Page 27 of Sweet Escape (Whispering Oaks Ranch #1)

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? No Time Soon - Jorda n Davis

Wilder

My phone rings on the nightstand, the sound startling me out of a dreamless sleep. I squint, trying to make out the name as my eyes adjust to the light. Panic threatens to overwhelm me. It’s damn near two in the morning and Olivia’s calling. “Liv? Where are you? Are you okay?”

Please, God. Let her be okay.

“Hey. I’m fine. My car broke down on the side of the road. I’m just off exit ten near the overpass.”

“Do not go anywhere, Olivia. Do you hear me? Lock the doors and wait for me. I’m on my way.

” I toss a shirt over my head and rush down the hallway to Emmy’s room, gather her sleeping form still wrapped in her blankets, and head out to the truck.

I tuck her into her car seat, then make the short drive down to the big house, barreling in through the front door as soon as the truck is in park .

I slam my fist against Mama’s bedroom door, and she answers immediately.

“Wilder? Is everything alright? Where’s Emmy?” Her voice is frantic as she eyes me up and down, her face pale.

“Olivia’s stuck on the side of the road. I put Emmy in her room. I have to go.”

Pops comes into view behind her, his hand clasped around her shoulder. “We’ve got her, son. Go.”

“Wilder. Honey. Take a deep breath. She’s okay. This isn’t like last time.” Mama’s voice follows me down the hallway as the screen door slams against the frame, but it does nothing to dull the abject terror that still consumes me.

I glance back over my shoulder at my parents’ silhouettes illuminated in the doorway.

Mama raises her hand and waves. “Be careful.”

This isn’t like last time.

Last time, I didn’t make it to her in time.

Last time she was barely fucking breathing, her body slumped over the steering wheel on the wrong side of the road.

Last time…

Last time I was too late.

I reverse out of my haphazard parking spot, pointing my truck toward the exit. My knuckles blanche against the steering wheel as I grip it tight, trying to calm my racing heart.

I’m just three minutes up the road when I see her, that tiny green car pulled off to the side, and Livie’s face illuminated by the soft glow of her phone screen. I pull up behind her and step out of the truck.

She startles at the slam of the door, and I quickly jog up alongside her, motioning for her to unlock the door. When she does, I rip it open and pull her to me, not stopping to ask any questions. I need to feel her in my arms, I need to know she’s okay.

I hold her to my chest, my frantic heartbeat settling as I stroke my ha nds over her body. I cling to her, breathing her in, reminding myself she’s okay.

“Wilder? What’s going on?”

“I thought… I don’t know what I thought. I was so fucking scared, Liv. I thought I was going to lose you.”

“Hey.” She pulls back, cupping my cheeks between her palms. “It’s just a breakdown, baby. I’m okay. We’re okay.”

The moment I set my eyes on her, the tension in my shoulders eases. I exhale a ragged breath. “I know I need to explain, but first I need to get you home safe.”

“Ok. Let’s go. I can call for a tow truck in the morning.”

She lets me help her into the passenger seat of my truck, her face awash with unspoken emotion. Before I can close the door, she leans in and gently kisses my lips. It’s a chaste kiss, but no less sweet.

“Thank you for coming,” she whispers.

I tuck a stray lock of her golden hair behind her ear, then rub my hand over her belly. “I’ll always come when you call.”

She doesn’t ask questions when I point the truck back the way I came, and I wonder if she’s somehow sensing my need to keep her close to me.

The drive back to the ranch is quiet. I catch Olivia drifting off to sleep more than once, my hand never leaving her thigh.

When I pull up to the big house, she’s fast asleep.

I head inside to check on Emmy, but Mama and Pops assure me they have things well in hand.

When I tell them I have Olivia in the truck, they offer to keep Emmy overnight.

I say my goodbyes and thank them for the hundredth time before heading back outside. The soft glow of the moon and stars overhead illuminates the walkway. The weight of everything that’s transpired is heavy on my chest as I inhale a breath of fresh air, reminding myself she’s okay.

Olivia’s soft snores fill the cab as I meander down the dirt road back to my house. I’m about to put it in park in my usual spot, but I change my mind and make a right. I back the truck up near the falls, listening to the soft rushing of the water as it flows into the creek bed below.

Tonight has stirred up emotions long buried, memories I thought would die with Jess that still linger beneath the surface, waiting to bring me down into the pits of despair with them.

Two years. I’ve been suffocating under the weight of my regrets for two long years, never fully allowing myself to feel the loss in a way that would let me move on from it.

Some days I wonder if I dreamed it all; maybe she’s still out there somewhere, living a full, happy life without me. Then I look at Emmy, and I know nobody could ever leave that little girl behind—not willingly. Not ever.

Olivia’s sleepy voice breaks into my quiet contemplation. “Wilder? Where are we?”

“We’re at the ranch.”

“Are you okay?” she asks, shifting in her seat to face me.

For the first time since I left that hospital without Jess, I tell the truth. “No.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, but I need to. You deserve to know what happened. You deserve to know why I reacted the way I did tonight. I just…”

She reaches out, placing her hand on my forearm. “It’s okay. Take your time.”

I step out of the truck and move around to her side, pulling open the passenger door. “Come with me.” I hold out my hand, and she takes it, letting me guide her to the back and help her onto the tailgate. I take a seat beside her and steel myself.

Olivia turns to face me, her knee bumping mine as she bends it between us.

I rest my elbows on my knees, keeping my gaze locked on the landscape. A tear escapes over my lashes, and I pinch my eyes shut, w illing the rest of them away. “Jess died in a car accident in the middle of the night.”

She gasps, her free hand coming up to cover her mouth.

“Emmy was barely six months old, and we were having a really rough night. Jess had mastitis. She couldn’t stand to breastfeed anymore, but Emmy wouldn’t settle, and we needed more formula.

I was supposed to pick some up earlier in the day, but I got sidetracked and forgot to stop on the way home.

We thought we had enough to make it through the night.

We were wrong.” I pause, letting the feel of her hand in mine ground me.

“We lived in a rural area near the mountains. The closest place to get formula in the middle of the night was the hospital. So… Jess offered to get some of the samples from the NICU where she worked.” I can feel her eyes on me as I relay every detail of the worst night of my life, but I can’t bring myself to look at her.

It’s all I can do to keep talking. I haven’t said any of this aloud since I explained everything to the police officers at the scene.

“We argued back and forth, but she was stubborn and, eventually, I conceded. That’s pretty much how all of our arguments went.

That night… well… I wish I had pushed harder.

We were both exhausted, and I didn’t have any fight left in me.

We’ll never really know what happened, but they think she must’ve fallen asleep at the wheel.

When she didn't make it home, I went looking. And?—”

The memories are so vivid. I can still picture the can of formula on the passenger seat, still hear Emmy crying in my truck as the police lights flashed. I swallow thickly, my eyes burning as I try to hold back tears.

Olivia pulls me against her chest, my face buried between her neck and shoulder. “You don’t have to say anything else. God, Wilder. I’m so sorry. ”

The dam breaks. My tears soak through her shirt as I cling to her, grasping onto whatever parts of her I can reach.

She strokes a hand through my hair, her cheek resting against my forehead. “It’s okay to feel all of it. You don’t have to be strong all the time.”

“Emmy needs me.”

“Emmy’s not here right now. Only me. Give me your pain. Let me hold it for a little while.”

I inhale against the bare expanse of her neck, breathing in her vanilla perfume, memorizing the feel of being held like I’m worth a damn.

I pull back, swiping a hand down my face as I stare into her brilliant eyes, beautiful even in the darkness.

“Not only you. You’re so much more to me than you realize. You make me feel?—”

She tilts her head to the side, assessing me. “Feel what?”

“Just… feel. Fuck, Liv. You make it so I can breathe again, and you don’t even know you’re doing it. You have no idea what that means to me—what you mean to me. I think… you might be my best friend.”

She giggles. “I’m not sure how I feel about that. The last time I had a best friend, she fucked my boyfriend.”

“I promise I won’t fuck your boyfriend.” I hold up my pinky finger, and she winds her much smaller one around it. I bring it to my lips and seal it with a kiss. “Better?”

She nods and her lips tip into a wistful smile. “You can talk about her, you know? Since we’re best friends, and all.”

“She would’ve liked you.”

“Yeah?”

I don’t know what it is about Olivia that has me wanting to open up, but once I start, I can’t seem to stop. “She probably would’ve usurped my position as your best friend if only for the cupcakes. She was a force, fiercely loyal. She had a big heart—like you.”

“I wish I could’ve met her. ”