Page 149 of The Mountain Echoes

I spoon her from behind, and we stay, the turned earth still soft beneath us, the burden of our loss pressing down like a second sky.

When she’s ready, she lets me help her up.

But before we leave, she kisses her fingers and presses them to the cross.

As we walk, we hold hands.

I haven’t held hands…God I don’t know…since I was a teenager?

Now, it feels good to have her small hand in mine. Her soft against my hard. Her strength bolstering mine.

“I keep thinkin’ if Longhorn is worth losing Earl.”

I stop and turn her around, put my hands on her shoulder. “I need you to listen to me.”

Her head moves in a slow nod.

“You didn’t deserve any of this. Not the exile. Not Hudson. Not Celine. You’ve survived; you’re standing. You’ve kept the ranch alive. You got those cattle to auction. You fought for every inch of ground you walk on. Earl wanted that. He thought it was worth it. You know this.”

Her whole body seems to soften under the weight of the moment. “I miss him.”

“Yes.”

Silence.

“She hated me so much,” she whispers, still confused and horrified about her sister’s role in everything that happened at Longhorn.

“Celine’s circuitry is not like yours or mine. She’s different.”

Her lips lift. “You mean she’s crazy?”

“Something like that.”

“She’s crazy to go to this extent, and for what?” She’s still working to wrap her head around Celine and her motives. “Money? Was losing Hudson worth it? I didn’t like him much at the end, but no one deserves a violent death like that.”

I think Hudson got exactly what he earned, but Aria is too soft-hearted to feel that way. Hell, she’s insisting on holding off on buying a new tractor to pay for Celine’s defense.

She won’t let me help financially…not yet, but I’m working on it.

She leans in, slow at first, but then all at once, like she’s been holding herself upright too long. Her headfinds the space just beneath my chin, and her fingers curl into my shirt.

“I’m so damn tired, Mav.”

“I know, darlin’.”

I kiss her temple. She smells like soap and hay and heartbreak.

I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life.

“Take me to bed, Maverick.”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“And make love with me.”

“Yeah.” I chuckle. “I can definitely do that.”

We make soft love that night. It’s not just lust, it’s a connection, it’s a renewal, and it’s a promise. It’s about all the nights she went without kindness. It’s about everything she lost, and everything she’s finding again with me.