Page 75 of Lost Trust

“I’m gonna pay Jovie’s dad and brother to.”

“We can do it.”

Marina

It’s good to be back in Wyoming. I felt like I could breathe easier the minute the plane touched down.

I don’t have much to unpack.

Two trunks. That’s it.

A few changes of clothes for me and Ryder. His boots. Some pajamas. A handful of books. A few of his favorite toys.

Shelby sits cross-legged on the floor beside one trunk, folding Ryder’s shirts and stacking them on the bed, while Evelyn sorts through the other. Sunlight spills through the bedroom windows, making the whole place feel warm and golden.

I didn’t want to drag our old life into this one. Not the furniture. Not the decorations. Not the memories attached to every room of that condo.

I even told the realtor to sell it fully furnished.

Blaze had picked out everything in there anyway.

We’d bought that condo together after my last world championship win. At the time, it felt like a symbol of everything we’d built. The money. The success. The life we were supposed to have.

After he left, he signed it over to me.

Apparently, he thought that was sufficient compensation for the years we had spent together.

For all the broken promises.

I bite the inside of my cheek and place another pair of Ryder’s jeans on top of the pile.

Hopefully, the condo sells quickly. If it does, I can pay off what debts I have left, get myself a car that can handle Wyoming winters, and put whatever is left into an account for Ryder’s future.

Because I don’t foresee Blaze helping with any of that.

“I’m still trying to understand it,” Shelby says.

I glance over at her.

She’s sitting on her heels now, holding one of Ryder’s little flannel shirts in her hands.

“Understand what?”

“How he could just … walk away like that.” Her brow furrows as she folds the shirt carefully. “I can’t understand a man not wanting his child.” She looks at me. “Especially one like Ryder. That kid idolizes everything rodeo. He seems like exactly the kind of kid any cowboy would want.”

“In theory, yes,” I say. “But Blaze is selfish.”

The words come easily now. They used to hurt to say.

Now they just feel like facts.

“What he realized was that you can’t be a parent and be selfish.” I place a set of my pajamas in the dresser and close the drawer. “Because it isn’t about you anymore. Everything changes when you have a kid. Your wants become secondary. Your plans have to bend. Sometimes, you have to give things up.” I glance toward the hallway, where Ryder is currently entertaining himself with a toy truck. “He didn’t want that.”

Shelby’s expression softens.

“He wants the spotlight. He wants the wins. He wants a gorgeous woman on his arm and a life that looks good from the outside.” I shrug, though there’s nothing casual about the words. “He doesn’t want anything tying him down or getting in his way.”

“And Ryder would have done that?” she asks.