Page 103 of Burn the Wild

Settling on a bar stool, I order two beers and watch through the window as Davis crosses Main Street. The auctioneer’s frenetic bleat from the county livestock market follows him into the bar.

Age-old tradition: after the horse auction, Davis and I hit the Alehouse, a dive bar in the small town of Angel River. Four hours north of Resurrection, Angel River’s annual horse auction is a hub for rodeo enthusiasts and ranch owners around the world.

We bid on two horses we wanted—a Quarter Horse and an American Paint. Now, we wait for the stable hands to prepare them for the ride back to town.

“How’s it feel?” I ask when my brother settles beside me. “Break from the wife and kid?”

He chuckles. Twists the gold band on his ring finger. “Losin’ my damn mind.” He thumbs through his phone and angles toward me to flash a photo of Dakota and Squish in the bathtub. “Missing out on too much.”

I chuckle. “Sucker.”

Even for Davis, his smile is cheesy. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Head down, I thumb through my own phone. Reese hasn’t replied to my text from this morning.

Fuck it. I send another. Just in case she needs anything.

I’d never voice it, but I get what Davis means. My mind has strayed to Reese more often than I’d like, clearly because I’m a needy bastard when it comes to her.

Three damn days I’ve been away from her.

I hate it.

Truth is, my mind hasn’t eased since the night we spent in the barn.

I’ve spent my entire life on a ranch. I have a diamond-hard heart when it comes to death, but that night unsettled the hell out of me.

Thoughts of Reese and that dying foal flood my mind. Her saying,We can’t give up.

Is that how she feels? That everyone’s given up on her?

I think about what Grady said.She’s sad. She’s not okay.

That night in the barn, I told her about Savannah, thinking maybe my own secret would drag one or two from her. But she’s locked tighter than Fort Knox.

I want to help her. I want more of her. Those big green eyes. Pouty pink lips. The way she laughs with her entire body and teases me incessantly. Her presence is a rush I can’t get anywhere else.

“You give anymore thought to Donovan’s job offer?” Davis eyes me over the rim of his beer. “Summer is halfway over.” His tone is casual, but the question feels the opposite.

“Not sure yet.”

There’s a hesitation in my gut when it comes to taking the job, because it doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel likeme. What Reese said about putting a baseball diamond in the pasture…now that makes sense. Makes me excited. I have to figure out what I can do with that. One thing’s for certain, my girl’s got answers.

“Got another idea?” Davis’s brow is a deep furrow.

I grin.

My twin has always had my back. He’s the only one who knows the truth about what happened after Savannah. The only one who’s seen me struggle with depression after what I did to that kid. Somehow, he reads my mind when I can’t seem to get out what I need to.

I sip my beer. “I’m thinking something up. I’ll let you know when I know.”

Davis lifts his palm. “Well, we’d miss you.I’dmiss you.”

“How about we talk about other matters? Other brothers.” The faster I change the subject, the quicker I can get Davis off my back.

“Wyatt?”

“Charlie.”

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