“And one day, he may have questions. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“We?” she asks.
“Yeah, Firefly.We.You and Trace aremine.And since I’m officially retired, I have no other plans but being where you are.”
“I feel guilty,” she whispers.
“Why?”
“Because I’m glad he’s gone,” she admits. Her eyes mist over. “I’m a terrible person.”
“No.” I shake my head and cup her face. “You’re human.” I toss her words back. “You have complicated feelings. That doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”
“I used to have complicated feelings about you,” she confesses.
I lift a brow. “And now?”
She smiles softly. “Now. It’s not complicated at all.”
“How so?” I brush a piece of hair from her face.
“Now I’m done holding onto the past. To mistakes. To regrets.” Her arms wind around my neck. “I want to live in thenow.I don’t want to miss a single second.”
“Every single second,” I mutter.
“That’s right.” She pushes up on her toes. “Keep holding on.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I am never letting go.
“Trace at school?” Cooper asks when I walk into the office the next morning.
“Yeah, Laiken went to drop him off.” I go to the coffeepot he has in the corner of the room. “She should be back soon. She’s taking the rest of the week off.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be rehabbing your shoulder?” He lifts a brow.
“I mean, it’s not like I’m going back to riding. It’s fine. We’ll finish when we can. She’s had a lot on her plate.”
“So you’re retired? Officially?”
“Yep.” I nod. “I’m waiting to make a media statement until everything dies down here. Last thing I need is a bunch of reporters showing up.”
“Truth.”
“Morning.” Maddox walks in, zipping up his coat.
We unfortunately drew thecold as shitcard this morning. I’d rather move cattle in the summer than freezing temps any day of the week.
“Hey.” I tilt my chin just as Ryder walks in.
He bypasses the coffeepot, going to his designated file cabinet he leans against every morning.
Once he gets settled, his phone rings.
“Hey.” Laiken’s voice comes from behind me as Ryder answers his phone.
“Hey, baby.”
She presses a kiss to my lips before Ryder holds up a hand.
