Page 47 of Rewrite Our Story

I gasp, playfully pushing his shoulder. “I repeat. You’re something else, Cade Jennings.”

“Want to know what else I am?” he asks, his tone getting more serious.

My boots kick against the stall door as he plucks the hat from my head. Traitor. He was distracting me with his intense, broody, copper eyes. “What?” I still ask, wanting to know what his answer will be.

“Yours,” he answers simply. He traces half a heart over his chest.

Before I can tell him how much I am his, he’s clapping his hands and changing the subject.

“Now back to the reason I tracked you down in the first place,” he begins, lovingly scratching Dolly’s chin for a moment. “How about we go for a ride tonight? I know a place,” he teases.

I hop off the door, excitement coursing through my veins. “I’m ready when you are.”

25

CADE - AGE TWENTY-TWO

“I thinkI know what you mean about the stars,” Mare announces, interrupting the comfortable silence between the two of us.

We stare up at the twinkling balls of light above us. High up in the mountains, it almost seems like we could reach out and touch some of them if we dared.

“And what’s that, Goldie?” My fingers absentmindedly play with the hair that falls over her shoulder. I’ve never felt so at peace. This has been the best summer of my life, and there’s still so much I have planned for the two of us.

She turns, resting her chin against my chest. With the moon behind me, it perfectly reflects in her large, blue eyes. Mare stares at me with so much adoration, it makes my chest feel tight. “That I don’t think they shine any brighter than they do right here in Sutten.”

I try not to let her words affect me. If only she really meant it. I can see why she could get swept up in the moment between us, for her to forget that her dream has always been to get out of this town where mine has always been to never leave it.

Mare stares at me expectantly. I let out a sad sigh. For the summer, I can pretend that deep down she actually means those words. “Tonight, I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the world they shine brighter,” I tell her, knowing at least that’s the truth. They fight for attention from her. She’s my Goldie. The sun. The stars fail in comparison to her, but they sure do put up a fight.

Her finger softly traces the emblem for the family ranch. She traces it three times before she meets my eyes again. “What if I didn’t go?” she asks softly. I’m only able to hear her words because the night is quiet and still around us.

She must see the shock written on my face. I can’t hide the raise to my brows or the way my body stills underneath her. “Would it really be so bad for me to stay here forever?” she continues, her voice timid and unsure. “To stay here forever…with you.”

I bite my tongue. I don’t want to tell her all I could ever want is for her to stay here forever with me. But I won’t hold her back. Ican’thold her back. Deep down, I know I can’t be the reason Goldie stays. One day far from this night, I can’t have her resent me because I asked her to stay when she always dreamed of going.

Mare rakes her top teeth over her lip, catching it between them as she watches me anxiously. She presses her palm into my chest. If she feels the way my heart ricochets against my sternum, she doesn’t say anything.

“Say something, Cade,” she pleads.

I’d give anything for you to want to stay, runs through my head.I’d give anything for us to have more than just this summer.

I can’t live with knowing I held her back. I’m confident that if I asked Mare to stay, she would. But what good would that do us? Eventually her feelings for me would fade, and all that’d be left in their wake is resentment toward me for holding her back.

I swallow the lump in my throat. It pains me to speak up and not tell her how I’m feeling. But I do it anyway, because I’d do anything for her, even when it hurts me. “I think that I’m counting on you to find all the other beautiful places the stars shine bright in the world.”

Her eyelids get heavy with sadness. She closes them for a few seconds, as if she’s trying to get ahold of herself. I have to keep my jaw locked to not open my mouth and tell her the thing I want most in this world is for her to want to stay on this ranch forever. My teeth grind together so loudly I’m wondering if she can hear them.

It appears she’s too lost in the hurt to realize the restraint it’s taking me to ask her to stay. Finally, she opens her eyes. There’s sadness in those beautiful blue eyes of hers. I’d rather see it now then later on when we’re already too far gone.

My thumb brushes over her cheekbone. “Will you do that for me?”

She leans into my touch, locks of her hair brushing against my arm in the movement. “I can’t imagine leaving you, Cade,” she answers hoarsely. “I can’t imagine losing this.”

My head shakes. “Then don’t imagine it.” Leaning up, I pull her into my lap until she straddles me on both sides. “Don’t think about it.” Grabbing her wrist, I place her hand against my heartbeat. Once I’m confident she won’t move her hand, I place a hand against her own heart, cherishing the way her heart seems to beat in the same rhythm as mine.

It’s like our heartbeats have always beat in sync, like our hearts knew something we hadn’t quite realized.

“Focus on our heartbeats, Goldie. Focus on us. Right now, in this moment.”

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