Page 78 of What I Should Have Known

“That he did. I’ll give him that. And he didn’t complain once when you roped him into branding day.”

“Believe it or not, Dad got him involved.”

“No way!” My mom gasped.

I giggled and nodded. And the word vomit tumbled from my lips as if I was gossiping with Emma. Everything I’d experienced with Bernie, how we met, his insistent pursuit of me. I left out some of the more intimate details and vulnerable moments that he’d shared in confidence with me, including what happened in the woods, and as my story concluded, my mom’s smile widened.

“Well.” She slapped her hands against her thighs and stood up. “Let Bernie know we’ll come for this crawfish boil or cookout or whatever it is tomorrow.”

“I love you, Mom. And I’ll figure out some way to help with the ranch still, okay?” Jumping up from the bed, I wrapped my arms around her waist.

She placed a kiss against my head as if I was five years old once more. “You smell like him. Probably wash up before you come to dinner.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I squeezed her tighter.

“You know something,” she began and stepped away, letting her hands linger on my arms. “Your dad hasn’t been sleeping too well these past few nights.”

Pinching my brows together, her hands fell from my skin, and she strode across my room. As she tugged open my door, she glanced over her shoulder. “I think he’ll need something stronger than melatonin tonight. Maybe a sleeping pill. That should knock him out. Just in case any…unusual sounds might just happen tonight.” She winked and disappeared out of my room.

I sucked in my bottom lip.

After this weekend, once I was safe from Wyatt and every dangerous secret was exposed, I was free.

My mom knew. She’d help me tell my dad. Sawyer would confess to my parents, and we could find a way to get Wyatt gone forever. I could be Bernie’s. There was hope. There was no longer a never-ending mountain that neither of us would be able to climb.

I could be his. He could be mine.

The only thing that stood in the way of us now, was simply us.

My shoulders sagged as a burden slammed against my chest.But choosing Bernie left my parents broke. They may lose the ranch because of this,I thought to myself.

It was no longer a choice between my happiness and Wyatt. It was now a choice between my happiness and my parents. A choice between being selfish with Bernie and my family possibly losing everything.

I wished I’d known this before I’d taken the plunge with Bernie. Before I’d merely thought it was a matter of Wyatt or Bernie. But it went deeper than that. Everything did.

But the question that mattered: Would knowing before this moment have changed anything at all?

Deep down, I knew in my heart that even if I had known, I would’ve still chosen Bernie.

Because he saw me.

That was all I’d ever wanted—to be seen.

And he’d seen me when no one else had. Not for what I could offer, but for me. Despite my flaws, despite the things that usually had people looking past me, despite all of that, he’d seen me.

He wanted me.

He desired me.

Someone who clearly had his options and fair share of partners, wanted only me.

To be chosen like that was worth a lifetime of whatever pain may come. To be fought for like that was worth all the anguish that the world may deliver.

I’d fight through it all for him. Even knowing that the monsters I may have to battle were ones in his own head, I’d vanquish them for that chance to be with him. No matter what lay ahead, I’d choose him as he had me.

With adrenaline prickling through my veins, I turned the engine off and removed the key. The old truck door groaned as I swung it open. Pressing my palm to the metal, I shut it with as little noise as possible and crept up Bernie’s driveway. The silver light of the moon illuminated the still pathway. An owl hooted in the distance. Shadows from the swaying trees danced across the cement as I slowly pulled open the gate to the fence surrounding the yard and slipped onto the damp grass.

Tugging the hood on the black sweatshirt I wore higher up my head, I tiptoed around the side of the house and into the back. Searching the windows on the second floor, I stared at the options, counting in my mind.

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