Page 81 of Hold Me Before You Go

I opened my mouth and closed it again, unsure of how to respond.

“The Langston brothers and the Hallow Ranch cowboys are no different from me and my guys, Sunshine. We kill bad people and do a damn good job at cleaning up the mess,” Grayson said firmly, stepping closer to me, bending his neck to get into my space. “Now, are you okay?” The question was soft, gentle.

His hand cupped my face, tipping my head back so I could look into his eyes as they studied me intently. “I know finding Robert the way you did…affected you—”

“I don’t give a fuck about Robert,” I blurted out, hatred in my voice.

Grayson’s face didn’t move, not a single muscle jumping in his cheek or a flash in his eyes.

“He never loved me,” I continued. “Monica took her opportunity to brag about what I would never have with Robert—his love and approval. She even went as far as body shaming me, and then she showed me her body, and that’s when it clicked.”

“When what clicked?” he asked.

“He starved both of us. It was a form of control,” I confessed.

That was when I caught it, the shadow that fell over my bounty hunter’s face. Then, just as quick as it came, it was gone, and he touched his lips to mine. “Let’s get you inside,” he said softly, turning me to the door as we left the memory of Monica Lark out in the cold.

“Here you go,” Harmony said, handing me a steaming mug of coffee.

I gladly took it, cradling it in both of my hands as she took her place beside me on Valerie and Denver’s couch. “Thank you,” I told her as she tucked her legs in, a stray curl falling from the messy bun she’d thrown her red mane into the second we got here.

Her blue eyes met mine, warm and bright. “You’re welcome. I’m going to apologize ahead of time. That’s cowboy coffee, and it…takes some getting used to,” she said, laughing.

“I’ll take anything I can get,” I murmured, bringing the mug to my lips. As the piping-hot liquid slid down my throat, I buried my grimace. No, this was definitely not Margo’s coffee, or hell, even my coffee, but it would do the job.

“One of these days, I’m going to buy a damn espresso machine and figure out how to make decent coffee,” Valerie chimed in from the kitchen just across the foyer. She was wiping down the butcher block countertops, her long, luscious dark hair fallingover her shoulders. “I’ve just been so busy with…everything, I haven’t had the time,” she explained as she walked towards Harmony and me, her wide hips swaying in her wranglers.

The three of us had been here, in the main house, for about half an hour. The cowboys and Red Snake were currently in the barn loft, where Denver’s office was, having a meeting. Valerie joined us, and instead of sitting in the beautiful rocking chair in the corner by the fireplace, she took a seat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, criss-crossing her legs.

A somewhat comfortable silence fell over the cozy farmhouse then as I continued sipping the bitter coffee, going over the last few days in my mind. I found myself staring at the loose string on my sweats for a while before Harmony cleared her throat.

I looked over to her and found empathy written all over her stunning face. My throat grew thick just staring at her, and then I remembered something one of my old friends from St. Louis, Haley, used to say: broken recognizes broken. Deep within Harmony’s eyes, I saw the broken pieces of her slowly coming together. She was being glued back together, piece by piece, and deep within my own soul, I knew her husband could be thanked for that. He was her glue.

And Grayson was mine.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, her raspy voice breaking the silence.

Valerie nodded. “So, so sorry,” she added.

I wanted to wave it off and spend the rest of my time at Hallow Ranch pretending like I didn’t just escape hell. Robert had been my hell, and even in his death, he managed to still find me. I thought about the dream I’d had last night while Mags was cooking dinner and the ghost of Robert I’d seen. Goosebumps prickled my arms then, and I shook my head, closing my eyes. “I wish I had the strength to brush it off, but this time, I don’t think I can,” I said weakly as I opened my eyes, giving the two women an unsteady smile.

“No one said you had to,” Valerie murmured.

I lowered my mug into my lap, looking down into the steam coming from it. “We’re strangers.”

“Yeah, but Val and I both knew we’d be meeting you eventually,” Harmony added.

“We’re just sorry it had to be like this, but that’s the funny thing about this life,” Valerie said, looking at her sister-in-law.

The pair smiled at each other, love evident between them.

There was something within Valerie’s voice that had my curiosity peaked. “What funny thing?” I asked.

Her green eyes landed on me, soft and warm, like the forest floor in the height of summer. “Life has a way of stringing people together, connecting them in the most unexpected ways.”

I knew this. I’d experienced this with my friend’s in Astoria, and of course, Grayson. Grayson was my connection to this place, after all. When I didn’t respond, Harmony asked, “Has Grayson ever told you how he helped Hallow Ranch?”

I shook my head. “I thought Mags was his connection to you guys,” I said, looking between them.

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