Page 16 of Brand Me, Cowboy's Second Chance

"This is what I worked for. All those years, all that shit in Europe... it wasn't for nothing. Did Priya make them do---"

"No," Bowen cuts me off. "Her dad is more of a silent owner of the team. She definitely doesn't know anything about this. She would have told me. This is you making an NFL team on your merit. Congrats, man, I know you've wanted this for a long time."

I stare at the email, and the room spins around me. "I could be back in pads with stadium lights, the whole thing." It's not just the possibility, but the validation that knocks the wind out of me.They were wrong to cut me the first time. It was worth it.

"I didn't think I'd get another shot like this," I say, scrolling through the contract again. "Full housing, salary, healthcare. They even offered a moving stipend."

Geoffrey whistles. "You could live on the beach, man."

"I could live anywhere. I mean, I'd be back in it," I say, heart thudding. "Full-time. Part of a real team. Something that matters."

"You've always mattered," Alex says, quiet but firm.

"Still, you know what I mean. This mattersoutsideof our small town... It's huge."

I nod, but something feels hollow about it. My eyes drift to the window overlooking the ranch. The land is in my blood. My family is here. It’s the place where Anny moves through her day.

Danner leans forward. "Are you really considering packing your bags again?"

"I think I have to, right? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." I let out a humorless chuckle. Even as I say the words, something feels off. "I'm getting older in football years, this might be my last chance to chase this dream."

But as I say it, a knot tightens in my chest.Is this still my dream? Or am I just chasing it because it's the dream I thought I wanted? When I picture myself in that uniform again, why does it feel more like obligation than desire?

Then the room falls silent. At first, I wonder if it's something I've said. I don't know that I actually want to chase that football dream anymore. But they've got to understand that I need to at least think it through. I'm always going to end up back at the ranch with them. Then there's Anny. I don't know whether she would go, but I don't have time to ask. Because when I follow their line of sight, I turn to find her standing in the doorway.

The look on her face tells me she's been there long enough to have heard the excitement in my voice. We lock eyes and I know that look. It's the look of someone who thought they were being chosen and just found out they weren't.

She heard me talk about chasing my dream. But not once did I say her name, and it isn't lost on her.

Shit.

"Anny—" I start, but she just shakes her head. "Hey, I um…"

Her lips press into a straight line. Without a single word, she nods. Then she turns and walks back out the way she came. The door closes behind her with a soft click. My stomach sinks and I think I’m going to be sick.

CHAPTER12

ANNY

Dammit I should've known better.I should've known not to let my guard down and not to believe that this time could be different.

But that's what love does, doesn't it? At least that's what loving Fallon Kingridge does. It tricks you over and over again.

He makes you soft in the places you swore you'd keep sharp. He makes you hope for forever, even when you know better. I can't believe I let him back in. I can't believe I started to believe in us all over again. I barely survived this the first time, and here I am in it all over again like an idiot.

Who puts their trust in a man who just stood there grinning about his big chance?

Meanwhile, I stood in the doorway like a fool, waiting to hear my name. Only to realize loud and clear that I've never mattered as much as the game. He wasn't just excited. He was lit up.

Fallon was alive in a way I haven't seen him since the first time he scored a touchdown on home turf. I'd know that look anywhere. It's the same one he bit back the day he left for his first European contract. He said we'd figure it out way back then. But in reality I wasn't a part of the vision, and that hasn't changed.

I walk straight past the old barn and into the far pasture. My boots crunch over the dry grass. My tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall until I'm sure that there isn't anyone around to see them. The last thing I want is an entire ranch making me their new favorite topic of conversation. I've done that once, and I'm not interested in a repeat.

I sink down onto the wooden fence at the edge of the pasture. The rails are cool and rough beneath my palms. My chest aches. My stomach is knotted up like a horse tied too tightly to a trailer hitch.

It wasn't just a gut-punch. It was a truth bomb. He's always going to choose movement over stillness. Adventure over home. Dreams over love. The worst part is, this time it's my own fault. He's shown me who he is for years, and I refused to believe it.

But deep down, I knew. I knew better than to believe in love again. I told myself I was strong, smart, and guarded. The second I let that guard down, he did exactly what I feared. He showed me that I'm not worth staying for... again.

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