Page 68 of On the Wild Side

She’s hugging her arms around her middle, shaking her head, and stands from the bed stark-ass naked.

“It’s the middle of the night, Abbi.” I hold my hand out like I might to a scared, wild animal, not sure what in the hell I should do. I want to scoop her up and hold onto her, but she doesn’teven want me to touch her, and it’s tearing me apart. “Daisy is asleep. She’sasleep, baby.”

She shakes her head again, and the tears start to fall, her face crumpling.

“Ah, baby, let me hold you.”

“Outside.” She turns and heads for the door, practically running out of the room and down the hall.

It’s still cold as fuck at night, so I grab a flannel shirt and rush after her, running as she throws open the door and practically launches herself out into the night.

She’s gasping for breath as I wrap her in the flannel and hold her against me, my front pressed to her back.

“Breathe,” I croon, not giving two shits that I’m also standing outside completely naked in freezing temps. “Take a breath, my love. Come on, baby, I need you to breathe.”

“I know she’s safe,” she says through her sobs, gasping, “but Jesus, I want her.”

“We’ll get her first thing,” I assure her before kissing her head. “As soon as she’s awake, okay? I promise.”

She leans against me, crying and wailing so loudly that a coyote calls back from somewhere on the ranch. I rock her back and forth, letting her cry, kissing her hair and her temple, holding her tight.

Finally, she takes a long, deep shuddering breath and seems to quiet, listening to the night sounds around us as she trembles in my arms.

“Let’s go in,” she whispers.

I don’t let her walk. I bend down and scoop her up, and she wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face against me, still sniffling and softly crying as I walk inside and shut the door behind us, pushing it with my bare foot.

“No bed,” she says.

So, with a nod, I carry her to the couch and get her wrapped up in blankets.

“I’ll be right back.” I kiss her forehead before I return to the bedroom, pull on the gray sweatpants from earlier, and then walk back out to her and sit with her.

“I’m sorry I made you cold.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about the cold. All I care about isyou, Abs.”

She leans into me, and I hug her close again.

“Baby, are you ever going to talk to me about this?”

“Yeah.” Her voice is so soft that I can hardly hear her. “I am. But I need a few minutes. What time is it?”

I glance at the microwave. “Just past three.”

“You should go back to bed. I won’t be able to sleep, but you should get some rest.” She kisses my chest. “You had a killer day yesterday.”

“If you think I’m going to leave you here on my couch and go get some shut-eye, you don’t know me at all, Blue Eyes.”

I feel her smile against me, and I start to settle for the first time since I first heard her scream out in her sleep. Jesus, Daisy has to help her through this on a regular basis? The fact that either of them has to deal with this kind of terror is absolutelynotokay with me.

“Ihatethat it happened with you,” she admits and lifts her head to turn those tear-filled eyes up to me. “Because it’s not my finest moment, and I know it can be scary. I didn’t want you toeversee it.”

I frown down at her and finally drag my knuckle over the apple of her cheek.

“Abs, it was going to happen eventually. I must have to spell this out for you, and that’s okay. I should have done it a while ago. I’m not going anywhere. I love you and Daisy, and at some point, we’ll figure out the living arrangements so we’re togetherallthe time. It would be hard for me to live in town because I work so much out here, and I know you have a business in town, so we’ll have to put our heads together and figure it out, but I wantmoreof you, not less. The nights that I spend without you are fucking torture. So, yeah, I was going to be there for the nightmares eventually, and frankly, I think it’s better if I’m the one to help you through it rather than Daisy.”

Her eyes have filled as she stares at me, listening.

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