Page 27 of The Outlaw's Code

“Shit.” He took a step away from me. “You don’t feel the same way, do you? I just embarrassed myself. I’m sorry. I can have my stuff out my cabin ASAP?—”

“Sorry. I was just…” I shook my head, trying to shake out my thoughts at the same time. “Calder, I thought I was never going to see you again. And now, here you are, saying that you… want to be with me?”

“Yeah. I want to be with you.” Calder let out a shaky laugh. “That’s all I was trying to say, all rambling aside.”

“I want to be with you, too, Calder—” Before I had a chance to finish my response, Calder’s hands were on my waist, pulling me closer to him. His mouth was on mine then, as we both smiled into the kiss.

“You really thought I was never coming back?” he whispered, his forehead pressed against mine.

“Whatever you decided, I just wanted you to be happy.”

“I wouldn’t have been happy without you, Shane,” he murmured. He brought his lips back to mine and I melted against him, relief flooding my system.

Just then, something crossed my mind. “Wait.”

“What is it?”

“We should, uh, relocate,” I replied. “Us hooking up once on the ranch is a fluke. Twice and people might start thinking wepreferto hook up outside.”

“Don’t we?” Calder smirked.

I playfully rolled my eyes as I took his hand in mine, walking us over to my cabin.

“What did you think?The first time you saw me?” Calder asked as he sank down on my couch. He held a cup of freshly brewed coffee in his hand. “You can be honest.”

“The first time I ever saw you? Or the first time I saw you after your accident?”

“Both.”

“The first time I ever saw you…” I let my words trail off as I thought about the question. “I think, the first time I saw you, I thought you were the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. And when I saw you after your accident, I thought the same thing. But I was also terrified that I was never going to see you again. Both times.”

“The first time I saw you, I thought you were… handsome.” Calder lightly chuckled. “But I don’t know if I was willing to admit that part to myself just yet. I just liked looking at you sometimes. More than I liked looking at other people.”

“Happy you came to your senses.” I smirked before my expression turned serious. “Seriously, though, Calder. I thought I was going to die or something, when I thought you left. I didn’t know what was happening to me. Everything just felt so dark. Empty.”

“That’s how I felt when I thought about leaving you behind,” he murmured. “Shane, it felt awful. Just thinking about having a future without you.”

“Have you ever felt anything like that before?”

“No. Have you?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I feel kind of stupid, though. Not realizing what it was.”

“What it was?”

“Are you really going to make me say it first?”

“Say what first?” Calder grinned. “I have no idea what you could possibly be referring to, Shane Stratton.”

“You’re ridiculous. You know that, right?”

“Ridiculously hot, according to you.” Calder shifted closer to me on the couch, his arm wrapping around my shoulders. “Nice cabin, by the way. It’s exactly what I was expecting.”

“Meaning?”

“It’s neat. Tidy. Organized.” He nodded. “All very you. Everything’s exactly where it’s supposed to be.”

“That’s me. Everything exactly where it’s supposed to be.”

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