Another punch.
Please move on.
Another. And another and another…until my knuckles were bloody, my breath was gone, and I had no strength left in my legs to stand. And when I couldn’t stand, when the anger retreated, a fierce cold, hollowness took its place in my soul. I roared out to the sky above me.
She was gone. Her and the baby… they were gone.
And they’d stolen my heart with it.
“Mav…Maverick!”
I wasn’t sure who was speaking, and honestly, I didn’t really care. A heavy emptiness had settled around me, and it was all I could do to force air into my lungs. Not even the sun shining down could warm the cold I felt in my heart. In my soul.
I laid curled up on the front porch, pain thrumming from the tips of my fingers and snaking up my hand and wrist. I’d broken something. Multiple somethings, if I were being honest, but the pain was nothing. Physical pain I could deal with. The thing about being beaten is it makes you tough. Makes pain just a part of the process. Bones mend. Cuts heal. Bruises disappear. But a broken heart. That didn’t heal. You kept that hurt with you forever.
“Shit. What the hell happened?” That sounded like Cash.
Two sets of hands grabbed me up by the shoulders, and after blinking a few times against the sunlight, Ryder and Cash’s features swam into focus.
“What the fuck happened?” Ryder asked, his dark gaze filled with worry, the scowl on his face pulling on his scar.
“She’s gone.” It didn’t even sound like me. There was no life. Nothing to it. It was just…hollow.
Cash scowled and pulled off his sunglasses as he asked, “What do you mean gone?”
I waved a hand toward the tire marks on the gravel leading away from her spot by my truck. “I mean she’s gone. Left a letter and shit. She ain’t comin’ back.” Pain shot through my fingers like lightning and I winced before letting out a curse.
“Fuck,” Ryder breathed, looking at my hand. “Is that from the fight?”
I shook my head, taking in the damage, before glancing at the splintered wood of the column. It hadn’t even cracked it in two.But that’s what I got for going up against a four by four. Both Cash’s and Ryder’s gazes fell on me.
“Well, damn.” Cash met my stare, a determined set to his jaw. “Let’s clean you up and go after her.”
I shook my head, though every bit of me wanted to nod. “No.”
Cash rocked back at the words, confusion washing over him. “What? What do you mean?”
“She told me not to come after her.”
Ryder pulled his ball-cap off his head, raking a hand through his hair as he let out a loud sigh. “Goddamn it, Mav. Just cuz she says that, don’t mean she don’t want it.”
“You’re wrong, Ryder. That piece of shit threatened her again. I don’t know how or what he said, but she’s gone. She don’t want to involve me in any more of that, so I have to respect her wishes.”
I expected Cash to argue—him and I usually disagreed on how to go about things—but I didn’t expect the anger or argument from Ryder. “You’re really gonna let her go? Why? Why’re you givin’ up on her?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I didn’t know what to say. There wasn’t a reason that would convince him. But it didn’t matter what Ryder thought, Cheyenne didn’t want me chasing after her. And I loved her enough to respect that. He didn’t have to understand or agree. But it’s how it was.
Ryder shook his head, chewing on his bottom lip like he was ready to scold me. It was weird having the roles turned. I was typically the one talking sense into him and Cash.
“Come on,” Cash cut in, breaking the tension brewing between Ryder and I. “Let’s get you to Charlie and Ryder’s place. Mama and Dad just got there. Mama’ll take a look at it.”
I didn’t want to go. Every fiber of my being urged me to stay here. Right in this place, lest Cheyenne somehow, some way miraculously came back.
But she wouldn’t.
I knew that in my heart of hearts. So, blowing out a deep breath, trying to block out the pulsing in my hand, I gave him a stiff nod.
“My heaven, what onearth happened to you, Maverick James?” Aunt Violet’s voice held a shrill note to it as she shot from the kitchen to examine me. Bad’s closed off expression gave nothing away, but there was a sad, knowing look in his eyes if you knew what to look for.
