Page 86 of Stay for Me

Mags cut me off as he growled to Denver, “She doesn’ttouchthe ground, do you understand me?”

Oh, God.

I was transferred into Denver’s arms, and as Mags got onto the vehicle, I slowly looked to my friend. His eyes weren’t on me. No, they were zeroed in on his oldest friend, the gray in his eyes swirling with bewilderment.

Oh, God. He knew. Oh my God. He saw right through Mags.

Denver then looked at me, his brows coming together. I’d known Denver for as long time, and most of that time, he’d never scare me. Right now, in the moment, withthatlook painted on his face, I was scared shitless.

He saw right through both of us.

“Den,” I muttered, my chest beginning to heave.

He said nothing, staring at me as if he was seeing me in a new light. Abbie appeared then. “We gotta get her to the cabin, Denver,” she said softly. That seemed to snap him out of it, and he inhaled sharply through his nose and nodded. I looked to Abbie as he walked over to Mags.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to her.

She gave me a small smile. “I’ll follow.”

“We’ll follow,” Denver corrected as he transferred me back to Mags. I tried to move to put both legs on either side of the seat, but Mags stopped me.

“No,” he stated, keeping me in a bridal style hold, my legs draped over his stretched out arm.

I looked down to the handle bars and then back up to him. “Are you sure you can drive like this?”

“Drove through a field littered with fuckin’ land mines,” he answered, looking over to his boss and tipping his hat.

Then, we were gone, heading to his cabin.

I may not have realized it right then, but this was the moment my life changed. Nothing—and I mean nothing--would ever be the same.

Chapter Seventeen

Diana

I’dmadeapactwith myself the day Denver told me Mags was moving out of the bunkhouse. That pact mainly consisted of not giving into my curiosity and staying the hell away from Mags’ cabin. I didn’t need to know what his home looked like, didn’t need to know how it smelled on the inside, how he decorated. I didn’t need to know any of that stuff, because I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, those things would only make me fall deeper.

I had already been drowning.

Now, after everything, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to come up for air.

Mags turned the four-wheeler slightly as we came into his field, his cabin standing tall in the middle of it, a smaller building at the back. It was a log cabin, sturdy and magnificent, just like him. There was a wraparound porch with two wooden rocking chairs perched on one side, a small table between them. The roof was metal, painted dark red, and all the windows had matching shutters. The sun was beginning to set now, giving the cabin a halo, making it look like its own slice of heaven. But I knew the truth.

Inside this beautiful cabin was where this cowboy battled his biggest demons.

Nothing about this cabin was his heaven.

Mags pulled the vehicle up to the porch before shutting it off and pulling out the key. “Hold on to me,” he ordered.

Immediately, I wrapped my hands around his neck again as he lifted me so he could swing his leg over. Once he was on the ground, a small grunt left him, and guilt settled on my shoulders.

“I can hobble—”

“Now is not the time to test my fuckin’ patience, Diana,” he warned, not looking at me.

I shut my mouth and focused on his cords of his neck as he walked up the steps, the sound of his boots echoing across the wooden floors. As he adjusted his hold on me to open the door, I had only a few seconds to admire the delicate carvings etched into it before it swung wide, revealing his home. My eyes landed on the furniture first, taking in a long couch with dark blue cushions, a stunning wooden coffee table in front, on the other side of it a set of matching chairs in a similar style to the couch. Beyond his living room furniture was a stone fireplace, a massive, dark wooden mantel above it, where three picture frames sat. Behind the couch was a small desk in front of a window, a thick leather journal on top, a single pen beside it.

Mags crossed the threshold, taking me to the couch as the clean scent of his home hit me. “Easy,” he murmured as my body settled into the cushions. They felt so good, a whimper escaped me.

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