“No, you’ve said enough. I get it.”
The total devastation on her face had him rising back up to give her room to move.
Shakily getting to her feet, Ginny brushed the back of her jeans off. “I’ll leave you alone … for the rest of your walk.” Her back ramrod straight, Ginny left with dignified steps.
The painful longing for her racking his body had his arms going to his knees to shelter from the chill created by her leaving. Linking his fingers together, Reaper started twisting them to focus the pain in his heart on another area.
A low whine had him lifting his head to see the German Shephard sitting on his haunches, staring at him.
“Go away,” he hissed. Unknotting his hands, Reaper lowered his head to his knees.
Another whine closer to him didn’t have him bothering to look.
“Go!” he shouted.
A wet muzzle sniffing his ear had him lifting his head.
“Go away,” he pleaded to the whining dog.
Ignoring his order, the dog moved, wiggling his muzzle between Reaper’s face and knees, creating a space for himself.
“I can see why you flunked out of K-9 school. You should be tearing me to shreds.” Reaper grunted when the dog plopped herself down on his lap, a tongue lolling to the side as she turned on her back, begging to be pet.
Reluctantly, he gave in to the begging when she kept rubbing her back on his legs. Running his hand over Suki’s thick fur, he smiled when the dog’s eyes rolled back in her head in pleasure until she closed her eyes, going to sleep.
Letting the dog sleep, Reaper looked down at Moses’ house to see him training the lab.
“I see what you’re doing. You’re hiding to get out of work.”
The dog raised one eye when he stopped rubbing her belly. His smile widening, he started petting her again.
The image of Ginny leaving still hurt like a motherfucker, but at least the dog’s presence revealed the stark truth about him.
He was only fit company for dogs.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Dinner’s ready.”
Closing the front door behind him, Reaper saw Silas placing a casserole dish on the table.
“I’ll wash up.” Going to the bathroom, Reaper washed his face and hands, dreading seeing Ginny sitting across the table from him. He had stayed out most of the day to give her the space and time she needed before she would have to see him again.
Loathing himself more than she possibly could, he went to the dining room table. Silas was the only one there.
“I hope you don’t mind that I started without you. I was starving. It’s been a long couple of days.”
“I don’t mind.”
Taking a seat midway down the bench, he saw Silas hadn’t set a place for Ginny.
“You want me to go tell Ginny the food is ready?” he offered.
“Ginny ate an hour ago; told me she needed an early night.”
Spooning a small serving of lasagna, Reaper took a piece of warm garlic toast from the bread basket, tearing it apart.
Lasagna was one of his favorite meals, yet he could muster enough appetite to eat more than a couple of bites.
“What did you think of the mountain? Matthew and Isaac said they spoke to you during your walk.”
“You and your brothers have a beautiful place here.”
Silas took a piece of the toast and another helping of lasagna. “The mountain is all of ours, including Ginny’s. Each of us has a part set aside. I was given this house, because I’m the oldest. The other parcels of land are the same size. Pa had a property map drawn out and let each of them pick which section they wanted.”
“Do you still have it? I wouldn’t mind seeing it. I had no idea your mountain extended so far.”
“The map is hanging in my bedroom. I’ll show you after dinner. Our property goes right up to the West Virginia line.”
The property went even farther than he had thought. Damn. That was a lot of land.
“It has to be hard keeping it in the family. The taxes alone must be a killer.”
“We’ve always been able to make ends meet.”
Another evasive answer, which Reaper didn’t blame him for giving. It was none of his business how the Colemans had the funds to pay their property taxes.
“How far were you able to walk today?”
“I walked to Moses’ property. I got sidetracked with one of the dogs and spent longer there than expected.”
“Doesn’t matter how long you stayed. You have nothing but free time until you’re ready to leave.”
“I’ll be out of your hair in eight days.”
“No rush. Stay as long as you want. But after eight days, your help would come in handy.”
“Doing what?”
“Milking the goats is the one chore that everyone hates. I’d get rid of them, but they’re too useful at keeping the brush manageable. The boys have already turned that job over to Ginny. You can give her a break if you decide to stay longer.”
“I won’t.
“It was just an offer for you to take or leave.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come off so rudely. I haven’t had the best day where your family members are concerned.”
“You have words with Matthew or Isaac?”
“No.” Shoving his uneaten plate away, Reaper couldn’t force himself to take another bite.
“Ginny?”
At his curt nod, Silas reached for his plate, setting it on his. Getting up from the table, he then carried the plates to the kitchen before coming back to clear the rest of the table.
“You’re not going to ask what we got in an argument about?”
“No. It’s better if I don’t while you’re staying here. I’m her big brother, not yours. If you were a dick to her, that’s your fence to mend, not mine.”
“What if I don’t want to fix the damage I’ve done?”
“Then why did you mention the argument with her to me?” Taking the basket of toast to the kitchen, he came back with a fried pie and a pot of coffee. “They’re apple.”
“I don’t want anything.”
Silas took his seat at the table, pouring them both cups of coffee.
“Did she use the H word with you?”
Reaper gave him a puzzled look.
“Did Ginny tell you she hates you?” Silas clarified, taking a piece of pie.
“No.”
“Then she’ll get over whatever you fought about.”
“It was bad enough that she should have told me she hates me.” He glumly stared at the apple pie. Apple was his favorite.
Reaper could have sworn that Silas was inwardly laughing at him, but neither his face nor his voice gave any clue as to what he was thinking.
“She didn’t, and that’s what counts. Count yourself lucky. That’s a bridge you don’t want to cross. When Ginny told me she hated me, it took years for her to talk to me again. Ginny doesn’t throw that word around lightly. She only said it to me once, and I never want to hear it come out of her mouth again. It hurts like a motherfucker.”
“She’s better off hating me.” Taking a sip of the coffee, Reaper unintentionally picked up a piece of pie.