Page 71 of On the Wild Side

“Two, that cock you mentioned, holy hell, it’s talented.”

“It’s not the dick, sweetheart. It’s the man.”

She rolls her eyes at that. “And three, you’re so kind, so good to us. Always.”

“Always will be, Blue Eyes.” I take a breath and kiss her hair. “Okay, let’s nap. Just for a couple of hours.”

“I guess I’m sleepy again.” Her voice is soft, and soon, her breathing evens out, and for a long time, I stare at the ceiling.

Someone should have to pay for what was done to her all those years ago. Someone should suffer, and it pisses me off that no one will. Only Abbi, and she’s the victim in all of this. I hate that it’s bled over to Daisy, too, having to comfort her mama when Abbi is in the trenches with the nightmares.

It makes my heart sick thinking about it.

Iamin love with her. If I could, I’d magically build a house—any house she wants—out here at the ranch and move us all in there tomorrow. I’d marry her, have more babies with her, and make a family. Daisy can have all the animals she wants.

I want to make a life with this woman. She deserves that.

She deserves everything.

“Wanna talk about it?”Remington and I have been out on our horses all afternoon, riding fence and checking on the cattle.

“Talk about what, exactly?”

“Whatever it is that’s on your mind. You haven’t said two words today, and usually, I can’t get you to shut up. What’s going on?”

I shake my head and pull out my needlenose pliers to work on a nail in the fence post. “Just normal shit, man. I have to go to Cheyenne in two weeks to kick off the season, and for the first time in my career, I’m not excited about it. We have a shit ton to do out here on the ranch before we brand and castrate in a couple of weeks, right before I leave.”

“No,” he says thoughtfully, pushing his hat higher on his forehead. “That’s not it. Those are normal things. Whatever’s going on with you isn’t…typical.”

I glare at my oldest brother. “Are you a shrink now, old man?”

“Observant,” he counters. “I know you, maybe better than you know yourself.”

“I know you’re a pain in my ass.”

He laughs at that, then passes me a fresh nail.

“Abbi confided in me the other day about some things in her childhood.” I pause, staring at the fencepost. “I can’t tell you what she said because it was in confidence.”

“None of my business,” he agrees.

“But it fucked me up a little.”

“Enough that you don’t want to see her anymore?”

“Fuck no.” I stand, brushing my hands off. “Nothing like that. It just got in my head, and I know there’s nothing I can do for her now. I can’t go back in time to when she was fourteen and kill the asshole who hurt her, and Iwantto. I would do it in a heartbeat if given the chance.”

“You can be there for hernow,” he says calmly. “None of us have a time machine. All we can do is the best we can with what we have, and I suspect that she just wants you to care about her now. Seems to me, you’re pretty good at that.”

“Yeah, well, that’s the easy part.”

“I would disagree. It’s notalwayseasy to love someone, not when you get down to the nitty-gritty, day in, day out of it all. It’s not easy. But you choose it because the easy is the best part of your life. And the rest is worth the work.”

“Says the experienced married guy.” I grin at him. “Erin’s been good for you.”

“Better than I ever thought it could be,” he agrees. “But it isn’t easy. It’s work. Probably more on her part because I’m an asshole most of the time.”

“True that.”

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