Page 5 of Brand Me, Cowboy's Second Chance

"I can't do this, Fallon." I force my voice into something flat and unfeeling, even though it's anything but. "Go back to your night. I'll see you around the ranch."

"You're bleeding."

I blink. "What?"

He nods toward my elbow. There's a shallow scrape I hadn't noticed. It’s probably from when that idiot knocked over a barstool in my direction.

"It's nothing," I say. "I've had worse from fence wire."

"Still." He peels his shirt over his head in one smooth motion. "Here."

And there it is; that warm pull low in my belly that betrays me every damn time. He steps closer and presses the soft fabric of his shirt to my arm with surprising gentleness.

"Remember when you busted your chin on the hayloft ladder?"

A quiet chuckle slips out of me before I can stop it. "Yeah. You caught me."

"Had to shove Callum out of the way first," he says, grinning. "He still hasn't let it go."

His laugh is low and nostalgic. I let myself look at him… really look. For a second, it's just us again and it’s simple. We are a boy and a girl tangled up in hay bales and wild dreams.

His stomach is chiseled and tanned from long days outside. Every muscle is defined in a way that makes my mouth go dry. He's filled out, but the raw power he's always had is still there. Only now, it's tempered by time and shaped into something even more dangerous.

He's in my space, and he knows it. That maddening Kingridge confidence is written in every line of his muscles. He still acts like my body is familiar terrain. Like it's his. It's not. Not anymore. I exhale a shaky breath. I could push him away. I should. But I don't.

"Anny, why didn't you take my calls?"

The question lands hard and my throat runs dry. I’ve imagined this conversation so many times. The moment I let my guard down, here it is. I’ve been dancing around the truth. Maybe it's the alcohol, maybe it's the adrenaline, or maybe it's the soft way he's looking at me but I’m done dodging.

"I thought I was pregnant," I say.

The words hang in the air like a thunderclap.

Fallon's entire body goes still. "What?"

"I wasn't," I rush to add. "But I thought I was. I had a few false positives, and by the time I figured out the truth... You were gone."

"And you didn't think to tell me?" His voice is rough, but there's pain in it, too. "You didn't think I deserved to know?"

"It's not that simple." My throat tightens. "It's never been simple with you."

"You’re gonna have to do better than that sweetheart.” His words are rough and challenging.

Guilt washes over me and I stare at the sky for a beat before answering. "It's not easy dating the sweetheart of Kingridge Ranch when half the town thinks you're just a warm body and a pretty face. The gossip brigade found out about the pregnancy scare before I even had the chance to breathe. Everyone said you wouldn't go to Europe if you knew. That I'd ruin your career. That I'd be the reason your future fell apart."

Fallon's jaw clenches, but I push on.

"They called me a distraction with curves," I say, bitterness creeping in. "They didn't say it outright, but they made it clear… If I really loved you, I'd let you go. I’ve always loved you. So I did what I thought was right."

He drags a hand down his face. The frustration in his posture guts me.

"I deserved to know," he says. "I would've dropped everything. I didn't want Europe. I wanted you. I would've given it up in a heartbeat."

"I didn't know that," I whisper. "Or at least I didn't trust myself to believe it. I didn't want to trap you."

He shakes his head like he's trying to shake off everything he just heard. “You should’ve taken my calls.”

"Well," I say, a bitter laugh slipping out, "that makes two of us who made the wrong call."

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