Page 53

WINNOW

I t’s only the next day, when Gideon is out with his ranch hands, rounding up the cattle, that I hear the sound of someone’s vehicle’s tires crunching against the gravel of Gideon’s driveway.

My heart jolts in my chest, half expecting to see Seraphine’s black car pulling down the driveway as I look up from where I’m kneeling in the garden, only to find a white, boxy vehicle pulling to a stop.

A woman, definitely not Gideon’s ex, dressed in a blue uniform, climbs out carrying a couple of parcels and a stack of letters.

A lettermaiden?

Her uniform is rather plain compared to the decorated, frilly uniforms they wear in Caerwynath.

Her gaze dances between me and the house, and she waves. My heart pumps a nervous beat, though I’m not quite sure why. As I near her, she calls out, “You Mrs. Kincaid?”

My heart flutters at the idea, and I steel myself because Akash-damn-it, he is my soulbound.

“Yes?”

As soon as I stand in front of her, she thrusts the items toward me.

“Great. Need you to sign for this one.”

“Oh, thank you.”

She produces a strange, blocky-looking device with a small, bright, blank screen displaying an ‘x’ and a line.

I take the petite, inkless pen she offers me and hazard a guess that I should use it to draw my signature on the screen. Thankfully, she doesn’t bat an eye. Just tucks away the device as she announces, “Have a good day.”

“You as well. Thank you…”

The lettermaiden climbs back in her truck and disappears down the driveway. I look behind me to see if Gideon and his ranch hands have returned, but neither they nor his cattle are in sight.

Making my way up the porch steps to his front door, my eyes dip to the parcels and letters in my arms to see a pink envelope peeking out from between letters.

My heart is instantly thundering in my throat as I half run, half stumble up the stairs in my haste. Rushing to the kitchen counter, I set the pile down and snatch up the pink envelope.

The last one Gideon received, he threw away. I didn’t have the heart to stress him about it by demanding I read it. I was also half terrified at what I would find, but now that he’s not here, I can’t fucking stop myself.

When I turn it over, there’s no name or return address. Just a pink envelope with little hearts drawn on the front of it, and Gideon’s address written in a stylish cursive that already makes me want to claw her eyes out.

How dare this bitch have good handwriting.

My hesitation to open it lasts for all of a fucking millisecond because my heart is slamming inside my chest, as is a possessiveness like I’ve never known boils my blood.

Some people might have qualms about my intrusiveness and argue that respecting one another’s privacy—healthy boundaries—is of the utmost importance, or some such nonsense.

I’ll be fucking damned if his business— my soulbound’s business— isn’t my business. I’ve never experienced violent urges toward a female. Even with the female guards in the Paltorian prison camp who I found ill-will toward, it was nothing like this.

This is a hot, hungry flame of irrepressible rage.

And if Gideon has words to say about it, he can eat a fucking cock.

My fingers can’t tear open the blasted thing fast enough, and it’s a wonder the letter doesn’t burst into flames the moment I lay eyes on it.

Gideon, My Love,

You’d be so proud of me. I’ve been sober for eight months now, and managed to pass the bar exam with flying colors. The medication I’m on has helped tremendously, and I take it religiously without fail.

Oh… well.

My anger dims the tiniest fraction as compassion begins to trickle in.

If I’m honest, I’d hoped that all of this would make me miss you less, but if anything, it made me miss you more. I want to share these experiences with you.

I promise I can be the woman you need, and I would do anything to prove that to you. To put everything that happened behind us.

Are you seeing somebody?

This conniving bitch. You know damn well he is.

Because you and I both know they’ll never compare to what we had. I know you miss me… I still think of you when I cum, and I have no doubt that you do too.

Do you imagine it’s me when you’re fucking her?

When she’s sucking your dick?

That it’s my pussy you’re eating?

No matter how many years pass between us, I’ll always love you. We belong to each other.

And I’m losing my patience.

xo

My hands are trembling. Fuck, my whole body is shaking. I can now completely understand how crimes of passion can lead to fatal violence.

Calm down. Gideon hasn’t even spoken to her in years. She even said as much.

Drawing in deep, steadying breaths, I fold the letter and slide it back into the envelope before I begin to pace the length of the kitchen.

Do I tell Gideon?

“And I’m losing my patience?”

What the fuck does that even mean?

The more I breathe deeply, the more my anger and tremors fade, and reason trickles in.

You should tell him, the voice of reason whispers in the back of my mind.

The. Fuck. I. Should.

The last thing I want to do is cause him stress. This woman is clearly unwell. He hasn’t spoken to her in years. The last thing I need to do, after everything he’s done for me, is add unnecessary stress to his life by dredging up old shit.

Annnnd now I feel guilty.

Fuck.

Maybe I should tell him.

Gods damn it.

The sound of pounding hooves has me snatching the envelope off the counter. I race back into Gideon’s bedroom, slide the letter and envelope underneath my side of the bed, and strip.

I turn on the shower as I internally debate whether or not to tell Gideon about the letter.

I should.

I shouldn’t.

Let the man have his hard-earned peace.

My mind whirls. Fuck, if only I had more access to my magic. I could fold to this woman, wherever she is, and handle it myself. Stop this ghost from haunting him. To imagine this deranged woman who cheated on him, still plaguing him years later.

My mate.

If the tables were turned, what would I want Gideon to do?

Standing beneath the hot spray of water, I scrub a hand over my face, leaning against the tile wall, a growl escapes me.

Gods damn it.