Page 15 of Buck Me

I stand there, rooted in the red clay. I feel the earth shift under my boots, and I think I might be sick. I gave her my whole heart. I let myself believe in love all over again. I let my guard down… But this time, I refuse to believe that I’m not enough.

I know that I can love Becca like no one else can. I know that she belongs with me, and I’m not going to stop until I have her in my arms forever.

CHAPTER 12

BECCA

It’s beena few weeks and I’ve toted the line at home. Not that I’ve had much of a choice. Dad hasn’t let me out of his sight. There’s no phone, no computer, and no car. He’s also made a few calls to ensure that getting a job in town is next to impossible.

So I’ve stood by my choice. I walked away from the one person who made me feel like I could breathe. Dad wasn’t just threatening me, he was threatening everything Danner has worked for and everything we've built together.

The garden, the grant, his brothers' respect, and the Kingridge family's future was put on my shoulders. I felt the weight. My heart is shattered. But my decision had nothing to do with my happiness. My life won’t be like this forever, but I have to do what I need to survive this time in my life with as few casualties as possible.

Today I’m in the backseat of my father’s blacked-out SUV. We’re on our way to yet another event. His newest girlfriend clings to his arm in the front seat like a designer handbag, wide-eyed and silent. I’m wearing the same polished smile like an old hat. I’m dressed exactly the way he likes with neutral colors, polished hair, and shoes that make me feel small in every way that matters.

And Ihateit.

The weight of my choice sits on me like a knot on my chest, the face of the cruelest irony. Today, I won’t just stand by my father’s side at a random event. I’ll be standing in front of Brandi Rose and her TV camera, along with half the town, at Kingridge Ranch.

Today is the grand opening of the garden. This is the event that should have belonged to Danner and me. Weeks ago, I was sketching the layout for this space in Danner’s truck bed. Weeks ago, we were dreaming about it together. Now I’m here representing a man who can be a monster, who tried with everything he had to stop this from happening.

“Ladies, are we ready?” Dad’s question contains a thinly veiled threat.

“Of course.”

As we step into the garden, my breath catches in my throat. The air is thick with the scent of blooming milkweed and native mint. The beds are vibrant and wild. They are overflowing with life and bursting with color. It takes my breath away. Bees hum lazily around the flowering stalks. The sunlight bounces off rows of pollinator plants and casts golden halos over everything.

“Wow, he did it,” I mumble as I take it all in.

My father’s stare hits me like a slap in response. But I don’t care. Because this… this is perfect. Danner got it right down to thevery last detail. And all I want to do is cry.

Then I see it at the center of the garden. The greenhouse has been completely transformed. The broken glass has been replaced. The old wood is painted white. Vines climb the trellis arch outside the door. It’s stunning. Above the entry, a hand-painted sign reads,BLOOM ROOM — A place where nature can grow wild.

My heart shatters and swells in the same breath as the TV crew ushers us inside. It’s impossible not to think of the way Danner held me within these windowed walls. It’s like walking into a memory that is too good to be real.

Brandi Rose adjusts the mic pack in her back pocket. “Y’all take a moment to get acclimated. We’ll get a B-roll of you walking the space. Then we’ll come back up front for your ribbon cutting. How’s that sound?”

Like a fucking nightmare.

“Sounds fine,” Dad replies.

It’s clear he isn’t going to waste a single smile unless the camera is rolling. Dad takes off to the left, so I break right. I walk along the perimeter of the greenhouse. I look for Danner, but Pa Kingridge seems to be the only member of the family willing to be here for the mayor’s dedication ceremony.

I’ve heard they had their own party to christen the garden. That is one piece of gossip I have no doubt is true. Then a horrifying thought crosses my mind… someone must have come across my underwear at this point. I know I left them here.

The thought makes me chuckle to myself, but still, I can’t shake the sadness that settles deep in my bones. Sometimes, when people break up, they’re left wondering what could have been. Not me. I see exactly the life I’m missing out on.

My eyes are drawn to the framed and backlit images lining the wall. As I get closer, I realize they are sketches…my sketches.

Danner found them, and they’re permanently on display. My heart thuds and my jaw falls open as I walk through them. He found the ones I hid in folders, in notebooks, and kept the ones scribbled onto napkins and tucked into my purse. They’re all here like a blueprint for the garden in front of me.

One sketch in particular makes my breath catch. To most people, it’s just another garden. But I know that it’s drawn from memory, the morning after our first time together. I'd sketchedit while Danner slept next to me. My skin heats as I remember the moment that inspired that drawing. The way he moved over me in the golden morning light, the way he whispered my name like a prayer.

I tried to capture the feeling anyway I could. I wanted to remember the way it felt to be seen and wanted. In the corner, barely visible unless you know to look for it, I'd drawn two figures intertwined among the flowers. No one knows it’s us.

In it, our bodies curve together like puzzle pieces, my hand in his hair, his mouth on my throat. It's intimate. Private. The kind of sketch that was meant for my eyes only. But here it is, displayed like art. Like it matters.

The fact that Danner kept it threatens to break me. Not only that, he framed it and made it a permanent part of this public space. That’s everything I need to know about how he sees us. Not as something to hide, but as something beautiful worth celebrating.

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