SAVANNAH ✔️

Chapter Twenty Five

NATHAN'S POV

I tossed my pen away and sighed heavily in defeat. I had been trying to get some paperwork done in my office all day but I just couldn't get my mind to settle down.

Being a father and a boss, one thing I hated was not being in control. It led to me losing touch with my kids lives, putting my workers well being at risk and making loses at work. I always found my way back to normalcy but for the first time ever I was clueless in what to do because it's not something I was used to handling. My kids were great, work at the ranch was running smoothly but my love life, or at least the one I was trying to build with a gorgeous beauty called Savannah was at a standstill.

Ever since she and Clara went on that school trip to Houston something in the dynamic of our relationship changed. I know we had not been dating long a couple of weeks of stolen kisses here and there but still we had been making great progress.

If anyone observed things from the outside it all looked normal, she did her work diligently, kept building a relationship with the kids and bonding with the new friends she was making. All aspects of her life were blooming except for where it concerned me. We still shared stolen kisses whenever we could and spent time together but I felt as if there was a barrier I couldn't overcome between us. I'd asked her time and again if anything was bothering her but she always said the same thing, that she was okay, that we were okay but I knew we weren't.

Maybe something had happened on that trip that she didn't tell me about. Or maybe Clara's meltdown had affected her more than I realized. She had told me the whole story when they came back and it got me worried because of the burden my kids were carrying on my behalf especially my little princess. I didn't address that issue immediately and gave it time but after seeing no progress in my relationship with Savannah I decided to take matters into my own hands. Maybe the burden of keeping us a secret from the kids was too much thus why she was pulling back. She didn't have to worry anymore though, I was going to deal with it and get rid of that obstacle.

I checked the time on my phone and realized that Savannah would be leaving anytime now to get the kids from school. I got up from my desk, picked up my phone, wallet and left my office. I found her in the kitchen preparing their after school snacks like she always did before she left to pick them up.

She saw me as I walked in and gave me a brief smile before continuing to slice the melon. I hadn't seen her all day and all I got was a brief smile. Usually we'd take advantage of the kids not being around to make out but that was happening less and less everyday.

"I'll pick the kids up from school today."I informed her.

"You don't have to, I can do it."She replied.

"I know you can but it's a Tuesday and they all get out together so I thought I might take them out for ice cream."I replied.

"Okay."She shrugged tossing a piece of melon into her mouth.

"I'll see you in a bit, don't miss me too much."I teased.

"I wouldn't dare."She laughed and I caught a glimpse of my Savannah in that laugh.

Just to test the waters I walked up to her and kissed her, tasting the remnant of watermelon juice on her tongue and lips. She kissed me back but pulled away too soon for my liking.

"See you in a bit."I sighed dejectedly and pulled back completely.

I really needed to get to the root of the problem soon before I lost possibly one of the best things to ever happen to me in a long time.

I grabbed the truck keys from the bowl by the door and my aviators since the sun was shining a little too bright for my liking. Instead of a stetson I chose a baseball cap instead, put my shoes on at the door and left the house.