Page 116 of Forever To Me

Like maybe he wasn’t expecting me to admit it. Or maybe, he’s just been waiting too damn long to hear it. The space between us suddenly feels too small. His hand moves, like he wants to touch me—but he hesitates. Like maybe he’s still waiting for me to take it back. Like maybe he doesn’t quite believe it yet.

So, I do the only thing I can think of to prove it. I reach for his hand, slowly, deliberately, letting my fingers brush against his.

His breath shudders. "You mean that?" he asks, voice barely above a whisper.

I nod. "Yeah. I do."

His fingers tighten just slightly around mine. He leans down and presses his lips to mine, softly kissing me, and it immediately takes me back to that night. Walker kissing me lights up my world like the Fourth of July.

It knocks the breath out of me when he says, "I came back to get something, and I'm going back to the cabin. Goodnight, Red."

I wish he'd take me with him. I watch him walk away after I confess that I like him and he kisses me. Which pretty much tells me he feels the same. But damn, his walls are high. So high, it's like a fortress I can't seem to scale no matter how hard I try.

It’s not just that Walker is good-looking in that rugged, broody cowboy way. It’s not just that he looks at me like I’m a puzzle he’s still trying to figure out. It’s more than that. So much more.

It’s the way he takes care of people without thinking twice. The way he worries about Mack but lets her find her own way. The way he never treated me like I was temporary—even when I thought I was.

And damn it, I’ve fallen for him.

And his kid. Hard. Both of them have me wrapped around their hearts. I don’t even know when it happened.

Maybe it was when he drove me around town like it was no big deal that my car was “mysteriously” still broken. Maybe it was when he gave me that vintage guitar like it wasn’t the most priceless thing he owned. Maybe it was when he brought back Rip Heeler, just to see me smile.

Or maybe it was just every single damn day, every time he looked at me like I was something worth showing up for.

Maybe, I was always supposed to end up here.

Right beside him.

Dropping Mack off at school should be simple. But nothing in my life is simple anymore. Because the second she hops out of the truck, she rolls the window down and shouts across the parking lot. “Hey, Mr. Shores, wanna buy a goat?!”

Mr. Shores—the very startled high school teacher—pauses mid-coffee sip and blinks at her like she just asked if he’d like to participate in an illegal gambling ring.

I lay my forehead against the steering wheel. This is my life now. And I might secretly love every bit of it.

“You have to stop trying to sell people goats,” I say as Mack leans into the window, grinning like a menace.

“Oh, come on,” she says, propping her elbows on the door. “We have too many, and I’m just doing some light marketing.”

“This is not light marketing,” I deadpan. “This is borderline harassment.”

She shrugs. “One man’s harassment is another man’s business opportunity.”

From across the lot, Mr. Shores slowly backs toward the school entrance, clutching his coffee like a life preserver.

Mack waves. “Think about it, Mr. S! Eco-friendly lawnmowers!”

He practically runs inside the building.

I groan, rubbing my temples. I point a warning finger at her as she backs away toward the school doors. "Have a good day," I tell her, shaking my head.

She cackles and disappears inside as she waves to me.

I sigh, shaking my head as I pull away from the school. If I don’t get coffee immediately, I will lose my mind. Steamy Sips it is. Plus, I could use some catching up with Cami.

By the time I pull up, Cami’s already at the order window, grinning like she knows I just went through some fresh hell. “Rough morning?” she asks. "I heard about your goat fiasco."

I groan. “Mack has been trying to give everyone a goat this morning. It's like the Oprah episode when she gave everyone a car. This time it's a goat. You get a goat, and you get a goat!"

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