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“Because I need you to see what I see. I need you to know why I’m so confused, at least about something that I understand and can explain right now,” she answered.

Inhaling deeply, I pulled my hat from my head and placed it on the dash. “Alright.”

Briar shifted to face me. “Rooney said you were the only one to show up that night. He had twenty horses to go round up, and you were it. Without complaint, off you went with a man you barely knew, making sure that all of the animals got back to a different pasture where the fence wasn’t broken. You two worked the entire night away, and when the morning rolled around, you showed up to the welding class an hour later, looking like nothing crazy had happened.”

I clenched my jaw, but said nothing as her silky voice filled the cabin.

“But that’s not the biggest thing that shocked him. That night, you showed back up, with the rest of the class in tow, and instructed all of them on how to fix the broken part of the fence. Rooney didn’t even realize that you guys were there until it was nearly finished. He waited until the rest of the students left before approaching you to thank you, which is when he realized you were living in your truck.” She licked her lips, her doe eyes softening.

“Then Rooney said you turned him down when he offered to have you live at his place for free, because you didn’t want to be handed something you didn’t earn. Now, I know you didn’t say those exact words, but Rooney said that he knew. Anyway, he said that he couldn’t work those twenty horses properly and teach the welding class at the same time. His last apprentice quit to move to a new state and work under a different trainer, so in exchange for room and board, he asked if you would help him exercise the horses. You agreed, and while he never asked for money, apparently you still paid him rent.” She looked back through the front windshield.

I bit down on my bottom lip. “What’s the point of telling me what I already know?” I asked.

“Because it proves my point.”

“What point?”

“That you’re a natural-born leader. You take charge in every situation, which I need you to do again, concerning what’s happening between us.”

I whipped my eyes briefly toward Briar. Was she giving me permission to fully chase her? No reservations?

Turning back to the road in front, she quickly resumed talking, breezing by what I cared about more than what she said next. “But more importantly, you’re a hard worker who should be out there making a name for himself. Why do you feel fulfilled working cattle for your brother when you have the skills and abilities to do what you love on your own?” she exclaimed.

“Because I am serving my penance for something I should have done but someone else had to do for me, Briar,” I whispered.

Her brows stitched together as I pulled up to a stop sign and pressed the brakes. “For how long, Cassidy?”

“I don’t know,” I quietly answered.

She didn’t say anything, not for a while. Checking for incoming traffic, I pushed the gas pedal, and we continued forward, driving in silence along a road full of the same anguish that twisted my stomach tightly together.

Rounding a bend, we continued onward as I heard a belt unclick. From my peripherals, I watched as Briar slid over and buckled herself back into the middle seat. Goosebumps erupted on my skin with her scooting over closer. “You’re a good man, Cassidy. You know that, right? And I’m sorry for all of the confusion at the beginning,” she whispered and placed a trembling hand on my thigh.

I pulled my lips into a thin line. No, I wasn’t. I was very good at putting a charade on for everyone else, but even as a kid, I was nothing more than a coward who should’ve been the one to run into the burning fire. It was my fault that Weston’s life had nearly been ruined. It was my fault he’d nearly been killed. And as a result, he became rather reclusive. If Tenley hadn’t shown up, he would’ve probably been alone forever, and that was my fault. I couldn’t leave my own brother to a fate that was caused by my hands.

“My answer is yes, by the way,” Briar said, her voice slipping through my thoughts.

I furrowed my brows, pushing down the feelings that I’d nearly spilled to someone other than Rooney. “Answer to what?” I asked, glancing at her as we approached the only intersection in the neighboring town with a stoplight. I quickly double checked it was green and continued forward.

“CASSIDY!” Briar suddenly screamed.

I followed her line of sight as a pair of headlights flashed through my window.

And my hands flew from the steering wheel upon impact.

Metal crunched around me, an alarm blasting as the windshield cracked and shattered surrounding us. The airbags I’d added while restoring my truck broke open, pummeling me in my face.

Briar’s shriek filled the cab. Encircling my arms around her, cradling her into my body, the side of the truck slammed against the pavement and slid sideways.

Grating metal tore at the passenger side and then we were rolling. A ringing filled my ears as each tumbling crash brought a symphony of crunching and thunderous snapping. Resonating like a twisted percussion, the truck suddenly slammed to a halt.

The last thing I saw was wild fear on Briar’s face as my head snapped against the back window.

And the world turned black.

∞∞∞

Groaning, prying my heavy eyelids open, my blurry surroundings slowly focused as heavy ringing in my ears muted all the other sounds.