Page 98 of Give Me Perfect Love

He clears his throat. “She’s a cool chick. I like being around her.”

I choose not to pick on him because I think it’s great. “Cool,” I say, letting it go.

After the song ends, I slip away.

I take my wedges off and enjoy the feel of the short grass between my light pink toes as I walk through the pasture and away from the party.

Dusk has settled in the sky. What was once crystal blue is now rust and crimson. Speckles of bright green glow in the evening sky as fireflies play above the meadow.

I sit down and lean back on my hands as my eyes roam Grant Ranch. A flicker of lightning flashes in the distance. Spring thunderstorms are the norm around here. I hear thunder rumble right after, and my thoughts drift over everything that’s happened the past few months.

We’ve heard nothing more about what went down at the restaurant that horrible night. So, it seems Danny and Johnny did what they said they would.

Bryce and I spent a week and a half out here after getting things settled with Mugs & Books. I told Becca we would be closed until the grand reopening, letting her know she would still be getting paid. I needed time to heal after everything Claire and I went through. Not just physically, but mentally.

The things I relived when I went back to my old house took a toll on me. I needed a moment to just be before jumping back into my everyday life. Being out at the ranch helped with that.

In so many ways.

While I love the city and its energy, Grant Ranch is a place like no other. It’s peace, when the rest of the world is too much.

Bryce and I became one out here.

We worked together on the ranch. He showed me how they tend to the horses, and I helped with small things around the ranch.

We ate together in the evenings—Bryce, Lee, Emily, and me. The rest of the family joined us often—Monnie, Lou, and Jace.

Of course, they all wanted to know why I looked like I got into a car wreck. Bryce and I explained what happened. He told me they knew about Red and the things that went on below it. He felt there was no reason to hide anything from them, except the fact that Cain was murdered by Bones.

So, we told them we called the cops, and Cain had a gun. They shot him when he tried to pull the trigger.

Was his family stupid?

No.

They knew we were leaving things out, and they also knew they would have seen something that huge on the news. But they didn’t question it, knowing it was for the best.

Bryce and I enjoyed horseback riding, sleeping under the stars in his amazing barn house, and my favorite, dirt bike riding.

I bite my lip as I think about the way he touched me that day. The fireflies don’t compare to the butterflies inside my belly.

Bryce is a thrill I never grow immune to.

He’s my deepest fear and my wildest dream come true.

Thinking if something ever happened to him has my heart threatening to dry up and never beat again.

Turning black before shattering into ash.

But when we’re together, it’s like stealing a glimpse of Heaven…

Dirt and gravel tear up behind the boys as they come back down from the mountain. It’s crystal clear outside, but there’s a chill in the air still. The sun warms my face as I watch Bryce and Jace ride in on their dirt bikes. Bryce slides in sideways and I turn my head, avoiding the dirt from getting all over me.

“Sorry, baby.” He laughs.

I wipe my jeans, rolling my eyes at him.

Jace chuckles as he removes his helmet. “Dammit,” he says. “You can’t win every time.”

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