Page 55 of Here With Me

My throat closes up as I give her a tight smile. “Yeah, she was. She was filled with so much heart and energy. Loved bein’ outside and tryin’ new things. Nothin’ scared her.”

“Wow, she sounds like the exact opposite of Jase.” She chuckles, and I do, too, because she’s right.

I wish I could explain what happened, but I can’t. I’ve only said those words aloud once when I told my wife and the detectives. But repeating them made it real.

And I didn’t want them to be true.

“Lyla woulda loved it here,” I tell her instead. “She loved watchin’ me work on horses and askin’ a million questions about them.”

I’d do anything to listen to her talk for hours again.

“Reminds me of Mallory. It’s why she and Serena are good friends. They can talk each other’s ears off.”

“That’s Ayden’s daughter?”

She nods. “He and his wife, Laney, have another one comin’ in a couple months. Ayden didn’t even know Serena existed until last year.”

“What?”

She chuckles at my expression. I wish I could bottle up the sound. It’s so sweet and genuine. It makes me smile even when my heart hurts.

“It’s a long story, but basically, Ayden left his hometown a decade ago to escape his abusive father. Laney didn’t find out she was pregnant until he was gone, but he’d ditched his phone and all social media so she couldn’t even tell him.”

“Wow. So Laney raised her alone?”

“Not exactly, and that’s an even longer story...” She snort-laughs. “You’ll have to take Ayden out for a drink one night and get the full story because it’s wild. But the short version is Laney found him on the ranch from a viral video and then flew here to tell him he had a daughter. He went to Texas to meet her, and a few weeks later, Laney and Serena moved here to be with him. They eloped, she got pregnant, and in August, they’re havin’ a reception.”

At least someone around here got their happily ever after.

“Ayden’s a lucky man to get his family back.”

Her fingers intertwine with mine, and she gives me a tight-lipped smile. My gaze wanders to her mouth, desperately wishing I could close the small gap between us.

We stare at each other, neither wanting to cross the lines as the air between us grows thicker.

“Noah...”

A piercing noise echoes from her pocket, and she quickly reaches for it and silences her phone.

“Shit. I set a reminder to check on the trainin’ center.”

“Oh, right. I should probably get back to work.”

“We still have to eat,” she argues, getting to her feet, and I follow her to the horses.

“You sure there’s time?”

She jumps on Donut, and when I settle on Denver, she shoots me a shit-eating grin.

“C’mon, I’ll race ya to the bottom!” She kicks her heels and whistles, making Donut take off.

Christ. I wasn’t expecting that.

“Let’s go, Denver.” My tap is lighter than Noah's. I'm not looking to fall off a cliff today nor am I as familiar with these trails as she is. There are too many trees and curves for me to confidently race her.

By the time I catch up with Noah, she’s waiting with a smug expression.

“I thought you were a bull rider or, at the very least, a cowboy?”