Page 40 of Stay for Me

“Lucas has always been a problem.” I paused, giving him a knowing look. “Men like that are always the problem, Sheriff.”

He let out a tired sigh and looked away for a second. “Let me rephrase the question, then.” His blue eyes met mine, years of friendship lingering between us. “Is he going to be a problem for you? Are you in danger?”

Years ago, I would’ve given him a different answer, because back then, I was a different woman. Now, I was the woman I’d always wanted to be, and I hit him with the truth. “No, I’m not in danger. Lucas has a big ego, sure, but he doesn’t have the balls to try and hurt me. Not in Hayden, at least.”

“Men with big egos that get bruised can be dangerous, Diana,” he noted softly.

Lucas wouldn’t hurt me. Not here. Not in my safe space. I had the power here, he didn’t.

I ran my hand through my hair and cleared my throat, my body needing to do something other than just stand in one spot, talking about my ex.

Chase, being Chase, saw right through me. “Do you want me to run him out of town?”

I scoffed, a huff of laughter filling the space between us. “Run him out of town?” I parroted, raising a brow. “This isn’t the wild west, Chase.”

“Tell that to the cowboys,” he muttered before moving to the windows to scan the sidewalk and street.

I stiffened, and as Thomas talked quietly to whoever was on the other end of the phone call behind me, my feet moved for me, carrying me until I was standing beside him, both of us staring out into our town.

Now that he’d brought up Hallow Ranch, I decided to cross another thing off my to-do list. “I’m sorry I couldn’t have been of more help with Abbie,” I murmured after a few moments, feeling him tense beside me. I felt his eyes on me next.

His next question came out as expected, straightforward and void of emotion. “What do you know?”

“Everything,” I said softly—gently.

Out of the corner of my eye, Chase bent his head, shame eating at him. I wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay, but the truth was, I didn’t know if would be. It wasn’t Denver he’d messed up with. It was Beau. “I didn’t mean to fuck it all up. Had I known that fucker was Abbie’s stalker, I would’ve handled it.”

Goosebumps scattered across my skin then, his dark words rattling me me and my neck nearly snapped with how quickly I looked at him. “Handled it?” I parroted.

Chase’s eyes met mine again, but he said nothing. He had the same look Denver got in his eyes when he needed to deal out his own version of justice. A chill swept down my spine, lingering as I reached out, grabbing his hand. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, Chase, you need to let it go. It’s over and done,” I told him.

“I failed them,” he shot back. “I failed all of them. After everything Hallow Ranch has done for me and for this town, I—”

“No, you made a mistake,” I cut him off. “You’re human, and you’re allowed to make mistakes.”

“Mistakes, in my line of work, Diana, cannot be erased. Or forgiven,” Chase stressed, a sadness lacing his voice. The look on his face nearly broke my heart all together.

“Uh, Diana?”

Chase and I both looked over to Thomas, who stood behind the counter with the phone glued to his ear, a panicked look on his face.

“What is it?” I demanded, letting go of my friend’s hand.

Thomas looked like he was about to be sick. “You need to head out to Weatherford Ranch. Now.”

I braced. “What happened?”

“The boy’s father killed Mr. Weatherford’s horses—all of them.”

Chapter Seven

Mags

Year Seven. Hallow Ranch.

Iclickedmytongueand kicked my feet back, urging Midnight to move forward.

As she trotted towards the front of the ranch, my eyes scanned the field, searching for the lost calf. She’d gotten away from the herd last night, and I’d been out searching for her for most of the day. I tugged on the reins, guiding my horse through the entrance of the pasture, the main house in the distance to my left.

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