Page 52 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy
“I believe so.” She didn’t sound upset by the notion, though I still didn’t believe it would benefit us.
“Tell me more about the orc kingdom? You mentioned insect lights. Do you have them inside your homes as well?”
“We have non-natural lights in our houses that are similar to electricity here. We make power from the flow of the rivers.”
“Hydroelectric.”
“Yes. But our outside, insect lights, while functional, are nothing like the stars.” I tipped my head back to scan the sky. “I haven’t stopped marveling at it since I came. The brightness, the clouds, even how the air feels different. It’s…” My words trailed off as I looked at her. I wanted to tell her that even the brightest stars couldn’t outshine her when she smiled but swallowed the thought.
Silence stretched between us, but it didn’t feel empty.
I turned, watching her profile. Everything in me wanted to step closer, to say what I felt, tell her she mattered to me in ways I didn’t yet have the words for. But I didn’t know what she was ready for. I didn’t know what she wanted.
After a moment, she spoke, her eyes still on the herd. “My ex needed control. Over everything. Me, especially.”
My muscles tensed. If this male was here… Orc justice was swift and decisive.
“He’d get mad when I made decisions without him,” she said. “He twisted things. Used silence like a knife. Sometimes worse.” Her shoulders tightened. “He always made it about money. That was his favorite leash. He worked hard. No denying that. And he did well, better than me. I was still training with the chef who gave me my first job. I could pay my own way, but he made more than twice as much as me. Boy did he enjoy lording that over me, how he'd paid the rent, the bills, while I barely contributed. By then, though, I had Max, and daycare is expensive.”
I didn’t want to breathe. A sharp ache filled my chest.
“You didn’t deserve that,” I said. “Not any of it. I wish none of it had happened to you.”
She nodded. Her face gave little away, but her eyes… I saw everything there. Raw truth, plus a part of herself I'd bet she rarely let others see.
We stayed like that for a while. Leaning against the fence, breathing.
My insides tightened. I wanted to reach for her, promise things I wasn’t sure I had the right to give. She was healing. Maybe still figuring out what it meant to be free.
She let out a breath, and a trace of smile touched her lips. “Let’s walk some more.”
I eased away from the fence, falling into step beside her as we followed the packed trail running beside the field. Dirt andflattened grass crunched beneath our boots. I shortened my strides to match hers.
The valley stretched out around us, quiet and shadowy. Trees at the far end looked like cutouts pressed against the sky. The rhythm of our steps made the quiet feel deeper, more open.
“What do you want for your future?” I asked.
She didn’t answer right away.
A few more steps passed before she spoke, almost under her breath. “I want to feel safe. Settled. I want Max to grow up strong. Kind. Confident. I want him to know he’s loved every single day.”
My swallow took forever to go down, and I nodded. “And what do you want for yourself?”
She stopped. I halted beside her. Moonlight caught the curve of her cheek as she turned, not looking at me but at the big open valley. “I never really thought about it. I guess I didn’t know I could dream for myself. Not until we came here.”
Pain shifted in my chest.
“If you want to tell me,” I said, my voice rough. “I’d like to hear.”
She looked up, swallowed, and lifted her chin. “It sounds silly, but lately, Ihavebeen dreaming of things for myself.”
“There's nothing silly about that. We all need to dream. Like what?”
She shrugged. “Okay, so… I like being here, Sel.” Her cheeks were pink from the cool air or maybe something more. “Lonesome Creek, and well, I can’t imagine leaving. You probably already know, but I figured I should at least say it.”
My pulse skidded, trying to catch up to her words.
For a moment, everything inside me went still. Was she including me in what she liked about this dusty Wild West town?
