Page 29 of Steadfast

Whipping around, Maeve pulled her hand away. She felt a surge of anger, mostly at herself.

“Don’t do that.”

The yearning in his expression made her feel even worse. The last thing she wanted was to cause Abel pain, but he just wasn’t getting the message.

She was damaged.

“I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything,” he stammered. “Let’s just go back to the way things were.”

He pulled her into a tight hug. It felt so right.

“You okay?” He put his hand under her chin and raised her eyes to meet his. “I hope I didn’t ruin things,” he whispered, filling the silence.

Her feelings welled up within her, and she had no strength left to push them away. She managed to choke out the words that had been caught in her chest for longer than she wanted to admit.

“You couldn’t ruin things, and I don’t want to go back to the way things were.”

Feeling secure in his embrace, Maeve said a quick prayer to settle her hammering heart. She ran her fingers down his course five o’clock shadow while she contemplated.

She had been fooled by smooth words before.

The man who stood before her was different, though.

When Abel spoke, he meant it.

Drawing him close, she felt his warm breath and soft lips on hers. She didn’t even mind the roughness of his beard or the earthy smell of the arena dirt.

There, in Abel Callaway’s strong arms, Maeve’s broken heart began to feel whole.

Chapter 10

Dashed

Maeve leaned back on the counter, taking a long sip from her coffee mug. Oakleigh had graciously let her share, but she hadn’t intended to tumble into yet another story about Abel. He was woven into nearly every part of her history at the ranch and every part of her, for that matter. The quietness in the kitchen felt oppressive. Maeve swallowed hard, choking down the grief that had risen to the surface.

“I’m sorry,” Maeve said, regaining her composure. “I didn’t mean to bother you with all that.”

“It’s okay. I’d love to hear more about Abel,” Oakleigh answered quickly. “Any time, really, Maeve.”

She nodded, knowing that she wouldn’t take Oakleigh up on the offer. It was a weight she could hardly bear, and she wasn’t willing to pile it onto anyone else. Oakleigh was sorting through enough on her own.

After some light small talk, Oakleigh downed the last drop of coffee and excused herself for the evening.

Now all alone, Maeve was accompanied by the sound of snapping logs in the fireplace. She picked up the mugs and placed them in the white farm sink with a soft clink of ceramic.

Her phone chimed, crashing through the silence with a loud notification. Plucking the device off the kitchen counter, Maeve tapped on the screen and scrolled through her messages. Having her phone nearby at all times was a fairly new addition to her life. After Crew’s accident and having an influencer under her roof, there was some comfort in keeping track of the content that seemed to be constantly flowing from the ranch.

Maeve’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the text flit across her screen.

Dallas — typing…

I’m driving by the ranch, mind if I stop in?

Glancing at the clock, she considered how late it was. Yet therewas no suppressing the smile that kept overflowing on her lips at the thought of seeing Dallas at any hour.

It felt good to smile again.

Maeve — typing…

---