I hated that he gave her that.
I hated that I didn’t trust it to last.
That I didn't trust him, even if she did.
“They’ve been together three months,” I said softly. “She’s happy. I don’t agree with it. I don’t like him. But I need to support her in this.”
Jack groaned and turned to me, "You're just gonna let this happen?"
I met his gaze. “I told her my concerns, Jack, but if I push too hard, she will pull away. I won’t lose her over this. Over him.”
He gave a small nod, barely perceptible.
Then he turned and walked away.
No goodbyes.
Just like last time.
And I stood there, watching the bike fade down the street, heart in my throat and a prayer on my tongue: Please don’t let him be the reason she breaks again.
CHAPTER 85
HARLAN - COUNTING EVERY SECOND
The air smelled like mud, ash, and diesel.
The kind of mix that lingered after a fire burned too fast to take down the whole structure, but hot enough to leave its mark. What was left of the barn was still smouldering, the corrugated roof buckled in on itself like a broken ribcage.
Gray stood beside me, hands on his hips, jaw tight.
“Wasn’t an accident,” he said.
“Nope.”
We didn’t say anything for a moment, just listened. A low, pained whinny echoed from behind the ruin, weak and ragged.
That was why I’d called Cole.
We followed the sound around what was left of the fence line, and there she was, skinny, trembling, eyes too wide and wild. A pale mare with burn scars across her side and blood on her haunches.
“Jesus,” Gray muttered.
“Cole’s already on his way.”
“He’ll fix her up,” Gray said with a nod. “He’s good at that now.”
He didn’t sayheused to be good at breaking things, but we were both thinking it.
I glanced toward the dirt road where Cole’s truck would pull up any minute and felt something settle in my chest. The man who once led a chapter that glorified pain now ran a ranch that rescued those who were broken. It wasn’t redemption exactly, but it was damn close.Maybe Spike can turn it around too,I thought.Maybe Remi’s right.
I still didn’t trust the guy, not fully. I had been staying away, so I didn't say something I couldn't take back and screw up my relationshipwith Remi. Remi seemed to be doing the same; holidays were now separate, a strain I knew we all felt.
It still gnawed at me, the way she’d said,“I’m happy. Let me be happy.”The way her voice had cracked. The way she smiled now, like she didn’t think she had to apologize for it.
People changed. Hell, I was living proof.
Cole’s headlights cut through the gloom, and I waved him in. The mare tried to back away, but she didn’t have it in her.
