Page 6 of Brand Me, Cowboy's Second Chance

The air between us crackles. It’s raw and full of regret.

"I'm sorry, Fallon."

“Me too.” He pulls me into his arms.

I hate how right it feels. I hate how much I need this from him. But I let myself stay there, tucked against his chest, breathing in the intoxicating scent of home and heartbreak. His arms tighten around me.

My body reacts to him without permission. His hand drifting down my back sparks every nerve ending I've got. I feel him respond too. The bulge in his pants presses against me. His breath catches when I shift just slightly.

It'd be so easy to fall back into him. So easy to lose myself in everything we used to be.

We're teetering on the edge of something impossible. If I kissed him now, there'd be no turning back. One second is all it would take. I tilt my head up. My eyes lock on his lips.

I see the moment the thought crosses his mind, just like it's crossing mine… But he doesn't kiss me.

Thank God.

Because I don't know that I could've handled it if he did.

Instead, Fallon takes my hand, warm and solid in mine, and walks me to my car in silence.

And somehow... that's worse.

CHAPTER5

ANNY

I lay in bed,still and silent. But I'm floating. Not from peace, but from something far more complicated. Seeing Fallon again tonight made my heart flutter and ache all at once. Even when I close my eyes, sleep doesn't come. It hasn't for hours.

Instead, I make a playlist and curse the fact that Fallon knows me well enough to make the prediction. Meanwhile my mind races with a jagged, unfinished thought that plays on a loop. It's part flashback and part nightmare.

It's six years ago. I'm twenty-two and standing in front of the old barn at Kingridge Ranch. It's the place he kissed me for the first time. The same place I gave myself to him in the early hours of the morning. But I already know it’s about to take on another meaning. This barn isn’t just the place of our beginning, it’s about to be our ending, too.

The sky is still gray and heavy. The sun is nothing more than a sleepy suggestion behind the clouds. The air carries that familiar scent of hay and dust. But I know everything is about to change.

Fallon's truck is already running. The engine is low and steady like a countdown. The bed is packed with suitcases when he closes the tailgate. He's wearing his old maroon sweatshirt, and there's a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. His hair is still damp from the shower. It doesn't feel big enough to be our ending. But I know exactly what's coming.

I stand leaning against the fence. My arms are folded like I'm cold. .. I'm not. I'm just trying to hold myself together. My hand instinctively drops to my stomach, where a quiet fear sits heavy. I wasn't sure. Not then. Not yet. But I thought I might be pregnant, and that thought had swallowed everything.

I want to tell him. I want him to stay. I want a thousand things at that moment. But the words don't come. They are cemented to my tongue. I’m too young and it's all too heavy. Instead, I just stand there. My mouth curls into a half-smile that doesn't reach my eyes. Fallon doesn't smile either, but his eyes soften in a way that undoes me.

"This isn't goodbye." His voice is low, but I catch the excitement in it, too. Rightfully so, he's heading toward his dream. "I'll call you as soon as I get there."

I nod because I can't trust my voice. "I know."

He walks closer, stopping just shy of the fence. We are eye-level with only a single rail between us, but it might as well be a canyon.

"You okay?"

I lie. "Of course."

He studies me. His gaze sweeps over my face like he's trying to decode me. "We'll talk. I'll call. I'll be back before you know it. Unless I can convince you to come with me."

I shake my head and give him a half smile. "Go. You're about to get everything you've worked for, and I'm happy for you."

He nods. But the air between us is heavy and filled with words we don't say.I love you. Please stay. Wait.None of it makes it past our lips.

Instead, Fallon reaches down and picks a wildflower growing near the fence post. He tucks it behind my ear. His fingers brush my cheek, just briefly, and he smiles. It's a real one this time, and the sight cracks something open in my chest.

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