Dixie Under Siege (A Warrior's Passion #2) - Natasza Waters Page 0,6
don’t want to marry you this instant?”
“What the fuck do you want? You think I’m gonna hang around waiting for four years while you get a degree? Get real.”
And just like that, she learned the truth about love. It had terms and conditions and didn’t reflect a poet’s words at all. She and Josh had reached the finish line with no happy ending.
Dix gazed at Josh’s unreadable expression and her heart beat with fear, but she’d be damned if she’d show it. There were no warm hugs or sympathetic words of encouragement waiting for her at home. The only person she’d ever trusted was Josh. A lump formed in her throat.
Instead of crying, she smiled. “Take care of yourself.”
****
Josh watched the sway of Dixie’s beautiful ass as she strode from the barn without another word. He leaned over and swept the pitchfork off the ground once she’d left. She’d always had a stubborn streak and a mind of her own.
For a split second, his heart screamed at him to chase her. Reason with her. But he knew better. Fiercely independent and unafraid, she wasn’t the typical girl. When they were twelve and he’d tried to chase her with a frog from the creek, she’d chased him with a snake. When his buddies weren’t around, Dixie didn’t mind having a sword fight with a tree branch.
After leaning the pitchfork against the nearest stall, he walked to the double doors of the barn and into the evening light. Dix had already reached the road, headed for home.
They’d never had a fight before. At least, not one this bad. Maybe he should jump in his pickup and go get her. She could yell at him some more until she’d vented all her frustrations.
“Josh, you finished in the barn?” his mom asked, walking toward him from the house, a dish towel draped over her shoulder.
“Haven’t started yet.”
“Is that Dixie?” She raised a hand to her forehead, shading her eyes from the brilliant sunset.
“Yup.”
“Is something wrong, honey?”
Josh loved his folks. His dad had a wicked sense of humor and didn’t overreact when life threw a hurdle in front of him. His parents had plenty of friends and a good life. That’s what Josh had expected with the girl making tracks back to her place.
“Wish Dixie had parents like you and Dad.”
“Aw, honey.” She placed her warm fingers on his sleeveless arm. “They’ll come around.”
“Dix is right. We’re too young to get married.”
His mother’s eyes widened. “What are you saying, son?”
He cleared his throat. “The wedding is off.”
“It’s just nerves. It’s normal.” Mom smiled as if she thought he were kidding.
He shook his head. Dixie had more going on than most girls. That’s why he loved her. But she wasn’t a rancher and he’d always known that. “No. It’s not. She wants to go to college, and she should.”
“Josh, if you had a fight, give her a day to cool down then go talk to her.”
Dixie’s sleek frame got harder and harder to see until she disappeared completely. “I always thought Dix and I would be together. Never doubted that she and I would always walk in the same direction.”
His mom placed an arm around his shoulder and gave a squeeze. “Honey, I just took an apple pie out of the oven. Why don’t you come inside?”
“Sure,” he said. “I’ll be in a bit.”
His mother meant well, but her baking wasn’t going to fix this. He knew when Dixie left for college, she’d never come back. Her parents had always demanded her obedience but never offered any love in return. He’d witnessed that over and over again. She had no one to come home to after college, or share her accomplishments with, except for him.
In a rash of anger, he’d cut her off, just like her unforgiving parents. Roping Dix into marriage would end in regrets. He didn’t want that for her.
****
Sasha came running through the kitchen door the next afternoon. Dix looked up from the table, a half-filled bowl of shelled peas in front of her. She hadn’t told her parents about her fight with Josh. In her present state of mind, which was pretty much hollow, she didn’t think she could stand the barrage of guilt her folks would heap on her.
“Oh my God, you’re home,” Sasha cried.
“Where else would I be?”
Her sister, with beautiful blonde hair and bright blue eyes, quickly sat down across the table. “Didn’t you hear? Why aren’t you crying?”
Their mother entered the kitchen and stopped in the doorway, seeing