Broken Dreams

by Kelly Elliott

  Reed came walking into the kitchen as he said, “Hey, Court, I had a great idea—” He took one look at me and then down at the mess on the floor. “What happened? Are you hurt?” He ran over and picked me up before carrying me away from the broken glass and spilled salsa.

  “The dogs! Oh, Reed, don’t let them eat it. There’s broken glass everywhere.”

  “Lulu, Midnight, kennels!” he yelled.

  Both dogs ran out of the kitchen and to their kennels.

  For a few brief moments, I felt so peaceful in Reed’s arms before he put me down in the living room.

  When he returned from locking up the dogs, he asked, “Angel, what happened? Why are you crying? Did you get cut or something?”

  Noah is in Texas. He wants to see me. Why does he want to see me?

  I flashed back to the last night he’d come into my bedroom.

  The moment I felt the bed move, I knew it was Noah. For the last three months, he had been staying at our house more and more, and his nightly visits seemed to last longer and longer. I reached under my pillow and felt the cold metal. I opened my eyes and sat up.

  “Get undressed, Courtney. We’re going to try something a little different, princess.”

  I reached over and turned on my lamp.

  “Turn off the light, Courtney. No one needs to know you’re awake,” he whispered as he took off his shirt.

  After reaching back under the pillow, I pulled out the gun and stood up. I pointed it at him, and he jumped up.

  “What the fuck? Where in the hell did you get a fucking gun, Courtney? Put it down before you hurt yourself.”

  “Fuck off, Noah. I’m done being treated as your rag doll. This little game you’ve been playing is over. I don’t care if I spend the rest of my life in jail. You will never touch me again. If you so much as think of getting anywhere near my sister, I’ll make sure you pay for it. Your time with me is over, motherfucker.”

  He stood there, looking at me, stunned. “Courtney, you know you wanted this as much as I did. I saw it in your eyes.”

  I wanted to scream, but I stayed calm. I shook my head and whispered, “No, I didn’t. I wanted my first time to be with someone who loved me. I wanted my Prince Charming, and all I got was a monster who treated me like I was nothing but a piece of meat for him to do with as he pleased. You’re not my Prince Charming. You’re my worst nightmare.”

  He smirked at me and put his hands up. “Then, shoot me. I don’t think you have it in you.”

  I slowly smiled and watched as his smile dropped from his face.

  “You don’t know me very well, Noah. How about I give you a warning?” I pointed the gun down to his thigh, and I was just about to pull the trigger when he jumped back.

  “Stop! Courtney, stop! I get it, okay? You’re serious. Just please put the gun down, okay? Just please put the gun down.”

  “Get out of my room. If you ever set foot in my room again, I swear to God, I will kill you.”

  He quickly put his shirt back on and went to leave. “I take it you’re not going to the prom with me?”

  My mouth dropped open, and I just looked at him. “I suggest you stop staying over. If I have to sit outside my sister’s bedroom door with this gun, I will. And as far as prom goes, no, Noah. I never want to even talk to you again.”

  He grabbed the door handle and quietly opened the door before shutting it.

  I dropped the gun onto my bed and broke down crying. I wasn’t sure how long I sat on my bed, rocking back and forth, as I whispered over and over again, “Please, God…please…let that be the end. Please let that be the end.”

  “Courtney? Hello? Earth to Court?” Reed waved his hand in front of my face.

  I pushed his hand away and took a step back. “Stay away from me.”

  He looked at me, confused. “What?”

  “I don’t need your goddamn help. I just dropped the jar. You don’t need to come rushing in like you’re my knight in shining armor or like I’m a child who can’t take care of myself.”

  I felt my heart beating a mile a minute, and the hurt in Reed’s eyes about killed me.

  “Wait, I walked in, and you were crying. I thought…I thought you were hurt and—”

  “I’m not. I just…I don’t know why I started crying. It’s just stupid hormones or something. I don’t know. I just…I just need you to leave me alone.”

  I turned to walk back into the kitchen, and he grabbed my arm.

  “Courtney, wait a minute. What in the hell happened? You were fine a few minutes ago. Now, you’re pissed at me because I tried to help you?”

  I spun around and jerked my arm from his grip. “I. Don’t. Need. Your. Help. You’re all the same, all of you. You’re always wanting something, and you don’t care who you use to get it.” I stood there and fought like hell to hold in my tears.

  He looked at me, and I saw the anger in his eyes.

  “Who are you talking to, Courtney? Me or someone else?”

  “What?”

  He took a step closer to me. “Are you mad at me? Or are you pissed at some other asshole who hurt you, and you’re taking it out on me?”

  I swallowed and stepped away from him. “I don’t…I don’t want to be with you, Reed. You’ll just end up hurting me like…like…”

  “Like who? Mitch? Because if you even think you’re going to compare me to Mitch, then you don’t know me at all, Courtney.”

  I put my hands on my hips and straightened out my shoulders. “Does it matter? I know you’ve used women before, Reed. I know you’ve slept with other women, and it was meaningless. You’re no different than the rest of them.”

  I turned to walk away, and he grabbed me again, spinning me around.

  “Don’t act all innocent, like you’ve only ever slept with Mitch, Courtney. What? You’re a twenty-five-year-old girl who lost her virginity to Mitch? Is that what you’re saying? So, if you want to judge me, let’s hear all your dirty little secrets.”

  I tried pulling out of his grip, but my body started to tremble. “Don’t say that,” I whispered.

  “Don’t say what? You accused me of being an asshole who sleeps around. Why can we talk about my sex life but not yours?”

  An image of Noah popped into my head—him on top of me, telling me how good I felt. I started to feel sick to my stomach.

  I let a sob escape from my mouth, and I whispered, “Please let me go, Reed. Please let me go.”

  He took one look into my eyes and instantly let me go. “Courtney, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

  I put my hand up to my mouth and fought to hold in my tears. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the paper towels before making my way over to the mess on the floor.

  Reed stepped in front of me. “I’ll clean it up.”

  I looked up at him and sucked in a breath of air. He had tears in his eyes.

  I slowly nodded my head and said, “I didn’t mean to say all of that. I just…”

  A small smile spread across his face. “It’s okay. I crossed a line, and I’m sorry. I know you’re not a child, and I need to stop treating you like one. I’m sorry.”

  He took the paper towels from my hand and bent down. As he began cleaning up the mess, I reached over and turned off the oven and stove before walking out of the kitchen.

  I headed straight for the shower where I spent the next hour crying until I had no tears left to cry and scrubbing my body until the smell of Noah was gone.

  Kevin had stopped by earlier and helped me with some things that needed to be done around the ranch, and now, I was finally able to sit down and relax. I glanced around, looking for any signs of Courtney.

  The last few days, she had been going over to Mimi and Frank’s, the neighbors on the ranch next to Layton’s. I was sure she’d been spending time talking about books with Mimi. She’d even bought Mimi a Kindle Fire HD after receiving the one I’d bought her since the dogs destroyed her original Kindle.

  “Mr. Moore?” Johnny
called out.

  Johnny was the high school kid I’d ended up hiring last week to help out for a bit until Layton got back from his honeymoon. Johnny was friends with Ryan, the kid Layton had hired last summer.

  I stood up and walked over to the gate. “Hey, Johnny. You get everything done?”

  He nodded and smiled. “Yes, sir. Miss Will took Tink out for a ride a little bit ago. Should I stay and help her with the horse when she gets back?”

  “Nah. Courtney is a big girl. She can handle it. Thanks, dude. I’ll see you tomorrow after church, right? Mr. Morris will be back in the afternoon, and then you can officially meet him.”

  He reached out and shook my hand. “Sounds like a plan, sir.”

  He turned and headed off to his old Chevy truck, and I headed back to the chair I had been sitting in. It was so damn hot out, and all I wanted to do was jump in the pool, but damn Courtney had me sneaking around, reading this stupid book of hers. I wouldn’t dare tell her I’d bought myself a Kindle, and I had loaded her favorite book on it. I had to know what it was that had always made her want to read it.

  It didn’t take me long before I was completely engrossed in Nick and Alexa’s world. I thought I heard a noise, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the Kindle. Nick was just about to—

  “Whatcha doin’ there?” Courtney whispered into my ear, scaring the shit out of me.

  I jumped up so fast that it caused me to lose my balance. I stumbled backward and went right into the pool, Kindle and all.

  Courtney started screaming, “No! My Kindle! You asshole, you ruined my brand-new Kindle.”

  I looked up at her as she began stomping her feet with her hands flying everywhere, and I couldn’t help but smile.

  I quickly removed the smile and started getting out of the pool. “Nice. You’re worried about a stupid-ass Kindle. No, really, I’m fine, Courtney. I didn’t just fall into a pool where I could have possibly hurt myself.”

  She stopped jumping around and looked at me. “It’s not like you fell off a building, for Christ’s sake. You fell into a pool…with my Kindle!”

  She reached for the Kindle, and I swore she wiped a tear away. I shook my head and then pulled my shirt up and over my head. Then, I began unbuttoning my jeans.

  “Whoa there, cowboy. Giving me a free strip show isn’t going to make up for the fact that this is the second Kindle that has been destroyed while…”

  I pulled my jeans down, and she stopped talking while she moved her eyes up and down my body. The moment she bit down on her lower lip and let out a small moan, I felt my dick jump.

  This girl is going to kill me.

  “Don’t worry, Court. I’m not stripping. I don’t want to walk through the house while I’m soaking wet.” I started to walk away but not before I grabbed the Kindle. “By the way, this isn’t your Kindle.”

  She picked up my wet shirt and jeans and followed me. “Wait, what? If it’s not my Kindle, then whose Kindle is it? And why…” Then, she started laughing. “Oh. My. God. Reed Moore, were you…reading?”

  I stopped, spun around, and looked down into her beautiful blue eyes while I gave her the best panty-melting smile I could muster up.

  “Yes, Courtney Will, I was reading. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take a shower and get dressed to go out.”

  Her smile dropped, and her mouth opened just a bit. “You’re going out? Where?”

  I turned and walked away from her, making my way into the house. I didn’t want to tell her that after she had pushed me away the other day, I’d called up Melissa from work and asked her out for dinner. It was a dick move on my part, and ever since then, I had been trying to think of reasons to get out of it.

  “Reed?” Courtney said in a soft voice.

  I stopped at the edge of the stairs and looked back at her. “What?”

  “I didn’t mean it the other day when I said I didn’t want to be with you.”

  With that, she turned and headed through the kitchen. I heard the back door shut, and a few seconds later, the sounds of her truck starting and pulling down the driveway filled my head. I just stood there, stunned.

  I sat down on the stairs and put my head in my hands. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was going to cry over a girl. She had me all tied up in knots, not knowing which way was up or down.

  I ran upstairs, took a quick shower, and then grabbed my cell phone. I was thanking God that I had left it on the dresser and not shoved in my back pocket when I’d gone into the pool. I hit Melissa’s number and took a deep breath.

  “Hey, handsome,” she purred through the phone.

  “Oh, hey. Listen, something has come up, and I’m going to have to cancel dinner.”

  “No. Oh no, Reed. I was really looking forward to dinner and maybe a little storage room fun again.”

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Yeah, that’s probably not going to happen again, Melissa. I’m sorry. I, um…I’ve kind of…well, I’m sort of, like…”

  She let out a laugh. “Reed Moore, you sound like you’ve fallen for someone.”

  I smiled and said, “Yeah, Melissa, I have. I don’t want to hurt her or you, so I can’t have dinner with you tonight. I hope you understand. I’m trying to figure things out with this, um…this girl, and…well, I’m doing a piss-poor job of it.”

  She let out another chuckle. “Reed, thank you for being honest with me. Hey, what we did was fun, and I’m not going to lie and say I wouldn’t want to do it again. Can I offer you a bit of advice though?”

  This is awkward in a way, but what the hell? “Sure.”

  “If you love her, go after her, Reed. Don’t let her push you away, and don’t you push her away because you’re afraid of your feelings. Fight for it.”

  I dropped my head and let out a sigh. “Thanks, Melissa. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”

  “Go get her. I’ll see ya when you get back to work. Enjoy the last few days of your vacation.”

  I thanked her again and said good-bye.

  I hadn’t had the heart to tell her that I had no intentions of going back to work. Once I’d decided to become a partner with Layton, I’d made the choice to quit my job and focus on the ranch, so I had given my notice the other day.

  I got dressed and headed downstairs. I looked around the kitchen and decided I was going to make spaghetti and homemade meat sauce. I had no idea where Courtney had gone, but I was banking on her being back for dinner. I pulled out my phone and sent her a text message.

  Reed: Dinner plans were canceled. I’m cooking dinner. Will be ready at six.

  I sat there, staring at the candles that were almost halfway burned down. I glanced at the clock. It was seven thirty, and I had heard nothing from Courtney. I hadn’t even eaten anything. The food was sitting in the middle of the table, cold and no longer looking good. Lulu and Midnight had been waiting in position for the last hour.

  I glanced down and shrugged my shoulders. “I guess she’s not showing up for dinner, y’all.”

  I heard the back door open, and both dogs jumped up and ran into the kitchen. I was hoping she would just walk right by the formal dining room and not see me waiting for her like a fool.

  I was sitting with my back facing the entrance of the dining room, so I couldn’t see her, but I felt her the moment she walked in. The whole energy in the room changed. She walked up behind me and leaned in close as she set a new Kindle Fire HD down on the table. I couldn’t help but smile and let out a chuckle. Then, I felt her hot breath against my neck as she moved her lips up to my ear.

  “I even put The Marriage Bargain on there along with some other books to help with your…swooning research.”

  It felt like a bolt of lightning went through my whole body when her lips were against my skin. I got up and stood in front of her. The smile on her face about dropped me to my knees. She slowly began backing up until she hit the wall. I walked up to her and bent down, putting my lips up against her ear. I co
uld hear her breathing, and I swore I could tell what she was thinking with the sound of her breaths.

  “I really love that fucking book,” I whispered.

  She let out a laugh as she put her hand up onto my chest. I pulled back and captured her eyes with mine.

  She smirked and asked, “Did you swoon?”

  I smiled bigger. “I don’t think I’m ready to share that with you just yet.”

  “Reed?” she asked.

  “Yeah, angel?”

  “I’m scared,” she said as a tear rolled down her face.

  That single tear stopped my breathing as I used my thumb to wipe it away. “I am, too, Courtney. I am, too.”

  I put my forehead against hers, and we just stood there in silence for a few minutes.

  “Want to go two-stepping?” I asked as I pulled back and looked at her.

  She busted out laughing. She looked up into my eyes and nodded her head. I leaned down and captured her lips with mine. As I gently kissed her, I tried to pour as much love into that kiss as I could, but the last thing I was going to do was push her into anything.

  I pulled my lips away and whispered, “Court, I’ll wait forever for you. I’ll wait forever.”

  I’d never had so much fun in my life as I was having with Reed tonight at Luckenbach dance hall. We’d been dancing for hours, and we’d laughed so much that I’d almost pissed my pants a time or two. The few times he’d kissed me, I’d thought I was going to need someone to tie my hands up to keep me from ripping off his clothes. No one had ever made me feel the way I felt when I was with Reed.

  I was standing in the restroom, looking in the mirror, and I couldn’t help but laugh, thinking about how Reed had bought a Kindle and had been reading my favorite book. I shook my head as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail.

  A dark-haired girl walked up next to me and smiled. “I have to tell you, you and your husband must be very much in love.”

  I glanced at her with a confused look on my face. “My husband?”

  She laughed. “Yeah. I asked your hubby to dance, and he told me he was too madly in love with his wife to dance with anyone but her. I thought it was so sweet. I wish I had a guy who looked at me the way he looks at you. All night, my friends and I have been jealous while watching y’all.” She winked and walked away.