Page 2 of Wildest Dreams

My guitar.

Sadness.

Grief.

Love.

Tripp.

Lainey.

My tires screech as I slam on the brakes, a loud bang radiating through the car, my ears thumping before a high-pitched noise replaces it as the hood crashes into a wooden pole.

My body jolts forward, panic surges through me but I am helpless. My fingers tighten around the wheel just as my forehead hits into my knuckles.

It takes me a moment or two to come around. Blinking a couple of times, my head feels fuzzy, eyes kind of heavy, a high-pitched ring vibrating in my ears which slowly fades into a piercing cry.

Lainey.

My instinct kicks in.

Twisting and unbuckling myself, I push my door open and stumble onto the grass beneath me. Panic pricks at the base of my neck and my heart rate jumps through my chest. I just needed to get to her.

Tugging the back passenger door open, I unbuckle Lainey from her car seat and hold her close against my thumping heart.

Her little fists are balled, her cries filling the silent roads. My lips are pressed to the top of her head, dusting my kisses over and over, but nothing seems to be calming her down. Lifting my eyes for a moment to look at my surroundings and my heart bottoms out.

Rivera Ranch.

Out of all the places in the town of Lovelock Bay it had to be here.

Shaking it off, I lean back into the car and reach for her pacifier.

“Ma’am,” I hear the rasp of his voice and my heart stops beating for just a second.

“Ma’am, is everything okay?”

And that’s when I slowly stand, Lainey pulled to my chest and my eyes lock with his.

Tripp Rivera.

I broke his heart ten years ago.

Broke his heart as I booted it out of Lovelock Bay.

But here we were, standing inches from each other.

Heart racing.

Eyes widening.

Old feelings flooring me in an instant.

His hand rubs round the back of his head, his eyes bouncing between me and Lainey.

Dark brown eyes you could lose yourself in and the low sun that’s reflecting deep within them make them sparkle in hazel, a shimmer of gold glazing over them. The scar above his eye is still prominent where his brother, Riggs, threw a horseshoe at him when they were kids. Brown stubble hides his strong jaw and his light brown hair still sits as messy as ever.

He never believed in doing his hair when it was hidden under a cowboy hat ninety percent of the day.

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