Page 57 of One Reckless Moment

She remained quiet, but I could tell some of the tension had dissipated, so I leaned down to grip the backs of her thighs and hoisted her up into my arms. Her legs wrapped around my middle, and her head fell into the crook of my neck as I walked her to the passenger side of the truck. I placed her inside gently, reaching across to buckle her in.

As I leaned back up, I cupped her jaw and ran my thumb over her cheek. I couldn’t stand the sight of Paige in distress.

I forced myself to release her and rounded the hood to get behind the wheel. Cranking up the heat, I positioned the vents to point directly at her as she started to shiver.

I definitely broke a few laws speeding back to the ranch, but once I pulled up to the barn, I was out of the truck and ripping open Paige’s door. I didn’t give her a choice as I carried her up to the apartment. Normally, she fought when I manhandled her, but tonight her body was exhausted so she let me without protest. I carried her right to the bathroom, placing her on the counter. Reaching into the shower, I cranked it up to hot as the air steamed around us.

I peeled Paige’s soaking wet tank top off her body and unhooked her bra before helping her stand and doing the same to her shorts. I stripped out of my own clothes next and then took her hand to pull her under the hot stream.

Paige didn’t move, her eyes empty of all life as I used her shampoo to lather her hair and tipped her head back under the water. I repeated the motion with her conditioner before cleaning her entire body with her vanilla scented body wash.

When I turned her back to face me, her eyes fell to the raised skin on my chest. The same scar she wore on the left side of her ribs. It was tradition for the Brooks siblings to get branded on their eighteenth birthday. Rumor was that Walker learned about the decades-old tradition and begged Michael to do it. Walker then took on the job for the rest of the siblings.

It was like a badge of honor. Some of the ranch hands who had committed their lives to working for the Brooks Valley Ranch had them, too. The day Walker held me down was one of the proudest of my life.

Paige’s fingers traced the bold BVR on my skin like she was in a trance. On instinct, my fingers fell to cover the same letters on her skin. The day she got hers, I held her hand as Walker did it. That was before our lost time when we still considered each other friends.

That very same night, everything changed.

It was just another reminder of the history we shared—the future we would both be part of when this was all over.

Once we were clean, I cut the water and wrapped her in a towel. I’d never seen Paige so defeated like this, and I didn’t like it. This girl was always so full of sunshine and witty comebacks. She didn’t shy away from a fight and she rarely backed down when cornered. I wasn’t sure what was said between her and Lottie, but whatever it was rattled Paige to her core.

I tugged one of my shirts over Paige’s head and held up the blanket for her to slip into bed. As soon as I sank down next to her, I positioned her against my chest and kissed her forehead.

“I got you, baby,” I whispered into her damp hair.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispered back, surprising me.

I pulled up so I was looking down directly into her tired eyes. The blue was dull, as if to mimic how she was feeling. “What do you mean?”

“You tortured me for so long. Why are you being nice now?”

I thought about how to explain my feelings to Paige. It was hard to explain that it was all an act to make her hate me. It was hard to explain that I always wanted to treat her this way.

“I never felt like I was allowed to be nice to you. That was getting too close. Now, I can do whatever I want, and I want to take care of you.”

I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

“I like it when you’re nice to me,” she said against my lips.

“Me too, Pip. Me too.”

26

LITTLE BROTHERS ARE STUPID

PAIGE

When I woke up, my body felt heavy. I started the coffee maker while Cash slept in my bed. The sun was barely cresting above the mountains, but I knew I wasn’t going to fall back asleep. My mind was racing at the thought of the state of my family.

Lottie was furious.

The boys drank through it with Cash, but hadn’t spoken to me about the situation.

My mother was acting like she was over the moon.

My father had been locked in his office since our first interaction.