Page 129 of Come Back to Me

“I know. It’s why I never asked, but…”

“He’d have liked you,” I reassure him. “Clay appreciated a man who worked hard for his family.”

That has him scowling. “How was he so different from Clyde?”

“Some shit you can’t breed out and we’re ranchers. We know breeding matters.”

“How didn’t he know about what Clyde did to Colt?”

I scratch the stubble on my jaw. “Colt went out of his way to hide it.”

“How do you hide those bruises?”

I think about my own run-ins with Clyde. “You just do. People see what they want to see, Callan.”

“Or don’t.”

Nodding, I concur, “Or don’t.”

I can’t help but think about the last few years of Clay’s life though. If Elena isn’t twisting the path and she was in a relationship with our uncle, then he kept that a secret. What else did he keep buried?Didhe know about Colt’s abuse?

The man was more of a father to me than my sperm donor, so I can’t believe that. I just can’t.

Suddenly exhausted, I fail to hear Callan leaving the tack room. A part of me wishes I could go back to bed, but even there, there’s no rest for the wicked. Hasn’t been since I fucked up with Tee.

Fuck.

I am, aren’t I?

Wicked.

That’s the problem.

It’s why I can’t sleep.

If I weren’t wicked, I would never have treated her how I did.

‘Like father, like son.’

The death knell of my own words ricochets around my brain, unintentionally ramming home one of the reasons I wrote her that damn ‘Dear John’ in the first place:

Some shit you can’t breed out.

Cody

Later that morning…

“You grabbing something to eat?” Callan, pink-cheeked from racing me across the ranch, demands.

I swipe a hand over my brow. “Yeah. I’m late, though, so I’ll be in and out.”

“See you tonight.” He tips up his chin. “I will beat you tomorrow.”

My grin’s smug. “If you say so, Baby Cowboy.”

“Ah, fuck. I could strangle Tee for that nickname. Why did that have to catch on?”

“The best names always do.”

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