Page 24 of Live for Me

Die.

I released the breath I’d been holding, mentally preparing myself to fake it as my eyes lifted to the gift in the box. “Yeah, sorry. It was a mix up at work,” I lied, laughing it off. “They were for Abbie down in marketing.”

“Oh, I see. Well, are you still down to grab a drink after work? Harris hasn’t seen you in a minute, and maybe we could get the gang together?” he asked, hopeful.

Knives gathered in my throat as I pushed out, “Yeah, we can do that. Sounds wonderful.” A tear fell onto my cheek as Dave took this opportunity to tell me about this morning.

I didn’t hear a word.

I was too busy staring at the gift: a photo of all of us, taken last year at a Christmas party. Lying beside it, wrapped in individual ribbons, were bundles of their hair, each labeled with their name.

Brown for Dave

Blonde for Hannah.

Red for Becca.

A dark, almost black, for Tim.

And for good measure, my stalker also had a lock of Harris’ bleached hair tied to Dave’s.

I looked around my office, realizing that dream I’d made a reality was now a nightmare, one I could never wake up from.

Chapter Six

Beau

Eleven years ago. Hayden, CO.

Age: Twenty

Her rich brown hair flowed in the wind behind her as we made our way down to the coffee shop, the winter air slowly making its departure as the snow began to melt, the sun growing hotter each day.

She was wearing my favorite sweatshirt today, the one I’d bought her two Christmases ago.

“Do you have to work this weekend?” she blurted, turned to face me, stopping us in the middle of the sidewalk.

I squeezed her hand for the third time this morning. “No, I don’t. Why? Did you want to go into the city?” I asked, studying the gold flecks in her eyes, the morning sun hitting them just right.

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, color blossoming in her cheeks. “I needed to head to campus to grab a few things before the break.”

Abbie had been going to college in Denver, now in her sophomore year. I was taking the basics online, working on my business degree while maintaining my job at Hallow Ranch, working alongside Pop. “Yeah, I can take you,” I told her, pressing my lips to her forehead and squeezing her hand. “I need to get out of that fucking bunkhouse anyways.”

“Why?”

I shot her a smirk. “The broody cowboy is getting on my nerves,” I told her, referring to Mags. He’d been at the ranch for a little over six months now, and he still hasn’t said a single word to anyone outside of Denver. It was…frustrating, but I also couldn’t blame the man. Denver explained to me that Mags had just gotten out of the Marines and witnessed some pretty fucked up shit over there. Mags had demons, and so did Denver.

Which was why they got along so well, I guessed.

“How’s Caleb doing?” Abbie asked, warmth coating her voice like honey.

Caleb was Denver’s son. The little black haired, gray-eyed boy was the future of Hallow Ranch and loved getting into trouble. Part of me knew that troublesome streak was a trait he’d inherited from his Uncle Mason, but I seriously doubted he would ever get to meet him. Mason and Denver had a fallout over two years ago, just before John Langston passed. Now, Denver ran Hallow Ranch and Mason was traveling the world, riding bulls and chasing an eight second high.

“He got into the hay loft yesterday,” I said, thinking about how Denver watched his son like hawk, afraid the hay would hurt the boy.

“Did he?” she beamed as I opened the door to the coffee shop for her.

“He’s a little shit,” I said and laughed as she smacked my arm.

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