Page 84 of Live for Me

“Stalling?” he parroted, staring at me.

I nodded and took a step back. “You can do it anytime, you know? I can take it. Hell, Mags, I fucking deserve it.”

“Abbie, I’m afraid I have no idea what the hell you’re referring to,” he deadpanned, stuffing the black cloth in the back pocket of his jeans. “I have a busy damn day ahead.” With that, he turned around, heading back to his horse.

“The verbal beating,” I blurted out before I could stop it.

The cowboy stopped mid-step, but didn’t look back.

“You’re supposed to tell me how awful I am for hurting Beau like that, tell me I’m not welcome here. You’re supposed to tell me you hate me, and that when this is all over, to never come back to Hallow Ranch. To leave Beau alone,” I called out to his back, my chest feeling tight.

This wasn’t on my to-do list for today.

I was living in the house that was supposed to be mine, with the man I was supposed to marry, and he wasn’t talking to me. He still wanted me.God, how he wanted me. I would never be able to get the look of raw need he had in his eyes while standing in that kitchen, how he told me to get away from him, out of my head. He wore that same look as he touched me, making me feel pleasure I hadn’t felt in years.

The truth was, I wanted Beau.

I wanted to run and jump into his arms. I wanted to kiss him until I couldn’t breathe and give him the pleasure he deserved and oh so desperately needed.

The last two nights, I’d been tossing and turning in bed. When I finally managed to fall asleep, my mind was plagued with nightmares of the faceless men who threatened me. The men in masks who told me to leave Hallow Ranch six years ago couldstill be out there, and in my nightmare, they’d found out I was back.

My body pulled me out of the nightmares because my soul couldn’t take the sounds of Beau’s screams.

If they found out I was here, they would kill him. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind about that and I’d been foolish enough to give into him, to fall back into the past with him. Guilt was eating me alive, poisoning me. The other night with Beau had been a mistake, a stupid, stupid mistake that could cause the man I loved to die.

I was a failure.

A burden.

“Abbie.”

I blinked, the sound of Mags’ voice yanking me out of my thoughts. He was facing me now, his brow furrowed. This was the first time I’d ever seen the man show any emotion. “Yes?”

“It’s not my place to judge you. If Beau wants you at Hallow Ranch, then that’s where you’ll be. Simple as that.”

Before I could utter a word, he was walking away from me. He didn’t understand. None of them would ever understand.

The longer I was at Hallow Ranch, the sooner Beau would die.

I made my way up the hill, my somewhat of a conversation with Mags still on replay in my mind. When I reached the tall tree in front of the main house, I said a silent prayer, the fears manifested from my nightmares settling over me.

The truth was, I’d been so overwhelmed with my stalker, Beau kidnapping me, and my house being destroyed, I didn’t have time to fully contemplate the fact that danger was still here, in Hayden. I’d been in need of a good distraction, and when my boss assigned me this story, I grabbed it.

Now, I had to go into town today, and I prayed six years was long enough for those bastards. I leaned against the tree, closing my eyes for a moment, and listened to the birds chirping all around me, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin, the breeze in my hair as I held my laptop at my side.

Minutes passed, and when I heard the sound of a car coming down the gravel path, I opened my eyes. I tensed, seeing a large, dark green RAM truck with a law enforcement logo on the side pulled over on the side of the path. I remained against the tree, somewhat hidden in the shade as a man got out of the truck,putting a tan cowboy hat on his head. It looked out of place and, deep in my gut, I knew this man wasn’t a cowboy. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

He turned around, looking up at the main house, making his way towards it. My eyes dropped to the gun on his hip, and a chill ran down my spine. He pulled out his phone, dialing a number before putting the device to his ear.

“I’m here, Langston,” he clipped. “Where are you?” He was silent for a moment. “I shouldn’t have to chase you or your brother down,” he snapped. “You wanted me here, and I’m here. I’m standing in your front fucking yard.” Another pause. “Yeah, you have five minutes to get here, or I’m gone.”

I watched in silence as he pocketed the phone, muttering something about how much he hated this ranch. My head tilted to the side. There was something familiar about him.

He turned around, freezing when he spotted me under the tree and I pushed off the trunk and stepped into the full sunlight. “Hello. Can I help you?”

The man reached up and slowly took off his hat, revealing himself.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

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