Page 210 of Burn the Wild

“Daddy,” Dakota says, palm pressed against her stomach.

Stetson in hand, he hobbles toward us. “It’s not your fault,” he tells Reese kindly. “I let that girl loose.”

Face solemn, he looks at Dakota. “Fallon was dying in this town, daydreamer. She was stuck here, helping me with my treatment. And after what happened last year…” His voice clogs with emotion, and he turns to face the group. “That girl is the wind,” Stede says. “She’s going to ride the sky, and no one can stop her.”

“Where is she?” Charlie asks.

Wyatt’s blue eyes blaze.

“I’m not sure.” Stede strokes a finger down his mustache. “She didn’t want to share. I didn’t ask. Whether or not she comes home—that’s for her to decide.”

Dakota’s face crumples. A sob rocks her, and we all watch as Davis pulls her into his chest.

A door slams.

Wyatt’s truck spins out in the gravel drive and tears down the road to the highway.

Silence. There’s nothing more to say. Davis takes Dakota’s hand and pulls her toward the truck. Ruby and Charlie follow. Stede takes the note from me and returns to his truck.

“Damn.” I scrub a hand through my hair. “Didn’t expect that today.”

Reese grips my arm. “I’m sorry, Ford.”

I look down at her. “You were right about Fallon.”

“I wish I wasn’t,” she says, dark lashes lowering.

I exhale, regret filling me. “I think we all missed a lot of shit.”

Everyone’s going to have their guilt. Especially Dakota and Wyatt. I feel for my family. My brother. Fallon needs space and time, something she wasn’t getting in Resurrection. After this summer, I got the impression that this town was her shadow. A weight she couldn’t shake. A weight Reese recognized.

Taking her hand, I walk us closer to the lodge, where we sit on a fern-covered log.

“I saw myself in her,” she murmurs. “All that dark.” Her pretty face creases. “Wherever she is, I hope she’s okay.”

“That girl will find her way.” I wrap an arm around her. “And so will we.”

Sighing, Reese rests her head on my shoulder. The sunset is a burst of color. The evening air crisp. The beauty of Runaway Ranch stuns, but it’s nothing compared to my girl next to me.

I point in the direction of Old Mill’s Farm. “That’s where we’ll build our house. We’ll have a gate with our name.”

A happy sigh pops out of her. “Yes.”

“Raise our babies. Take them fishin’. Chase some chickens.”

Reese giggles. “Yes. All the chickens. All the babies.”

I think of the ring in my pocket. It’s not what I had planned, but Reese wasn’t planned. Best surprise of my life.

I swallow, twisting my body to turn into her. “And this is where I ask you to marry me.”

Her eyes widen.

Heart hammering, I slip off the log and kneel at her feet. From my pocket, I pull out the ring. The five-carat emerald cut diamond solitaire glitters in the sunset. My throat’s too tight, but I get the words out.

“You and me, we got good bones, Bluebird. We’re never breaking. Swaying in the wind, maybe, sputtering through the snow, for sure. But busted and broken, never.” I swallow. “I don’t want to waste any more time. You have my heart, even on rainy days. And we’re gonna fight, because it’s in our fucking blood, but you’re the love of my damn life. Will you marry me, Reese? Will you let me give you everything you’ve ever wanted?”

Sniffling, she stares at me. Says nothing.

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