—I. Please.”

“Now.” Even I was impressed with the finality in my tone. “I don’t suspect my dad will be very happy with you when he finds out what you did.”

She didn’t cower or balk at my words, instead puffed herself up like a goddamn rooster and sneered at me. “Who’s he going to believe?”

“He won’t believe you over me, that’s for damn sure.”

Georgette raised her nose high in the air, her dark gaze vicious and sharp as daggers. “We’ll see about that.”

I huffed a laugh and shook my head. God, she really was delusional. “Yeah, I guess we will.”

She let out a squeal of rage before stomping her foot—yes, a thirty-year-old woman stomped her foot—and marched herself out of the barn, making sure to aim a hate-filled gaze mine and Hux’s way. Pretty sure I heard her mumble something about me being a haughty bitch, but I didn’t even deign to respond. She’d get her comeuppance for being a shit human being soon enough.

When she finally disappeared through the door, I let out a deep, shaky breath, but it did little to quell the anger inside me. “God, what a stupid, fucking cunt!” I shouted, unable to hold the words in any longer.

Hux’s soft huff of laughter drew my attention. “You’ll find no argument from me there.”

He seemed to have recovered a bit. The revulsion had disappeared, leaving him looking stone-faced and tired. I squeezed his hand and turned to him.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly.

His brows furrowed beneath his sunglasses. “Me? What do you mean?”

“Hux, she—” Just the thought of what she’d done made bile rise in my throat. “She sexually assaulted you. She cornered you. Tried to take advantage of you.” Each word that came out of my mouth escalated in volume and turned more hysterical. I hadn’t even realized I was talking with my hands so much until Hux brought them down to my sides.

And then I was crying. Sobbing, more like—with rage, with disbelief, with devastation. Honestly, at this point so many emotions barreled into me I didn’t know what exactly had set me off. All I kept thinking was how terrified I’d have been in his position.

Hux drew me in, dragging me against his chest, and I fell apart in his arms as tears flowed down my cheeks and stained his dark t-shirt. He shushed me quietly, running the backs of his knuckles up and down my spine in a slow, soothing motion.

“I’m okay, darlin’. I promise.” When his reassuring words failed, he settled on cupping my face in his calloused hands and forced me to look up at him. “Breathe, Quinn. Breathe.”

I was helpless but to listen, following his orders and taking in slow, deep breaths before holding them in for one second, two, then letting them out.

“Good girl. Again.”

It took a few tries, but with each inhale and exhale it got easier to breathe, to think. “I’m sorry,” I finally managed to whisper.

He wiped the tears spilling down my cheeks with his thumbs before pushing my hair back off my face. “You ain’t got nothin’ to apologize for. I’m just glad you came when you did.”

I sniffled. “What happened?”

“I was just about to come find you, then she was there gettin’ all handsy. When I told her she needed to leave she just got more aggressive.”

I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Quinn. Really.” His tone was stern but gentle. “We should probably go talk to your dad, though. Get this all sorted before Georgette spins more lies.”

“Let her. If my dad believes her over me, then I want nothing to do with him.” There was no way in hell that my dad would buy her bullshit once I got involved. She could weave the most extravagant tale, but at the end of the day, my dad wasn’t an idiot. Besides, I didn’t want to leave until Hux and I had figured things out. I hated this feeling. This hollowness in my chest that I'd felt after last night. I needed to know where we stood.

Looking up at him, I said softly, “You hurt me last night.”

His hands dropped to his sides and he let out a defeated sigh as he looked skyward. “I know. You don’t know how much I regret what I said, what I did, how I treated you. I was—” He swallowed hard and raised his hands toward his head, pulling his ball cap off with one hand and spearing his fingers through his hair with the other before righting it once more. “I was a fuckin’ idiot. I was drunk and belligerent, and I promise you I ain’t ever gonna do that shit ever again.”

“Drink, or ride, or yell at me?” I found myself asking.

“Any of it. All of it. Whatever you want.”

My eyes welled with tears once more. “Was that the real you last night?”

“No. No, I promise. I ain’t gonna lie though, I’ve gotten too drunk on more than one occasion, and my anger is something I fight with daily. But last night… That ain’t me. I don’t want that to be me. I swear, Quinn.” There was a desperate note to his voice I’d never heard before, and it broke me.

“I’m not going to be your punching bag, Hux. I’m already that for everyone else, it seems.”

“I don’t want you to be that. I fucked up. Never again, I swear.”

Did I believe him? I wanted to believe him. I think I believed him. But doubt lurked in the shadows of my mind. What if this was just the start?