Page 83 of Burned & Bound

“Pay the fucking loan off.”

“I won’t—”

“I ain’t taking the fucking money. There’s no point in—”

“Are you staying?” Jackson demanded, cutting me off. The question shut me the fuck up, taking me by surprise. He repeated, “When the year is up, are you staying at Double Arrow?”

“I don’t…” I faltered. I didn’t have an answer—didn’t know how to answer. On one hand, I was getting used to what Jackson and I had going on. I also had Bailey, Thunder Jack, Betty, and the other horses to think about.

But that little voice in the back of my head wasn’t so sure I’d last there.I didn’t know how to make peace with all the shit that had come out of Double Arrow. I wasn’t sure I ever could.

And honestly, I barely knew what I was doing on any given day let alone what came after this whole ranch trust was taken care of.

“That’s what I thought,” he whispered. “It’s fine. I don’t blame you. But we made a deal… you get the money for the ranch and the freedom to go whenever. No one would blame you if you changed your mind and wanted that money. I wouldn’t. But I can’t bank on you not changing your mind.”

“You don’t trust me,” I said. Something about that stung worse than anything else he’d said.

“West,” he rested his arms on the table and leaned closer, “I do trust you. I walked into this thing with you knowing full well that at the end of this year together, you’re going to break my heart. I just know that if anyone deserves every opportunity to start over, it’s you. And that’s why the money will be there for you if you fucking want it. If you change your mind, it ain’t because you’re trying to screw me over. It’s because—and I fucking hope for this—you’ll finally see just how much you fucking deserve the chance at a good life outside of the God-forsaken ranch.”

I swallowed hard, unable to find the words to say a single damn thing.How the hell was I supposed to respond to that?

CHAPTER 55

jackson

Icouldn’t read West’smood, and it was killing me.

After lunch, he followed me around as I ran a few errands—stupid shit to fill my time. I picked up things that my mom had been asking for and even took the time to drop them off. I didn’t need to, but I was avoiding going home with him. And honestly, she loved seeing West again. They sat outside talking about Betty for the better part of an hour while I didn’t say a damn word.

On the drive home, West didn’t say a fucking thing. He hadn’t said much at all to me since we left lunch. I replayed every moment at the restaurant in my head, trying to figure out where I’d lost him—where I’d scared him away. Was it the state of the ranch? Was it the fact that I called him out about his time here? Was it telling him all of the shit Harrison had gotten involved in?

Who fucking knew? It could’ve been any of them. Hell, it could’ve been all of them. I would’ve given anything to know.

Either way, by the time we walked into the house, I was restless and grumpy. Tess wasn’t around, which told me that Mickey probably took her home—not an uncommon thing for the two of them. There were no wild messages about the stupid shit going on with my ranch, which was a good thing.

All of it just left me with time to fill.

Kicking off my boots, I left the door open for him and started across the house.

“Good night,” I called over my shoulder. It was too early to go to bed but going upstairs to my office seemed like a better option than sitting around in silence with him.

I was halfway across the house when he grabbed my arm, turning me fast. I didn’t get a chance to say a single fucking word as his mouth crashed into mine in a deep kiss, his tongue driving past my lips. The sudden invasion of him was intoxicating. Every kiss was more intense than the first.

Pulling away slightly, his forehead pressed against mine. My panting mirrored his as we both caught our breath.

“Don’t…” he began quietly, “don’t… don’t give me the power to break your heart. I’m not fucking worth that.”

This man.This fucking man.He just didn’t get it, did he?

“It’s too late for that,” I whispered. Taking his face in my hands, I kissed him once. Twice. Three times. Each kiss lingered longer than the last. “I loved you back then just like I love you now.”

The admission hit me like a fucking truck. I’d never said those words to anyone besides my parents. The truth was I had loved West back when we were kids—even before our first kiss—and I never got over him. I never stopped loving him.

His crashing back into my life only brought all those feelings rushing right back to me. And every little moment we had together solidified them and molded them into something I couldn’t deny.

West’s arm wrapped tight around my waist, and he walked me backward until I hit a wall. His body pressed into mine as he kissed me again. Something moved through him like a desperate need to express things he couldn’t say out loud—things I hoped one day I’d hear from him.

But this?I’d take this weird and confusing thing we had going on over nothing.

---