Page 44 of Double Bucked

I take in a breath and break her heart.

12

CLAIRE

Now.

Ransom finishes his story, and we both sit in the silence that follows.

The game plays on the screen, but the noises are soft and muted.

Crickets cry out, singing softly outside the stables.

I clutch the smooth glass of the bottle. “Daddy blackmailed you into staying.”

“I dug myself in that hole. He just filled it.” Ransom takes a slow pull from his beer.

“I suppose that doesn’t surprise me. He was a heartless bastard. I was his trophy, and he’d do anything to control me.”

Ransom gives a hum of agreement.

My braid brushes against my back as I twist to look up at him. “But you surprise me. The Riley Ransom I knew wouldn’t let anyone tell him what to do.”

Those chestnut-brown eyes meet mine. “The Riley Ransom you knew was an idiot.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re still a dumbass.”

He lets out a humorless huh at that.

“I wish you’d told me,” I say.

“You would’ve tried to stay.”

“Maybe,” I say sharply. “But it would’ve been my choice. You don’t get to make that decision for me. I’m so goddamn tired of men controlling my life.”

The beer turns bitter in my mouth. I plant it in the dirt and push against Ransom’s leg to rise to my feet. As I brush the straw and dirt from my dress, Ransom says my name.

“Claire.”

The sound of my name on his tongue is like a bell ringing on my heart.

Bear. Woman. Princess.

These are all words I’m used to Ransom using for me.

When he says Claire, he means it.

His eyes are sad when they find mine. “I wasn’t trying to control you. I was trying to love you. The only way I knew how. I loved you then, and I love you now.”

My breath catches in my throat. My heart splatters against my rib cage.

He continues. “I don’t expect anything to come of it. If I thought James was your true love, I’d keep my mouth shut, but?—”

“Don’t,” I snap. “You don’t know anything about James.”

“What do you know about James?” he asked pointedly.

“I know he’d never leave me alone at an airport.”

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