Page 102 of One Reckless Moment

That girl had been afraid to live her life out loud.

That girl had been terrified to put her heart on the line.

I placed my suitcases on my bedroom floor and plopped onto my bed. The last few days I had been freaking out about coming home. It was a mixture of pure excitement and nerves. I was sure of what I wanted, but what if I was too different now?

A knock sounded at my door, and when I answered it Reid was standing with his hands in his pockets and a goofy smile on his face. I ran into his chest as he squeezed his arms around me.

“Missed you, P,” he said into my hair.

“I missed you, too.”

Reid pulled back and nodded toward the stables. “Come on, I have something to show you.”

I closed the door behind me and followed Reid down the stairs. We passed the training paddock as the stables came into view. I was so excited to see Shadow, but the moment we turned into the stables, I halted in my tracks.

Red rose petals lined the aisle and ended right at the gate of Shadow’s stall.

“Go on,” Reid said as he gestured for me to walk forward by nudging my shoulders with both hands.

I furrowed my brows in confusion as he started to retreat backward.

My heart rate picked up as I followed the trail of roses and peered inside. Shadow whinnied the moment she saw me, and I squealed as I ran up to her.

She nuzzled her nose into me, and I sighed a breath of relief. I didn’t realize how much of my soul was missing while I had been away from this place. When I pulled back, I noticed that Shadow’s mane was braided with little white flowers tucked throughout it. I ran my fingers over the soft hairs and tears sprang to my eyes.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned, expecting to see Reid standing there. I froze when Cash Leonard stood in the stall entrance. He was wearing light-wash Wranglers that hugged his thighs and a plain white tee that was a little too tight on his biceps. My eyes trailed up to the brown cowboy hat on his head and he flashed me his classic smile that made me melt every single time.

“Hey, Pip,” he said, snapping me out of my trance.

“Hey, Leonard.” My voice broke and tears rimmed my eyes.

I fisted my hands at my side to keep myself from running into him. We had a lot to talk about, and I was unsure how he felt. I’d run out on him. I left in the morning without leaving a note. I abandoned him on our journey. He could very well hate me.

And I loved him. I had always loved him.

I wanted to be together, and admitting that was terrifying.

I needed my time in California. I needed the space to process my thoughts. I needed to see more than Montana. But all that time showed me that my life here was exactly what I wanted. The grass is always greener if you constantly doubt yourself.

Now I knew what I wanted.

We stood in silence for a few seconds until he took a step in my direction.

I took that step as permission to let my self-control snap. I ran up to him and jumped into his arms. He caught me as my legs wrapped around his hips. He gripped me impossibly tight and sighed into my hair.

The feeling of being in his arms again was too much and I could feel the tears falling before it even registered that I was crying.

“I missed you, baby girl,” he whispered into my hair.

“I missed you, too.” My voice croaked and I squeezed my arms tighter around him.

Cash placed me back on my feet and cupped my jaw, wiping at my tears with his thumb.

“Don’t cry, it’s okay.”

I nodded and wiped my eyes. I was stupid to think that the connection Cash and I shared would disappear from a little distance. Still, the longer I was in California, the more the intrusive thoughts crept in.

“I have something to show you.”