Page 108 of Tame the Heart

Red dirt earth and headlights.

Slayton on his knees, hands raised in front of his face.

The gun in my hand.

Ruby stays silent, lying frozen and wide-eyed.

“So I hurt him.”

I scrub a hand down my beard, letting that same restless, raging feeling from last summer overtake me. “I didn’t know about it for a long damn time.”

Shame still eats me alive that my little sister and little brother were the ones dealing with it. I was the big brother. I was supposed to keep them safe. It’s a gutting feeling I know Ford and Davis share.

“It was midnight. I drove him out on this long dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I beat the shit out of him. I made him tell me what he did to my sister. I busted open my knuckles. I broke his ribs, his face. I did anything to make that piece of shit feel pain.”

I ball a fist, clearing the hoarseness from my throat. “And then I pulled out a gun.”

I dare a glance at Ruby. If I’m scaring her, I can’t tell. She sits still, her face pale, but placid.

“I had him there. In the dirt, the headlights, and he looked so fucking pathetic, crying his bullshit tears.” A muscle in my jaw jerks. “I felt nothing. I wanted to kill him so fucking bad. I put the muzzle against his forehead. Put my finger on the trigger.”

Lower lip trembling, she asks, “Did you kill him?”

“No. I thought of my brothers. My sister. If I killed him, no one would win.” I press Ruby’s hand to my heart. It’s pounding against my ribs. “I drove Slayton to his parents’ house and I made him tell them what he had done to my sister. And I promised that motherfucker, if he came back home again, he was a dead man.”

The longest silence falls.

And then Ruby tilts her head and asks, “Why are you telling me this, Charlie?”

I look her in the eyes. “I’m telling you this because I will always keep you safe. I will always protect you.”

She gives me a sad smile. “You can’t protect me from everything.”

“I can. And I will.”

If it’s a lie, I don’t believe it.

I believe in her, in myself.

I lean in, cupping a hand to her cheek. “No one puts their hands on you, Ruby. Do you understand me? No one touches my girl.”

A little smile curls her lips. “I’m your girl, Cowboy?” Her voice is dreamy, tired.

“You are.” The words wrench from my chest. “You’re my girl.” I sweep the hair from her eyes, urging her to sleep. “And I will never let anything happen to you.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

Ruby makes a sleepy hum of affirmation, long lashes fluttering closed. I keep her small hand in mine. Her pulse beats in my palm. I hold it against me, the very beat of it precious.

I can’t deny it anymore.

Brain, body, heart, soul—this woman’s got me roped.

You’re my girl.

Three days later, and Charlie’s words still spin in my head like a record on repeat.

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