Page 105 of How We End

“I feel like shit.”

“Come on.”I led him to the bedroom and pulled back the blankets.It had been a long twenty-four hours, and I wanted to put this all behind us and move forward.Nothing good ever came from dragging the past up.

“I love you, Wyatt.It’s the only thing I know.Please don’t ever doubt that,” he said, pulling me into his embrace.

“I know.”I pressed a kiss to the top of his head.We had three weeks to figure this out.Us.What our lives looked like when the spotlight dimmed and it was just us left in the quiet after.

CHAPTERFORTY-NINE

WYATT

February 8

We had been in Silver Creek for four days and had barely left the bed.We had survived on the few groceries I had brought with, which was enough for me.But Julian was over two hundred pounds, and most of that muscle.

So here we stood, his chin resting on my shoulder, looking at the very small meat section of the general store.One half of the building was the outfitters, and the other half was a grocery/drug/liquor store.

“It looks like chicken or beef,” he said, reaching for the whole chicken and the large package of steaks.And the other package of chicken breasts.

“You’re going to eat all that?”I said, looking at the large amount of meat in the small cart.

“This and more.”

“You know how to cook that?Or any of this?”Our cart was filled with rice, beans, and the few fresh vegetables they had.

“Yes.”He kissed my cheek.“I assume you have salt and pepper.”

“I think so?”I didn’t know since I never cooked here and I rarely came here in the winter.

Julian rolled his eyes and walked over to the spices and threw a few in.The store was pretty quiet for four in the afternoon.I heard the bell over the door ring and the checkout girl greeting the person.

I wandered over to the small alcohol selection, checking the tequila options.They had one dusty bottle of silver.“You want something other than tequila?”

“Wyatt?”I heard a gruff voice call.

I looked up to see an older man in a cowboy hat and a Carhartt jacket.“Roman.”

“What are you doing back?”He reached past me and grabbed a case of beer.

“I needed to get away.”Roman Calloway owned a dude ranch outside of town.He wanted me to join him so we could offer the complete package.Fishing and hunting and horse riding.Everything the Bay Area techie needed to get in touch with nature.For a price, of course.

“I told you that city will eat you up.How long you back for?”

“Uh, couple weeks.”I heard Julian come up behind me.“Roman, this is?—”

“Jesse.”Julian extended his hand, winking at me.

The older man cocked his head.“Roman Calloway.You look like someone.”

“I get that a lot.”Julian played it off.“It’s the hat.”Julian pointed to the Coyotes hat he had on.

“Yeah.”Roman narrowed his gaze.“Anyway.We are going to be short this summer.Zach’s not coming home.I could use the help.You can bring your boyfriend here.We could use a boy his size.You know how to ride a horse?”

“Yes, sir.Spent my summers working cattle in Warroad.”

“A Minnesota boy, huh?I got a dude ranch up on 16.I’ve been trying to get Wyatt here to come and work for me.With that face of hers, she could?—”

“Sell water to a drowning man.”I rolled my eyes.Roman had been trying to get me to come work for him since I bought this place.Silver Creek was about selling an idea, kind of like Vegas.