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Warmth invaded my chest as I made a decision.
I was staying in Rose Ridge, and I was going to be here until Wesley Ryan fell in love with me again, and then I was going to make him marry me, regardless of the club, or the things that broke us before. We came back to each other, and I wasn’t going to take it for granted.
Just so I didn’t go back on what I decided, I pulled my cell out and shot a text to Laura.
Me: I’m staying here. There’s a lot going on, and it’s all a bit of a shit show but I’m officially staying. I’ll call when things settle, but I wanted to let you know first
She replied almost immediately.
Laura: I’m the first to know…that means you haven’t told Mr. President then?
I checked to see if Wes was coming.
Me: not yet…I just realized it, and wanted someone to hold me accountable.
Laura: Then it should be him. Tell him how you feel, Callie. You two deserve to be happy. Seeing you together it sort of sent me into this deep dark spiral of reconsidering all my life choices and whether or not I’m wasting my own life here. Maybe I should find someone that looks at me the way Wes looks at you.
My mind instantly went to what I saw in Killian’s gaze when the two of them were saying goodbye that day, but I didn’t text that. Instead, I told her the truth.
Me: You should, and maybe you should try and do it here. I might need a roommate if Wes doesn’t want to live together right away.
Laura: I just spit my water because you’re so ridiculous. That man wouldn’t let you walk five feet away from him, much less live across town. I have to run back on shift, but I love you.
Me: Love you too
Right as I dropped the cell, Wes walked in, holding a tray.
“Let’s eat in bed.”
I smiled, following him, positive I’d just made the best decision of my life.
Now I just had to get the courage to tell him.
TWENTY-FOUR
WES
Callie’sdark hair fanned across the pillow as she slept. She was curled into my side as I sat up against the headboard. For some reason the image of our bare feet tangled in the sheets of my bed was so fucking domesticated that it was making my chest hurt and clouding my brain.
I wanted her to stay.
I needed her to.
But what could I offer her now that she would have accepted back then?
Everything was the same. She still hated this life, and it’s the only thing I knew as an adult. I’d taken the very roots that had strangled her and wrapped them around my chest cavity, using my heart as the seed. For seven years this life was all I needed, and now here she was again, in my arms, and she was going to leave me just like she did last time.
Swallowing the thick ball of tension in my throat, I let out a sigh and dug the note from the bedside table, realizing now would be the best time to read it.
Killian had already texted me, explaining that he’d wait to have the guys move on the Triple Y ranch until later. He knew about the note, but he was respecting the fact that I hadn’t discussed it with him yet.
Unfolding the lined paper, I scanned the black ink and my insides filled with dread.
The only thing written on the note was an address.
One I was particularly familiar with, because it wasmyaddress.
Over the past three years, I had been slowly building a house, and while I didn’t live in it now, I was still planning to at some point, at least once I figured out how to hand this shit over to Killian and wasn’t needed here as often. Except, no one else knew about my property. I had hired an out-of-town construction crew to build it, with nearly every facet in it being custom built, and the location was at the top of the ridge that looked down into the valley. You could see the entire town from the living room.
