The familiar guilt presses down on my chest. I’ve spent my whole life measuring myself by that question.
“I didn’t mean to—” I start.
Evan cuts me off with a sharp laugh. “You never do. That’s the problem. You don’t think things through.”
I flinch.
“Honestly,” he continues, shaking his head, “this whole thing feels like you losing your mind because you got distracted by some fantasy version of yourself.”
Fantasy.
I picture snow falling softly in Buckhorn. A warm kitchen. Dallas’s voice askingWhat do you want, Faith?like it was a real question, not a test.
Evan stops pacing and looks at me again, eyes narrowing slightly.
“And that cowboy,” he says, the word dripping with contempt. “I can’t believe you blew up your entire future over him.”
My head lifts before I can stop it.
“Don’t,” I say quietly.
Evan blinks. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t talk about him like that.”
His mouth curves into a smirk. “Like what? Like he’s some kind of savior?”
My pulse starts to race.
“He’s a small-town widower with a kid and a failing ranch,” Evan continues, warming to it now. “You think that’s a future? You think that man can give you anything other than a distraction?”
Heat flares in my chest.
“Stop,” I say, louder.
Evan’s eyebrows lift. “Wow. There she is.”
I take a step forward without realizing it, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it might break my ribs. “You don’t get to talk about him. You don’t know him.”
Evan scoffs. “Oh, I know his type. Men like that love playing hero. Makes them feel important.”
“That’s not who he is,” I say, shaking now. “He’s kind. He listens. He treats people like they matter.”
Evan laughs. “He treated you like a project, Faith. Something broken he could fix.”
“That’s not true!” The words rip out of me, raw and desperate. “He never tried to fix me. He just… he let me be myself.”
Evan’s face hardens.
“That’s exactly the problem,” he snaps. “You don’t get to blow up a life that was already building.”
“We didn’t build anything,” I say, the truth spilling out before fear can stop it. “You built a life and expected me to fit into it.”
Silence slams down between us.
Evan stares at me like I’ve said something obscene.
“Is this really about him?” he asks slowly. “You’re choosinghimover me? Over your father?”
