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16
Dax
Progress. That’s all he could think about. Sarah had opened up to him about something small. Strangely enough, he didn’t carewhatshe’d done to get community service.
The only thing that rubbed him the wrong way was the fact that Zeke had kept this a secret from him. It might have been nice to know from the beginning about why she was at the ranch.
Then again, if he had been told, would he have developed an interest in her? Dax let his gaze linger on her, noting that she was far more relaxed than she had been at the beginning of their ride. He couldn’t help but be impressed by her. But that was now. Deep down he knew he would have dismissed her if he’d found out she was a criminal.
An ache started in his chest and spread out. He had been in her shoes before, so judging her made him a hypocrite. Being around her made him want to be even better. He was a work in progress.
The whole ride back to the ranch, Dax studied her. Sarah didn’t seem like the type to get into trouble. She’d hinted at problems with her family. Growing up, he had met a multitude of people who made poor decisions because the expectations at home had been too much to handle.
It wouldn’t be a far stretch to imagine that Sarah had that kind of experience.
Sarah glanced at him and frowned. Dang it. She’d caught him staring. “What?”
He removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair, then shrugged. “Nothing.”
“It’s killing you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She heaved a sigh and shifted in the saddle, looking away. Her gaze remained on the trail in front of her, and she kept her spine stiff. “You want to know what I did. You want to know if I can be trusted.”
Dax arched a brow. “Is that what you’re worried about?”
Lifting a shoulder, she shot a quick look in his direction. Her hands fiddled with the rope in her hands as she twisted the cords around her fingers. The discomfort had returned and more than anything, he empathized.
“I want to make one thing perfectly clear.” He waited for her to meet his gaze before he continued. “Like I said before, I did some pretty bad stuff, too.”
She snorted. “I find that hard to believe.”
“It’s true. There was a time when I was in trouble with the law. I had a problem with alcohol and I got into some pretty bad drugs.”
Her eyes widened, more shock than judgment.
“Yep.” He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “I had to realize that I wanted to make a change. I needed to decide what was most important to me. Did I want to continue down the path I was taking, or did I want to be better?” Dax didn’t know what had come over him. He shouldn’t be telling her any of this. It wasn’t something he even shared with Brielle.
Yes, Brielle knew some of it. She was aware that he’d fallen in with a bad crowd. But only because they’d practically been raised side by side. But did she knoweverything? No. Zeke had shielded them all from his bad influence.
Dax peeked at Sarah, her shocked expression like a slap in the face. He’d done so much to get away from that life—to forget it. But that’s not what AA was supposed to teach him. He needed to remember each and every mistake he made so he didn’t make them again.
Swallowing hard, Dax forced himself to continue. “As you might have guessed, I chose to walk away from that life and do what I could to make up for it. The road is not easy, but with family and friends to support you, it’s possible.”
Her features flattened. “You don’t know my family.”
“Right now, your family is at Slate Rock Ranch.Weare your family. It might be hard to accept sometimes, but I would bet my favorite horse that those people care about you more than you realize. You just have to give them a chance.”
If she needed any evidence, all she had to do was think back to her accident. He wasn’t the only one who had been worried about her. He straightened in his saddle. “Maybe you just need to find a way to make that connection.” He’d had to finally accept help and go to his first meeting. But that wasn’t something he had to share. That’s where he drew the line.
“You’re a good egg, Sarah. Even I can see it.”
“Thanks,” she murmured.
The air had gone cold once more, and Dax found himself wanting to maintain that connection they’d managed to find earlier. He wasn’t accustomed to feeling this way—not even when he’d been dating Brielle. But that didn’t mean anything. He had just found a good connection with Sarah, that was all.
“What are your plans after you’re done here?”
