Page 94 of The Moments You Were Mine

I barely stopped myself from shaking my head, knowing it would hurt too much.

“Thanks for suggesting it, Maise, but I promised myself I wouldn’t continue the cycle the women in my family are known for. I won’t marry someone just because I’m pregnant.” When she started to say something, I talked over her. “I don’t want my kid growing up wondering, if they hadn’t been born, if our lives would have been different. Look at my dad. All he wanted was to breed and train horses, and I ruined that for him. I know too painfully well what it’s like being the reason your parent didn’t get what he wanted.”

Maisey squeezed my hand. “That’s one way to look at it, Fallon. Butyouweren’t the reason your dad left. He left because your mom married Spencer. And when I see your dad, I don’t see a man wallowing in lost dreams. Sure, his dreams changed, but I think that’s normal. It’s the rare person who actually follows the path they decide on when they’re a little kid. If you asked him, I think your dad would tell you he’s happier now than he could have been staying here on the ranch. He built an entire empire, married his soulmate, and created two more beautiful babies. Even more, following that path has allowed him to giveyouyour dreams, and I think he’d say that was worth it. What parent doesn’t want to help their kid get everything they want?”

Her words settled hard in my chest just as the ones Parker had said about JJ did. Had I allowed myself to hold on to responsibility, to take blame, to feel regret, for things that I never should have shouldered? Worse, had I misjudged both my parents? Maybe Mom hadn’t worked her ass off on the ranch as some attempt to reclaim her Hurly family legacy, but simply because she knew how important it was to me. But twenty-four years of baggage wouldn’t let me toss all my previousconvictions aside that easily.

Still, long after my friend had fallen asleep, my mind continued to whirl with all the implications of Maisey’s talk. The concussion care instructions the ER doctor had given said to keep both thinking and activity light for the first few days, but it was impossible to stop my brain.

And the worst of Maisey’s comments refusing to be banished was the one about Parker.

Because the longer I thought about it, the more marrying Parker seemed like a real solution to both our troubles. I’d already fallen hard for Theo. I could adopt him and give him a good home on the ranch. He’d have all the dogs and animals he wanted. And Parker could remain on the teams. Sure, he’d have a family waiting for him like he’d never wanted, but he already had Theo anyway. Life had already taken some of his choices from him.

No. It was a ridiculous idea, wasn’t it?

When I finally fell asleep, it wasn’t the deep and dreamless one I’d had that afternoon. Instead, it was full of taunted wishes and happily ever afters that couldn’t come true.

Chapter Twenty-five

Parker

LET IT BE ME

Performed by Ray LaMontagne

FIVE YEARS AGO

HER: Cranky is a good-looking guy.

HIM: No.

HER: No? No what? You don’t even know what I was thinking.

HIM: We both know what you were thinking. So I’ll repeat it with extra meaning— NO!

PRESENT DAY

“You’re supposed to be resting,” Igroused as I scowled at Fallon sitting on a hay bale just outside the barn.

If you gave her a cursory glance, she looked the same as she always did, dressed in dark jeans, a tank, and her cowboy hat. But when you scrutinized her, as I’d been doing all morning, you saw she was unusually pale and shaky. Her sunglasses shaded her eyes and hid the dark shadows, and her hat hid the ugly knot with its purple-and-black coloring, but I knew they were there. I’d barely been able to take my eyes off them as she’d pushed the eggs I’d made around on her plate.

Stay out of bright lights, and get lots of rest.That was what the doctor had prescribed for the first forty-eight hours, but Fallon had done very little of either.

“I’ll go back to the house after the staff meeting,” she said.

She’d met with the last remaining guests this morning in the lobby, hugging them, apologizing, letting them know how sorry she was that the worst had happened while they’d been stayingwith her. Some of them had been polite, shaking it off as not her responsibility, and others had looked like they might sue her for everything she owned.

Now, she was waiting to meet with the resort’s employees. While they’d slowly been gathering around the barn, the hum of conversation had grown. It felt uneasy. A hint of fear lingered in the air.

Eventually, Andie told Fallon everyone had checked in, and Fallon stood up on the bale. Raised above the crowd, she was an easy target, and I had to fist my hands in order to resist the temptation to jerk her back down. I focused instead on scanning our surroundings for danger before turning to assess the people assembled.

Somewhere in this midst, a traitor lurked.

Either they’d pulled the trigger themselves, or they’d helped whoever had.

As Fallon shared the plan for the resort’s shutdown, paid leaves, and bonuses for those who volunteered for the skeleton crew, I examined each face for any sign of responsibility.

“Forgive me for saying this, Fallon, but are a few weeks really going to make a difference?” a tall man asked, and my vision narrowed in on him.