Page 59 of Someone to Hold

“This is her dream trip. The first thing I’ve seen her truly excited about since Teddy died,” she says. “I don’t want to mess itup. Besides, I need to know I can afford it first. That it isn’t just a fantasy.”

“It’s not a fantasy.”

“If she agrees…” Her gaze crashes into mine again, and her expression looks both defiant and vulnerable. The combination steals my breath. “It means you don’t get what you want.”

“But if I don’t step back,youdon’t get what you want. So here we are.”

It’s quiet for a second. The air between us is charged, but there’s something more underneath. A thread of connection I still can’t explain, but also won’t try to deny.

“I never wanted this to be a competition,” I tell her. “Not with you.”

“It’s kind of a mess,” she says.

“I like making a mess with you.”

She laughs softly, and the tension between us eases.

“If you talk to Linda and she agrees to sell it to you, I’ll step aside. No hesitation.”

She looks like she wants to argue, but I lift a hand.

“I’m not saying that because I don’t want the land, but I’ll keep looking if I have to. You’ve got kids and a dream. If you can make this happen, you should. I won’t stand in your way.”

She swallows, her eyes shining just a little. “Do you mean that?”

“I do.”

“What if I can’t make it work?”

“Then I buy it,” I say gently.

Her brows knit together. “I’m going to do it.”

“I believe you.” There’s still so much unspoken between us, but right now we’re just two people trying to figure out how to want the best for each other without losing what we want for ourselves.

“What’s your backup plan?”

“I’ll get hired on at a ranch somewhere,” I say like it’s no bigdeal. “Or go back on the circuit for a year or two until I figure things out.”

“I thought the doctors said you shouldn’t ride again.”

Christ, I regret mentioning that to her in an unguarded middle-of-the-night moment when the darkness made everything feel safe.

“It was a suggestion.”

“It’s too dangerous,” she whispers.

No more dangerous than staying here and falling harder every damn day for a woman I have no right to claim.

“I’ll figure it out.”

She frowns like she wants to argue again, then asks, “You’re truly willing to walk away?”

I want to tell her the truth. That I can’t stop thinking about her. That every part of me wants her to be happy. Sometimes I think I’d burn down everything I’ve built if it means she gets to keep what matters most to her.

“It’s what Teddy would have wanted.”

The light in her eyes dims. The answer was the safest, and clearly the wrong one.