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“So, she’s bait?” Coco asks and steps closer to Goose. “That’s fucked up. You should leave.”
“No.”
“Well, we’re leaving,” Coco says despite making no move toward the door. “And I’ve contacted Suzanne so she can organize security. It’ll be fine, Austen.”
Though I hear my friend’s words, I don’t feel like I’m really here in Banta City. I’ve fallen into the past, where I rode my father’s horses on his majestic land. I wore my favorite brown cowboy hat and boots with spurs. I was free of all my current neuroses. I feared only two things—closed-in spaces and Walla Walla’s rejection.
That summer, I learned there were far more painful threats than a spoiled rich girl like me could have imagined.
I wasn’t untouchable back then. After years of suffocating my wild nature, I’m even weaker now.
“I don’t know what to do,” I tell Walla Walla. “I can’t see clearly.”
Tears burn my eyes as I feel trapped between my muted life here in Banta City and the allure of a wild place that nearly destroyed me.
“I can’t claim to know all the answers. But those assholes will be able to hide here in the city like they can’t in our territory. If they’re really set on hurting you, they can wait until your guard is down.”
“I can’t go back to Canary Basin.”
“Then, come to McMurdo Valley.”
His words sound so alluring. The idea is ridiculous, of course. However, Walla Walla is staggeringly handsome. I’ve never seen him up close like this before. His direct gaze tugs me closer, promising I can trust him.
Walla Walla is the main reason I’ve never successfully dated. Unwilling to sacrifice my dream for us, I pushed away men, hid myself, and allowed my trauma to keep me afraid.
Now, the past is back, and I’m faced with my dream man. His hand has reclaimed mine. Walla Walla makes sense in the way only a deliciously sexy man can. I’m ready to run off with him and forget everything except the way my heart beats wildly when he looks at me.
There’s no logic behind my feelings. I’ll certainly regain control of myself as soon as I get home. My mom will take charge and keep me safe. Banta City is filled with violent power, and she knows the masters controlling the puppets. I’ll have no reason to travel to McMurdo Valley.
For right this moment, I can pretend as if I have a choice to run off with Walla Walla. I’m able to fantasize about riding on the back of his motorcycle along McMurdo Valley’s roads. In my head, I reclaim my youthful dream in the same way Walla Walla reclaimed my hand. No hesitation, I’ll simply take what I desire.
Except that’s not who I am anymore. I smothered every wild impulse inside me. Why would I ever believe I could revive a part of me I worked so hard to kill?
MARTIN
Austen is a vision. Age has somehow made her more beautiful. I don’t feel better looking than I was in my prime. I’m still big and can do the same stuff as when I was in my twenties, but I’ve lost something over the years. Meanwhile, Austen’s added maturity only makes her irresistible.
I’m scattered mentally as we huddle up in the vet office’s lobby. I get the urge for Austen to tell me about her business and how she spends her free time. Rather than focus on threats, I’m treating this moment as if we’re on a date.
Austen’s exquisite with her red hair hanging loosely down her shoulders. Her ample tits and curvy hips fill out her simple black shirt and jeans.
Her reaction to my hand holding hers only feeds my need. Her eyes are sparkling, blue jewels, shining in response to my attention. I feel like I’m starting my one great romance. I’m even thinking about kids.
The problem is, well, fucking reality. I haven’t traveled to Banta City for a vacation. Austen is in danger. She doesn’t want to return to McMurdo Valley. Her family has money to protect her here. I don’t know how to proceed.
“We should get going,” Goose says, breaking me from my fantasies as I sit on my ass in front of an hesitant Austen. “The ranch hands have at least a day’s lead on us.”
Austen stands up, seeming unsteady until regaining her bearings. I stand quickly, catching a hint of her soft, flowery scent. Inhaling deeply, I’m drunk on this feeling.
“Is your home safe?” I ask Austen as Coco and Goose move toward the door.
“I think so.”
In my head, Austen and I are hashing out the situation. She is happy to see me. I’m more attracted to the real her than the fantasy version living in my head. We don’t need to have anything in common. Hobo and his woman are complete opposites, yet I saw them cuddling up before I left McMurdo Valley.
“Those cops are gone,” Goose says as she lingers at the door, pretending to be irritated by Coco. “We should have asked for their help.”
“Banta City cops would just round you two up and keep you overnight,” Coco explains and sizes up Goose. “They’d assume you were troublemakers. However, Austen would get an escort home because of her family. So, yeah, I guess you should have asked them for help.”
