Page 137 of Power
“Buttercup!” Tears blurred my vision as I finally reached her, burying my face in her warm neck, breathing in that familiar scent of hay and sunshine. “Yes, I see! You’re back with your best friend!”
She made that soft, happy whicker, nuzzling against my shoulder.
“When you love someone, you never want to be without them, do you?” I pulled back, stroking her velvety muzzle.
She looked right into my eyes with that deep, knowing gaze that horses sometimes had—like they understood more about theuniverse than we ever would—and her eyes were brimming with unmistakable joy.
It wasn’t until this moment that I truly took in my surroundings. The rolling pastures seemed endless, offering more space than any stable I’d ever seen. The barn itself was magnificent, a cathedral to equine comfort with soaring ceilings and sunlight streaming through perfectly placed windows. Inside, I could glimpse spacious stalls and a staff complete with its own full-time veterinarian. It was as if someone had plucked the image of horse paradise from my dreams and built it here on earth.
“How?” I asked as Jace approached, his steps unhurried, giving me this moment with Buttercup.
Without the bandage on his neck, the red raised line across his skin caught the sunlight. A reminder of how close I’d come to losing him and how close we’d come to never having this moment.
“I actually arranged this before I went to the hospital,” he said, running his hand gently along the other love of my life’s neck. “Made some calls and had her moved. I was hoping you wouldn’t be angry.”
“Angry?” I balked. “Why would giving Buttercup the life of her dreams make me angry?”
He looked up at my magnificent girl, then locked his beautiful green eyes on mine. Something vulnerable flickered there, something I was still getting used to seeing in a man who commanded other CEOs.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but the last time I tried to do something big for you, you walked out of the restaurant and yelled at me in the rain.” My cheeks burned at the memory of him giving me that promotion, the night that had started with champagne and ended with mascara-streaked accusations. “Plus, you tend to push back hard when people do things for you. Pay for things, for example.” His voice held no judgment, just careful observation, his eyes studying me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve.
I laughed softly, wiping away a stray tear with the back of my hand.
“Yeah. I guess I’ve been pretty strict about that.”
“But when I heard you were willing to sell her to try to give her a better life here, I made up my mind. I was going to pay to have her moved and fund all of her expenses for the rest of her life. You would never have to leave your horse or feel guilty about keeping her for yourself.”
“That was before you were stabbed?” Something warm took flight in my chest.
He nodded, as if that specific detail behind his grand gesture wasn’t significant.
“So, you did this, not knowing if we would even be together?”
He shrugged, like it was no big deal. Like he hadn’t just found the key to my soul. And, sure, I could take a moment to appreciate how much I’d changed. The old me would have been ten levels of upset at someone “solving my problems” for me. Would have seen it as control, disguised as kindness.
But the new me? The new me grasped on to joy and happiness like a drug I couldn’t get enough of. The new me savored professions of love in whatever form they took. And loved to return them.
I wrapped my arms around Jace’s back, pressing my mouth to his. He stiffened in surprise for just a moment before melting into me, his lips curving into a smile against mine. Our kiss evolved and deepened until Buttercup nudged us apart with her nose, as if reminding us we weren’t alone.
How lucky was I that he lived? Our lawyers were confident that Marcus would be found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. A class three felony would put him behind bars for fifteen years. I caught the dangerous glint in Jace’s friends’ eyes—that hunger for vengeance—but either they’d found the strength to resist or Blake had talked them down from doing something reckless in his ER to Marcus. Either way, I didn’t care anymore.My heart had found its home in Jace, and I couldn’t imagine a life more perfect than this one. A life I’d nearly lost forever.
After what happened in the elevator, the board of directors had come around. They realized they’d been manipulated by Marcus, who was the one who had sent that grainy photo, which had since been destroyed. They traced it back to his IP address, and once they realized they’d been played, they put their trust back in Jace. Where it should have been all along. The company was thriving under his leadership now. It was still early days, but everything was headed in the right direction.
And then there was my mom, who finally had a job. My father, meanwhile, sat in jail on assault charges, where he’d be for quite some time. And while one day, he’d be released, I had seen my mom’s confidence grow with each day that she stood on her own two feet. It was as if my father’s words had tunneled their way into her self-esteem, and each independent step she took slowly rebuilt it, one brick at a time. Making her realize she was, in fact, better off without him. And she could absolutely do this on her own.
As for Jace and me … we were gloriously, impossibly happy and in love. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve this, but I knew one thing for certain: I would never take a single moment for granted.
I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, breathing in his familiar scent.
“I can’t wait to dance with you at Blake and Tessa’s wedding.”
He smiled that smile, the one that still made my stomach flip, trailing his knuckles down my jaw.
“They’re getting married fast.”
I laughed. “You’d think a wedding planner would want some elaborate yearlong extravaganza, but no. She’s practically ready to elope in sweatpants if it means being Blake’s wife sooner.”
“It’s good, seeing Blake like this,” Jace said, his voice softening. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
