Page 4 of Brand Me, Cowboy's Second Chance

She points a finger at my chest. "You do not get to pull that caveman shit with me, Fallon. I have been just fine for a few years now. I don't need you to save me. It isn’t your job, you gave that up. And why are you all the way out in Findlay? I came here specifically so I wouldn’t run into anyone with the last name Kingridge."

I fire back without missing a beat. "You're still stubborn as hell. Give me a break, Anny. He had a fist cocked back. I don't care how tough you think you are, I'm not letting you take a punch from some dude. Especially not for my last name."

Her eyes go wild all over again. "I care about your last name. I always have. More than you do, apparently, so yeah, I’m going to stand up for it. And I wasn't going to take anything."

"Don't start with that." I don't miss the fire in her accusation, but I brush past it. "And you don't know that you weren't going to take a punch. That dude is a drunk asshole."

She's yelling now. It's full-on with no filter. She winds interchangeably through the past and present. It's messy and hot and familiar. Little bits of every fight we've ever had spill out of her like no time has passed. Others simmer beneath the surface, just waiting for their chance to boil over. When she goes quiet, I take a step toward her.

"You're pissed at me for not letting some drunk asshole square up to you tonight? Fine. Be pissed. Go home and make a playlist with bad songs about ex-boyfriends on it. But if you think I don't know I've made mistakes, you're wrong. I know I did. I left you here. That was stupid. I should've stayed. I should've fought for you harder or made you come with me. That's all on me. So be pissed, but don't stand there and act like I don't care. Like I didn't try to call you every fucking day."

Her jaw tightens, and she folds her arms tightly across her chest.

"You can ignore me all you want, Anny. But I see you. I see you working the ranch, staying just out of sight. You've been avoiding me since I got back, and I let it go. But not anymore. You might have stopped caring about me, but you never left my mind. Not for one goddamn day."

A long beat of silence passes between us. Her eyes are glassy. Her lip trembles just enough for me to catch it before she straightens her spine and lifts her chin.

"I didn't stop caring," she whispers. "That's the problem."

Silence stretches between us as I take her in. All I want is to wrap my arms around her and demand another chance. But I know her well enough to know that isn’t the way to approach this. Instead I take a step back.

"I'm sorry, Anny."

Just like that, the fight drains out of both of us. We stand there in silence, bathed in neon spillover from the bar sign above. We are finally breathing the same air again, and it's like it's the only thing anchoring me.

Anny Kai is still mine. She might hate it. She might fight it. But she's still mine. And I'm not going anywhere.

CHAPTER4

ANNY

They saytime heals all wounds. Clearly, whoever said that never dated a Kingridge.

I knew I'd see him eventually. Sagebrush Creek isn't big enough for me to avoid him forever. But I never expected it to happen like this. It seems impossible that Fallon is standing in front of me after a bar fight. After sharp words and even sharper looks, he’s really here. My heart hammers from the aftershock of it.

He’s looking down at me with those dark eyes that know all my secrets. The ones that used to make me feel safe. The ones that still unravel me… even now. For one breathless second, I forget everything. I forget I'm mad. I forget he left. I forget that everyone in this town whispered behind my back, saying I'd ruin his future, and I let that scare me more than losing him ever did.

Back then, I thought I'd have time. I thought he'd come back. I thought we'd figure it out once things settled. But he didn't come back. Not until now. And every time he opens that perfect, infuriating, dangerously kissable mouth, it gets harder to remember why I built these walls between us in the first place.

His mouth turns up at the corner into a smirk and my face flushes with heat. And this is exactly why I can't be around Fallon Kingridge. He's the last man I should be standing in the dark with. The last man I should let get this close.

And he is close.

Close enough that I can smell him. It’s an intoxicating combination of leather, soap, dust, and whatever cologne he wears. The scent could get a woman pregnant on contact. It makes me dizzy and my knees want to give out.

It makes me remember too much. There was a decade of my life when all I wanted was to share this man's last name. But I can't go back there. Not when I've clawed my way forward. Not when I've worked this hard to rebuild.

I step back.

He steps forward.

I shift to the side.

He follows. His eyes locked on mine like he knows exactly what I'm doing and he's not having any of it.

"Fallon," I warn.

He grabs my arm, not rough but firm. It’s like he's afraid if he lets go, I'll bolt. Which, to be fair, I absolutely would. Goosebumps race down my skin. I hate that he still has this kind of effect on me. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I ache for it too.

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