Page 117 of Saving the Rain

“I was used to doing things on my own for so long. I never had anyone else to consider before now. Always being able to pack up and go whenever, wherever. Without needing to think about somebody else, you know?” I rinsemy hair off under the shower spray, then scrub the excess wetness off my face, feeling his eyes drilling into me the entire time.

“And yet, while I was gone, all I could think was, what if I’ve done the wrong thing? What if walking away from you was the biggest mistake I ever made and would come to regret.”

“So what made you...” He falters, mid question.

“Snowflake, as soon as I realized you’d sent me those messages, that was all it took. I just needed to know your head and heart were in this as much as mine are. Because I couldn’t do it for you.”

“I still feel like shit it took me so long to get up the courage.”

Shaking my head, I step out from under the water and drip my way across to where our towels are stacked on the vanity.

“You needed to trust. Yourself. Me. Your friends to be a safe place for you to open up. All of that takes time.” I dry myself off as he finishes in the shower and then joins me.

God, I love that this is what our mornings, our days, our life looks like.

“Wanna know something? I’ve always trusted you. I’ve always felt safe with you, and I never knew it. You were my protector, and I had no fucking clue because you were a stubborn idiot and hid all that from me.”

Wrapping my towel around my waist, I rake my fingers through my hair and study him. Kayce still hits me up about that, and it’s hard for me to put words to that time in my life. I’m guessing I’ll be due for my own round of therapy at some point.

“Why did you do it?” He steps into me, a small, ever so curious smile hides in his blue eyes.

“Back then... I don’t know. I hated that I had to. It wasn’t like I took one look at you and felt things as a teenager.” I swallow hard. “Can I be really straight up with you about that? Believe me, I was just an angry guy who felt like he couldn’t watch someone else go through what I’d been through. My dad’s bastard side, I knew how to handle it, knew how to take it. You and your mom would have ended up in the hospital, so I got in the way because I didn’t want your blood on my hands.”

He wraps his arms around me, and the way he lets our damp chests press together, to indulge in feeling each other’s steady heartbeats, is everything.

“Then I left, and things evolved over time. I don’t know. It was like you stayed with me, and I couldn’t shake you following me around.Like you were in my bones, and it wasn’t until I saw you here in Crimson Ridge... that was when I realized I wasn’t feeling this way because I hated you or hated our life. That connection evolved into something deeper.”

“Something deeper.” He hums against my chest, his smile broadening, that soul-stealing sensation of his lips curving with happiness against my skin.

I just want to hold tight to him like that for hours.

I’m still deep in that memory, going through the motions of sorting out saddles and tidying the tack room, when a commotion pricks my hearing.

Not the usual sounds of the ranch. Not the horses kicking up a fuss or cattle bellowing.

Voices.

Raised voices.

Setting the saddle down, I make my way in the direction of the barn entrance, hearing Kayce’s words echoing loudly, but I’m unable to see him.

“I don’t know where the fuck Raine is. He’s not here. Last I heard, he was in Canada.”

There’s a harshness to his tone. With hackles up, I can immediately tell the response isn’t friendly. In an instant, I’m on edge, ready to speed to him and stand my ground, to handle this intruder.

“You never were any good at lying.”

My steps freeze. Every muscle locks up, and my blood turns to ice.

That voice.

That goddamn voice.

“Yeah? If he is, then where’s his truck? Christ, I don’t know where he went after leaving town. He’s been gone since before winter.”

My heart kicks into overdrive. Kayce is acting like I’m not here, and I know without a doubt why he’s talking as loud as he is. Fuck.Fuck.

“Nah, I can see straight through you. You got those same eyes like your momma. A dirty, good for nothing liar livin’ behind those eyes.”