Page 31 of Burned & Bound

Eventually, the fire chief ignored any of Jackson’s protests and moved in. But at that point, there was no saving the house. Everything was charred and crumbling.

I should’ve been happy. I should’ve been fucking thrilled.But I wasn’t.Some weird sense of dread and panic did its best to take hold of me—memories set free from a dying house. I wanted to crawl into a hole and drink until I didn’t have to think or feel anything anymore.

I should’ve walked away. And yet, I couldn’t. Some twisted part of me was convinced I had to stay and see it through—like I owed it to someone. Anyone. Jackson maybe? Harrison’s memory? Myself?Fuck, I was so fucked up in the head over all of it.Inexplicable emotions that I didn’t want to feel had complete control of me.

When Jackson rounded the side of his truck with his keys in hand, I chased after him because what the fuck?

“Jackson!”

“No!” he hissed as he turned on me fast. I took one long step back, his livid expression sending my heart racing. “You and me, we are going to talk, but not right now. I’m just as likely to fucking fight you as I am to talk to you, you hear me? Go away, West.”

I just nodded.What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

CHAPTER 20

jackson

The northern ridge areaof the ranch was largely untouched.Our spot.I’d gone back there in the first few weeks after West left, but eventually, I gave up on the place. I pretended it no longer existed. The place was full of nothing but painful memories.

But tonight, it was the only place I wanted to be.

I took Tess with me—letting her hang her head out the window in the night air like she liked. If I had her, I had to be responsible. I had to keep my head on. She kept me smart when all I wanted to be was stupid.

Though, I’d already burned down the McNamara house. Wasn’t sure how much more stupid I could get in one night.

I didn’t park my truck too close. A part of me didn’t want to disturb the place. Why the hell this place still felt important was beyond me. It should’ve lost that significance a long time ago.

Tess bounded ahead of me when we got out, and I damn near lost her in the overgrown grass. She was nothing but a rapid tail and bouncing ears. Something about that made me envious. To be a dog in this world wassomething else. What I wouldn’t give to feel the kind of joy she felt just running through the long grass.

As I sat against a tree, I let out a whistle. She came running and damn near barreled into me.

“Come here, girl,” I said quietly, patting my chest. She settled in my lap, though that tail of hers never quit going, especially once I started scratching her behind the ears. “What the fuck am I supposed to do?”

Was I talking to my dog expecting her to have all the answers?Yeah, I fucking was.But at this point, Tess was as likely to have the answers as anyone else. I propped my hat on my knee and tipped my head back against the rough bark, staring up at the dark branches.

“Fuck, I’m so tired, Tess,” I whispered.

I hated this goddamn ranch. I owed it to my family. Our entire history was tied to this place. Every fucking Myles for generations ran this place, but it felt like I was the only one running it into the ground. My heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t want to manage people or raise cattle. I wanted to ride bulls until my body couldn’t take no more—which was coming up faster on me than I wanted to admit aloud. Taxes, paychecks, and business connections weren’t me.Never had been.

I did it because I was supposed to, but I would’ve given anything to be elsewhere.

And then there was West.Fuck, my whole goddamn heart hurt over that situation. Everything he’d been through was so fucking unnecessary. I knew Mickey and Mom didn’t see it that way. They’d done their best—at least that was how they saw it. But their best was too little too late.

Way too late.

Someone should’ve stepped in when he was a kid. Fuck this goddamn ranch. Fuck family history and all that shit.

All my anger and hatred was tied to a broken fucking heart. I knew that, even when I lied to everyone else about it. West had been my everything—loving him aside. We’d spent every waking moment together from the minute we both could walk. He was my best friend. He was the one I was supposed to do this whole goddamn thing called life with. I’d counted on that. When he’d disappeared, it fucking hurt.

But I had to let all that hurt go. Or at least set it aside.For West’s sake.

I closed my eyes with a heavy sigh. The look on his face in the bar was branded into my brain. It wasn’t anger. It was pure fear—an animal backed into a fucking corner. And knowing what I knew now, I got it.

Something had to give. He didn’t belong here. He didn’t belong trapped in a place that reminded him of all the awful shit he’d been through.

West deserved to be free.

I spent the whole fucking day dealing with legal shit.I hated legal shit.Correction: I hated lawyers. I hated trying to connive my way into information as I figured out the logistics of Harrison’s will. There had to be a loophole somewhere.At least, I wanted there to be.

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