She turns to Billy, who is sitting at the foot of the bed, looking at her. “Billy,” she says.
He crawls up the bed, stopping right in front of her to put his hands on her cheeks.
“I hated you,” he says. “For five years, I hated you because I loved you so much it was killing me.”
She nods as tears spill over.
“But I don’t hate you anymore,” he says. “I can’t. Not after this. You’re part of me. You’re part of us.”
“I love you, Billy,” she whispers. “I’m sorry I left. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“I know,” he says. “We’ll figure it out. We have time.”
He kisses her forehead, and we sit there—the four of us. The pack.
I check my watch, and my stomach drops.
“So,” I say. “Now that we’ve established we’re all disgustingly in love…”
Sedona looks at me. “Shit!”
“What is it?” My chest constricts. Did I already fuck this up?
Her eyes widen. “The rodeo,” she breathes.
I feel my heartbeat begin to slow down. “What is it?”
“The bronc riding,” she says.
“Yeah?”
“It’s today, right?” she asks.
“Uh-huh.”
“What time?” she asks.
“This afternoon,” I say. “I think the first chute opens at four.”
“You have to go,” she says.
I shake my head. “No. I’m not leaving you. You can barely walk. You’re exhausted. You need?—”
“I need you to go,” she says firmly.
“Sedona—”
“No, Tex,” she says, pushing my chest with what little strength she has left. “You’ve been training for this. You’ve been working for this. Tripp is going to be there. The whole town is going to be there.”
“I don’t care about Tripp,” I say.
“I do,” she says. “I want you to beat him. I want you to get on that horse and show them what a Carson looks like.”
“I’m not leaving you alone,” I say.
“I’m not alone,” she says, gesturing to Billy and Seth. “I have them. I’ll be fine. I’m going to sleep for another twelve hours anyway.”
She grabs my face and pulls me in, kissing me. It’s a different kiss than the ones in the heat. It’s not frantic. It’s not desperate. It’s a promise.
