Page 48 of The One Who Saw Her: Boone

Then Vivi appeared at the edge of the yard—practically bouncing on her toes. She skipped toward him, eyes sparkling, hands clasped together like she couldn't contain what she was feeling.

"Boone! Did you see the turnout? Can you believe all these people showed up? Isn't it amazing?"

Just for a second he let himself look at her—really look at her—and what he saw cracked one of those walls he’d so carefully constructed.

"I can believe it," he said. His voice came out quieter than he intended. Rough around the edges and soft in the middle.

"All of this is because of you too, you know," she said. "You've got the ranch, the community, your family. And now look, everyone's here because it matters to you."

Boone's gaze swept over the scene—the stations she'd marked out, the volunteers coordinating and laughing, the care she'd poured into every last detail—then looked back at her.

"I didn't realize you'd done all this. You pulled this off, all by yourself."

Her chest puffed slightly. "Not by myself. The townspeople pitched in. And your brothers helped."

"That's complete bullshit," Eli said.

"This woman did all the heavy lifting," Colter said. "Every bit of it."

Boone studied her face and, shit, he was in trouble because something rolled over in his chest in a manner that was inconvenient as hell.

"Of course she did," he said, almost to himself. "Look at all this. Look at what you built." Her face lit up. "When you first told me your plan, I thought maybe a few people would show. I never imagined this."

Her smile widened and Boone felt his chest tighten in a way that had nothing to do with frustration anymore—and everything to do with the fact that he was running out of reasons to keep his distance.

Colter and Eli exchanged a glance beside him, shit-eating grins spreading across their faces. Boone caught the look and shook his head, a small private groan escaping before he could stop it.

Maybe they were right. Maybe he’d come across something he couldn’t outrun.

"Come on, Cowboy," Vivi said, clapping her hands. "Let's go show everyone where we're starting. You're going to love it!"

"I'll be right there," he said.

She spun away and he watched her go—clipboard tucked under her arm, her new cowgirl boots already muddy, pulling the whole scene along in her wake.

"Don't tell me you're going soft," Colter said under his breath.

"Doesn't change a thing."

Colter nudged him, the grin fading into something more serious. "Yeah, it does. It changes everything, if you let it. Every fence you've mended, every herd you've moved, this is just a new kind of challenge. One I think might be worth it."

Eli's voice went quiet. "You've spent your whole life holding everything together. Maybe it's not always about that, maybe sometimes it's about knowing when to stop defending your heart and actually use it."

Like a heat-seeking missile, Boone's eyes found her across the yard. She was ass-up while bending over to help Jo move a coffee table and laughing at some kind of inside joke—completely in her element in a town she'd never planned on visiting. She didn't need him to save her. Hell, she didn't need him at all and that made the wanting worse. Made it feel less like weakness and more like something he was choosing—whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Maybe the bunkhouse wasn't the only thing that needed fixing. Maybe he had a few walls of his own to tear down.

CHAPTER 20

Vivi’s had finished her second cup of coffee when she realized she hadn’t blinked once since the barn raising ended. She perched on a stool at Espresso Yourself, rubbing her temples and wondering if a brain could short-circuit from excitement.

The turnout had been incredible, and she couldn't stop replaying Boone's expression when he saw it all. Pride and surprise and this softness underneath that gruff exterior that made her stomach do flips.

Jo leaned against the counter, one eyebrow quirked, like she was daring Vivi to admit what was really on her mind.

"You look like you wrestled a tornado and lost, but somehow grinned through the mess. So you want to tell me how the rest of the fundraiser went after I left?"

Vivi smiled faintly. "Better than I ever expected."