AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fallon offers a one-shoulder shrug. The blazing anger in her eyes is the only telltale sign she’s hurt. “There is no Wyatt,” she drawls with a vigorous shake of her head. “He is an absolute clown shoe I plan to stay far, far away from.”
Not speaking, we stare into the darkened alleyway. Stars sparkle in the inky night sky. There’s enough moonlight to see the graffitied brick walls and beer cans trashed on the ground. The scent of pine and summer hangs in the air. A cool breeze dries the sweat on my brow and I inhale deep, breathing it in.
I’m glad for the break after what happened back in the bar, courtesy of the shots and the fast dancing. I press a hand to my still-thundering heart, willing it to return to a normal heartbeat. One that won’t have me passing out on the dance floor.
The thought is like a taser to my emotions, bringing me down. Tonight is an awful reminder about the truth of my situation. My condition.
I close my eyes.
I’m lying to Charlie.
My heart isn’t fine, will never be fine.
Charlie wants kids. Something I can never give him because of my heart.
I shake my head, angry at myself for even entertaining the thought. It doesn’t matter. We’re not there and never will be.
In eight weeks, I’m leaving.
A crunch of rock and dirt sounds as Fallon tosses her cigarette on the ground and grinds the ember out with her boot. “So. How goes the dance floor with Charlie Montgomery? You two looked good out there.”
“It’s fun. Summer fun,” I amend, not sure why I’m trying to clarify it. Maybe because denial’s easier when you say it out loud. When you allow other people to hear it and give it life.
She considers this, her hazel eyes flittering. “Do you like it here? In Resurrection?”
“I do. I love it.”
“But not enough to stay?”
I hesitate, debating on saying more, saying everything. “No. I can’t.”
“You’re lucky,” she says, longing seeping into her husky voice. “You can leave whenever you want.”
But I don’t want to leave.
This town feels like mine. I feel like I belong. The air’s different here. My heart’s different here, like it pumps harder for the sheer reason of being on Runaway Ranch.
I thought I could do this. I thought it’d be easy. Make some money. Help some ranchers. Have good sex with the grumpy cowboy and then fly the coop.
No strings.
And yet ...
Charlie still wears my ribbon on his wrist.
What does that mean?
Nothing.
It has to mean absolutely nothing.
“What’s it like?” I ask Fallon. “To ride?”
Her hard eyes soften. For a few seconds, she’s quiet. When she speaks up, her expression is ethereal, dreamy. “It makes me crazy, but it makes me live.” Passion laces her voice. “I woulddiefor it. I would die if I could never do it again.” Arching a brow, her gaze lands on me. “I’m well aware those two things are mutually exclusive.”
A shiver runs over me. I feel the same way.
“You’ve never ridden a horse?”
