Page 48

But I don’t care who is buzzing me. I have something else to do today.

Picnic ride with Casey.

I stare at the back door like it holds the rest of my future.

Maybe it does.

“Go to her,” Kian says, slapping my shoulder one last time before heading for the door. “And maybe don’t throw knives at the next guy who shows up to say hi.”

“I make no promises.”

But my heart’s already racing.

Because whatever I am—Dragon, monster, relic—I know this much, I have to tell her the truth.

I have to tell Casey what she is to me.

And if she says yes, I’m never letting her go.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN-CASEY

The sun’s still climbing, warm and golden through the kitchen windows, but it’s not the heat that’s got my palms sweating.

It’s him.

Zeke.

I see him through the glass, waiting out near the fence line with a horse already saddled and the full attention of the morning around him.

It’s like nature pauses for him—birds quiet, wind softer.

Just him and that steady, magnetic stillness.

I already called the home where Gramps is situated and was told he’s having a good day. He’s resting well and perfectly pleasant, which was good considering his recent dementia diagnosis.

That bastard of an illness was heartbreaking, but Gramps is still strong, and I promise myself I’ll visit him soon.

I’m seconds from walking out the door when Avery slides in beside me, a cup of herbal tea in one hand, the other resting on her swollen belly, and that all-knowing glint in her eye.

She doesn't say anything at first. Just takes a sip and glances out the window too, her voice casual when she finally speaks.

“This place gets under your skin, doesn’t it?”

I nod, swallowing the lump forming in my throat.

“It feels like something I didn’t know I was missing.”

Avery smiles, but it’s laced with something deeper. Something heavier.

“It’s not just the ranch,” she says. “It’s them.”

I glance at her, unsure.

“The men,” she clarifies gently.

“They’re not like most. They’re rough around the edges, sure, and gods know they growl more than they talk, but they love hard. Deep. For life.”

Something stirs in my chest. I look back out the window, where Zeke strokes the horse’s neck with those big, calloused hands.