Broken Promises

by Kelly Elliott

  I cocked my head. “What scares you?”

  Liza sucked in her lower lip. “How much I want you to kiss me.”

  I swallowed hard as I stood up. Then I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Goodnight, Liza,” I whispered.

  She closed her eyes and said, “Night, Walker.”

  For a few minutes, I just watched her sleep. When I heard the door creak open, I turned to see Jase there.

  “Is she okay?” he asked.

  I nodded and turned to leave, but Jase grabbed me by the arm and stopped me. He gave me an intense look.

  “I see the way you look at her, Walker. And I see the way she looks at you. You’re both in committed relationships, so please don’t do something stupid.”

  I glanced back over to Liza. “I love Jessica. I would never do anything to hurt her. But I can’t stop my feelings for Liza, Jase. She’s like a sister to me.”

  The corner of his mouth pulled up into a slight smile. “Uh-huh. Like a sister. I’ll see ya in a few hours.”

  I gave him a quick nod and walked out of Liza’s room. The whole way out to my truck, I tried to make sense out of the feelings running rampant in my head. Ava had woken up and moved to the front seat where she was leaning against the passenger window. When I started the truck she groaned.

  “Oh God, I’m never drinking again.”

  I laughed and put the truck in reverse and started to head down the driveway. I looked over to the house and gasped when I saw Liza standing at her window with her bedroom light on, watching me drive off.

  I WIPED THE sweat from my forehead and leaned against my truck. “Shit, it’s hot out.”

  Layton laughed. “Welcome home! Just think, it’s not even summer yet.”

  I rolled my eyes and took a swig from my water. The cattle had been hanging around us the last hour. Hoping for an early feeding.

  I looked over to see my father finishing up with the fence repair. Jase placed some tools in the back of the ranch truck and sighed. “I’m never drinking again. Ever.”

  Layton laughed and slapped Jase on the back. “What’s the matter, son? Can’t handle your alcohol?”

  My dad chuckled. He was just about finished with the fence repair.

  Jase grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and shook his head. “I guess not, because I feel like shit.”

  “How was Liza feeling?” I asked.

  Jase shrugged. “I guess she’s okay. She woke up all happy, then grabbed her damn Kindle and curled up on the sofa in the den.” Jase looked over to Layton. “Dad, I still think it’s unfair that she gets to do nothing and I have to work my ass off.”

  Layton raised his eyebrows at Jase. “Do you want to run this ranch someday, son?”

  Jase smiled. “Hell, yeah, I do, Dad.”

  Layton shrugged. “There you go. Liza doesn’t. Stop being a pansy-ass and man up.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. Jase gave me the finger and shook his head.

  Jase let out a breath and said, “This is going to be a long summer. I can see it now.”

  I pushed off the truck and shoved Jase, making him spill his water down his chest.

  “Nah, it’s going to be one hell of a summer!”

  Jase dropped the water and took off running after me. We spent the next ten minutes running around like two ten year olds again. My father finally told us to knock it off and get in the truck. We both jumped into the bed and just sat silently all the way back to the main barn. I closed my eyes and took in all the smells. I loved being home. I hoped like hell Jessica would love it as much as I did. I opened my eyes and pulled out my phone. I had a text, so I opened it up.

  Jessica: Oh my gosh. I’m having a blast. Getting massages now, then we’re getting our hair done at some salon my mother insisted we go to. Then we’re checking out a new restaurant. Miss you and love you!

  I sighed. I had feeling that, once Jessica got here, she’d be far from happy.

  I WALKED OUT of the barn and ran smack into Walker.

  “Shit,” we both said.

  I had to keep myself from moaning as I looked at him. He was covered in sweat and not wearing a shirt. Lord, why did his body have to look so good?

  “Oh…um…hey there, Walker. Whatcha up to?” I asked, trying to avoid looking at him. He glanced at my left hand before meeting my gaze. He seemed to be doing this every time we saw each other. I wasn’t sure whether he was looking for the ring he gave me, or checking for my engagement ring.

  “Just got done unloading some feed. I need to saddle up a horse and check the fence line. You feel like going for a ride?”

  Jesus, I wish he would put his shirt back on. The tattoo on his arm was amazing. The design was intricate and the colors beautiful. I could stare at it for hours. I looked him in the eyes and focused on his baby blue eye. “Sure,” I said. “I’d love to.”

  “Can you saddle up Sweet Kate and Runner?”

  “You want to ride Sweet Kate and Runner?” I asked as I glanced over to both stalls. They were the offspring of my father’s prized racehorse, Lay it Low.

  Walker gave me a smirk. “You afraid to ride Runner, Liza?”

  “Pssh, no,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I can ride any horse in this barn with no problem at all.”

  I glanced at Walkers massive chest and perfect abs. Oh God. He has a V.

  I swallowed and said, “Are you on steroids or something?”

  The moment it came out of my mouth, I regretted it.

  Walker laughed and flexed his muscles. “Nope. This is called hard work, baby. It’s all hard work. I know how to pump and how to pump it good.”

  My stomach did a crazy flip and I felt myself blushing. The image of Walker making love to me flooded my mind. I took a step back to break my trance.

  “I’ll, um, saddle up the horses.” I turned and headed to the tack room.

  “Good, I’ll take a quick shower.”

  I spun around. “What? Where? Here? In the barn office?”

  Walker stopped walking and looked at me. “Yeah, do you have a problem with that? Jase and I keep extra clothes in there.”

  My jaw dropped. This was not good. I shrugged and tried to laugh, as if I didn’t care what Walker did. “I don’t care where you take a shower,”

  He walked to the end of the barn where the ranch hands’ office was. It was more like a small apartment. Walker was formally staying in the foreman’s cabin on the ranch, but I heard Daddy telling Reed that Walker tended to sleep in the barn apartment so that he could get an early start with things on the ranch.

  I smiled as I began getting the horses ready. Daddy had been talking about Walker to Reed last night. They were impressed with how hard Walker was working. They were planning on taking my mother and Courtney on a cruise and letting Walker and Jase handle the ranch. I knew it would make Walker really happy to know our fathers trusted him enough to run things while they were gone.

  When I got both horses saddled up and ready to go, I sat down on a hay bale and waited. “What is taking him so long?” I whispered to myself. I stood and walked toward the office door. I reached for the knob and paused for a second before I pushed it open. I stopped when I heard Walker on the phone.

  “I’m glad you’re having fun, Jessica. Nah, not much is going on here. Just working.”

  I pulled the door back, but left it cracked open as I stepped off to the side. I couldn’t believe I was eavesdropping on Walker’s phone call. But I was.

  “I miss you, too. Damn, Jessica. Baby, I wish I could, but I can’t.”

  He paused, and I wondered what she wanted him to do.

  “I want to see you touch yourself, too, baby.”

  Oh gag me. I turned to leave but then I heard my name. “Liza is right outside the door. No, not much, we see each other every once in a while.”

  I leaned in closer.

  “Jessica, we’ve talked about this. Liza and I are friends. The ring doesn’t mean anything anymore.”

  I felt t
ears building in my eyes. I felt for the ring on my chest. I’d been wearing it, but tucking it into my shirt.

  “Jess, for Christ’s sake she’s engaged. Yes. No, I haven’t gone ring shopping yet.”

  I placed my hand on my stomach and was about to walk away when I decided I wasn’t going to stand out here and wait for his ass. I turned and grabbed the doorknob, knocking as I opened the door. Walker spun around and looked at me. I went to say something but his hair was wet…and messy…he had on fresh clothes and—to make things worse—he was just putting on his stupid cowboy hat. My heart was beating and want pulled at my core. I quickly turned and walked away.

  “Jessica, I have to go. I love you, baby. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Ugh. Double gag me. Asshole.

  I walked past the horses and made my way outside. Inhaling a deep breath of fresh air, I closed my eyes. The wind in the trees instantly calmed me.

  “Liza? Are you okay?” Walker asked, placing his hand on my arm. I wanted to ignore the feeling that zipped through my body when he touched me.

  Keith. I love Keith.

  I put a fake smile on my face. “Yeah. I just didn’t know you were on the phone. I’m sorry I just walked in like that. I was wondering what was taking so long.”

  Walker gave me a weak smile. He nodded toward the horses. “You ready to ride?”

  I nodded and walked back over to the horses. After walking the horses out of the barn, we got on and rode in silence. I wanted to ask Walker why Jessica was worried about me, but I knew it was probably the same reason Keith was worried about Walker. I peeked over at him—he was staring intently at the fence as we rode along.

  I closed my eyes and just let Sweet Kate follow Runner and Walker. The sounds of my home comforted me more than I’d realized. The closer we got the river, the better I felt. I loved sitting down by the river and just doing nothing. My mother and I used to go and put out a blanket and sit for hours, reading. I’d inherited my love of reading from my mother and Walker’s mom, Courtney.

  I smiled as I thought of all the times we’d sat and just talked for hours, just Mom and me. Walker’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

  “Thinking?”

  “What?”

  He laughed. “Are you thinking? You had your eyes closed—that’s what you used to do when you were thinking. You’d just tune everyone else out and…think.”

  I giggled and nodded. “Yeah, I was remembering all the times I came down here with my mother. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed home. I’m going to miss it if…”

  I stopped talking and Walker looked away. “You could really leave all this behind, Liza? Your family, friends…all of it?”

  I caught myself gnawing on my lip. “Should we stop and let the horses get a drink?”

  Walker chuckled and shook his head. “Sure.”

  I walked along the riverbank as we let Sweet Kate and Runner graze for a bit. I heard a noise and turned around to see Walker running toward me wearing nothing but his boxers. I started taking quick steps backwards before I turned and went into a full run.

  “Stay away from me, Walker Moore! I swear to God, if—”

  Walker picked up and threw me over his shoulder.

  “Walker! Put me down now!” I yelled.

  Walker laughed and said, “I don’t think so, darlin’. We’re taking a dip.”

  I was about to yell when Walker jumped off the riverbank. The water in this part of the river was deep and, with all the spring rain, it was probably even deeper than normal. I screamed as the cold water hit me. Walker laughed as we came up from under the water. He let go, and I stood up in waist-deep water.

  “You asshole! I’m soaking wet now.”

  Walker threw his head back and laughed. “Hey, you said you were hot! I did you a favor.”

  I tried to push him under as he grabbed my arms and pushed me back. He slipped and fell as I landed on him. I wrapped my legs around him and hit him over and over again as we both laughed. Walker stood up and that’s when it hit me—I had my legs wrapped around him tight, and I could feel his dick pressing into me. I was instantly turned on, and wanted nothing more than to push myself into him to relieve the pressure.

  Walker stopped laughing and his smile slowly faded away. His eyes moved down my face and landed on my lips. I slowly ran my tongue along my bottom lip before I bit down on it. When my eyes landed on his lips, I knew what I was wanting was wrong.

  I slowly unwrapped my legs from around him as he set me down. He pushed my hair back, away from my eyes. He placed his hand on the side of my face and smiled.

  “You’re breathtaking, Liza.”

  I swallowed hard. I wanted to throw myself into his arms and beg him to take me right here in the river. Keith would never have done anything like this. He was so serious.

  Keith.

  I took a few steps back and said, “We’d better get going.”

  Walker cleared his throat and grinned. “Yeah, probably.” He turned and began walking out of the river. “I just need to dry off a bit or I’ll never get my jeans on.”

  I nodded, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “Okay,” I whispered. I leaned against Sweet Kate as I tried to catch my breath.

  I STOOD AT the kitchen sink and looked out to see Layton talking to Walker. I hadn’t seen Walker in four days, not since our ride…and our little dip in the river. I wasn’t sure what my father and Walker were talking about, but it appeared to be serious.

  “Hey mom?”

  “Mmm?” My mother had her nose in her Kindle.

  “Do you know what Daddy is talking to Walker about?”

  She grunted and I shook my head, then hit her with the towel I was holding. “Mom!”

  “Hey!” she said, setting down her Kindle. “I was at a good part, Taylor Elizabeth!”

  I rolled my eyes. “Ugh, don’t call me that, mom.”

  She pushed her chair back. “It really warms my heart that you despise your name.”

  I giggled as I turned back and picked up another plate to dry. “So, do you know what they’re talking about?”

  My mother peeked out the window and smiled. “Probably the Kentucky trip.”

  My phone beeped. I picked it up and smiled when I saw I had a text from Keith.

  Keith: Got service for a bit. How are you baby?

  Me: I’m good. How is the hiking going?

  Keith: All I can think about is fucking you.

  My jaw dropped. Keith had never talked to me like that before. I glanced over at my mother and quickly walked outside.

  Me: Um…

  Keith: I was thinking about you and had to go off and take care of myself as I looked at your picture, baby. I imagined I was fucking you against a tree. I hate being away from you.

  I was instantly wet as I closed my eyes and pictured Keith doing just that. I opened my eyes and texted him back.

  Me: Where are you now?

  Keith: Standing on top of a mountain not moving because I have a signal.

  Me: LOL! I miss you.

  Keith: I miss you, too. I’d better go. Love you, Liza.

  I didn’t hear Walker approaching, but I heard him laugh. I lifted my head quickly to see him, still with my father. Daddy turned and headed over to me; Walker followed.

  “Liza, you feel like going on a road trip?” Daddy asked.

  Looking down, I quickly typed a goodbye to Keith.

  Me: Miss u. Love u.

  I stood up and smiled. “Road trip? Where?”

  Walker was looking down at the ground, kicking a rock around with his boot.

  “Kentucky. It was just gonna be me and Walker, but I’d love to spend some father-daughter time with you.”

  My heart just about burst with joy. “Yes! Daddy, I’d love to do that.”

  Walker jerked his head up. I wasn’t sure whether or not he was displeased that my father had invited me along.

  “All right, then. Go pack up, baby girl. We leave in the morning. Early.”<
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  I clapped and skipped a little.

  Walker cracked a smile and shook his head. I headed into the house and rushed past my mother.

  “Where in the world are you going in such a rush?” she asked.

  I called over my shoulder, “I’m going to Kentucky with Daddy!”

  She laughed as I took the stairs two at a time. I pulled my suitcase from under the bed. I couldn’t believe I’d have a whole week with my father! And with Walker!

  Wait. What? Damn it. I sat down on my bed, my head in my hands. I’d just been daydreaming of my boyfriend fucking me, and now I was excited about spending time with Walker. I moaned in frustration as I fell back on the bed. There was a faint knock at the door. I sat up to see my mother standing there. The smile on her face told me we were about to have a talk. I motioned for her to come in. “What’s up, Mom?”

  She scrunched up her nose in that oh-so-cute way of hers and shrugged. “Just thought maybe we could have a heart-to-heart.”

  “Sure. About what?”

  She sat down on my left side and reached for my hand. “Where’s your ring?”

  I looked down at my finger. “Oh, I took it off yesterday after Courtney asked if I wanted to help her plant some things in the garden.”

  My mother nodded. She pulled my necklace out from under my shirt until she held the double heart ring. “Walker gave this to you before y’all left for school, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah, he did.”

  “You wear it around your neck every day, Liza.”

  I narrowed one eye at my mother. “So?”

  She dropped the ring and sighed. “I remember the first time I saw your father.”

  The smile on her face made me smile. I pulled my knees up and got ready for a story. I loved when my mother talked about her and my father. Their love was so amazing.

  “Was it love at first sight?” I asked as I wiggled my eyebrows.

  She made a face and said, “Yes and no. I was attracted to him beyond belief. But he also annoyed the hell out of me.”