Page 98 of A Reckless Memory

Dad’s friendly expression was suppressing his thrill, but the shine of it was in his eyes. He enjoyed seeing me crazy about someone. “You’re welcome anytime.” He stuck his hand out. “Allan Barron. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Aggie’s eyes flickered, happy and surprised. She shook his hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”

Dad stepped back. “I hate to admit I need to rest my eyes. I’ll let you two catch up.”

“You and Archer look like him,” she murmured as Dad walked away.

“A little taller and darker hair. Otherwise, Mama said it was like we were stamped from him.”

“I wish I could’ve met her.”

“She’d have loved you and Laney. She’d have been thrilled neither of you put up with our shit.”

Her smile was faint. “You’ve put up with plenty of mine.”

I hooked my hands around her waist. “I’d like to put up with more, but first—why are you here?” I didn’t want there to be a problem. I wanted her to tell me she couldn’t go one more day without me, and even though it was my fault I wasn’t with her, she crossed the country just to hang out for a while.

“I’ve been thinking.” She chewed the inside of her cheek. “About what I really want.”

Icicles formed in my veins. Please be me. “What do you really want, Aggie?”

“You. I can sell my place and get a job out here. You’ll have to help me haul the horses because I can’t bring myself to think about selling Shelby and the rest. Then there’s Tex. I didn’t want to bring him in case...”

“There is no ‘in case.’” I’d been afraid to bring my two dreams together and watch them shatter each other, but Aggie once again proved she was way too good for me. She was willing to sell all her hard work to follow me to a plot of dust a thousand miles away? This woman was fucking amazing. She gave me herself, a cat, five horses, and even Tex, and I didn’t care if he was technically mine first. It was time to show her how important she was to me—and how much I wanted her to have her dreams. “I’m going back to you—once Dad is cleared to work again, and he’s probably moving too.”

She blinked. “You’re coming back?”

“I told you I would.”

“Not for, like, good.”

“Agatha Christie Knight—”

“I told you not to use my full name.”

“—I happen to love you.”

She snapped her mouth shut, and her eyes grew luminous. “You do?” she asked like she was afraid I’d say no.

So I’d have to tell her a million times a year for the rest of my life. “Yes. I loved you then and was too scared to admit it. But what I feel now blows what I felt then out of the water. I love you, Aggie. And it’s terrifying to admit when everyone I loved left me. Mama. Archer. Dad in his own way. You.”

“Oh, Ansen. I love you too.” Her fingers danced over my jawline. “I’ve been waiting so long to hear you say that.”

“I love you. I love you. I love you. I have a lot of damn time to make up for.” And I’d never tire of hearing the phrase slip off her tongue. “You wanted me to say it before I left, didn’t you?”

I should’ve. I should’ve gone with my instinct, but maybe a small part of me had worried the money would change me. That I would become a millionaire and turn into the guy Aggie and her brothers thought I was back then—a guy out for himself. Or I thought my dream of buying out my old home would override what was in my heart. I’d been as scared of getting the cash as everyone else was of me getting it. Aggie was the most important thing in my life, and money had fucked it up once.

“I just thought...” Her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips. “If you said the words, then you were really coming back.”

Even a fucking jackass would’ve picked up on that. “I felt it, Aggie. It’s important to me to prove it, and you being down here, ready to come after my stupid ass? It means the world. You mean the world. I love you.” I planted my mouth on hers, then pulled away. “I have a brother again. My dad. You. I’d be a fool to give you up, and I’m going to spend my life proving I’m not a fool.”

“Your home—”

“Is wherever you are. Not where my memories are. I’m not buying the ranch I grew up on.” My calloused fingers bumped over her smooth skin. “You are my home.”

The brown in her eyes went liquid, but worry sparked in the green flecks. “But what will you do?”

The answer popped into my head instantly. If it hadn’t been for my single-minded obsession about getting back what I had when I was younger, I’d have seen the answer before. Laughter spilled out of me. Her brows drew together, and I kissed the crease they made. “I’m going to give Lorenzo a call.”

---