Page 63 of Drowning Her

Forrest still laid on his side, his eyes open, and blank as blood pooled around his head. He was gone. We wouldn’t have to worry about him.

But that didn’t mean that Sawyer was on our side.

“Shall we?” Sawyer asked, motioning to both of us.

With Sawyer driving, Wilder sat in the back, unable to take his hands off of me. One arm around my shoulder, the other hand on my knee, like heneededto make sure I was close. That I wouldn’t disappear.

I blinked hard, trying to make sure that this wasn’t adream. The pastures and open roads zipped to the sides of us. This was real. The brothers were working together. Neither of them spoke, but there was an accepted truth between them, an understanding that mattered more than whatever rivalry they had dominated their relationship before.

And best of all, Wilder was holding me, even in front of his brother. And he showed no signs of letting go.

After the doctor confirmed that Bambi had a concussion, but that she was all right, the three of us—Wilder, his brother, and me—stood outside, preferring the parking lot to the waiting room. Wilder held out a hand to Sawyer, and the two of them shook hands. Then Wilder put his arm back around me.

Sawyer nodded to me. “Are we good?” he asked.

My shoulders tensed, and Sawyer laughed. Wilder tightened his grip around my back, reading my discomfort.

“You abducted meandmy friend,” I said. “What makes you think we’re ‘good’?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I have no problems with you,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t care.”

He sounded so much like his brother, but I still didn’t completely understand him. Did he mean he didn’t care what happened to me? Or that he didn’t care about the marriage?

“Don’t care about what?” I asked.

“I honestly don’t care that my brother loves you.” My cheeks flushed at those words. I stole a glimpse at Wilder, who stared past his brother, processing those words too. “I have no interest in having problems with you. I was just trying to wake Wilder up.”

Wilder nodded his head, instantly understanding where his brother was coming from, a brotherly communication that I would probably never understand.

“You didn’t want to kill me?” I asked hesitantly.

“Trust me. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Wilder stiffened, and I rolled my eyes. They were definitely raised in the same household. I shook my head, still not quite believing him. “But you kept threatening to kill me?”

“I thought Forrest had hired you to turn Wilder against me.” Sawyer lifted his chin. “I wanted the business. Wilder never wanted it. And when I tried to convince Forrest to let us handle the takeover our own way, Forrest said we had to transfer power through the Trial.” He let out a sigh. “He was never going to give it to me unless I killed him.”

A heavy weight filled me. Forrest must have been determined to get rid of any rivals, including whichever son survived the Trial. Sawyer had killed Forrest for his own reasons. Saving me had simply been a side-effect.

But in some ways, that made sense. It was honest. I was not his priority. Taking over the family business was.

Wilder’s eyes held his brother, his fingers wrapped around me, not letting me go.

“The farm is yours,” Wilder said.

“You’ll continue to head the livestock orders?”

“Whatever is needed.”

Wilder’s shoulders sunk down like he was actually relieved for once. It was over. Once we checked on Bambi again, the doctor said they were going to keep her overnight.

“Okay,” I said. “Then I’ll stay too.”

“No,” Wilder said. “You’re coming home. With me.” I tilted my head. He continued: “Youneedrest, Maisie. You’ve been through a lot too.”

Considering I didn’t have a massive gash in my forehead like Bambi, it was hard to see that.

“I have to make sure my friend is okay,” I said.

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