Page 89 of Live, Ranch, Love

Wyatt

Ijust need some space right now.

I used to be a big fan of space. I’ve spent the last four years spending pretty much every Sunday night and Monday morning alone. But now, the silence is deafening. The absence of her warm, sweet body tucked within mine, has gutted me.

Everything feels empty. The shadows cast over my bedroom walls seem darker, creeping closer towards where I lie as faint rays of the pale sunrise bleed between the curtains. Like they’re readying to encompass me, to drag me back down to the depths of the darker world I used to live in. To remind me that her light was only a temporary flicker in the storm that is my life.

Because nothing lasts forever.

And I was an idiot for thinking otherwise.

Every time I think of that lone tear cutting down her cheek, ripping through her innocent sunshine, I feel my heart shatter even more. Because I know that her mind would’ve been overflowing with thoughts trying to tear down the confidence and strength she’s built back up over the last two months.

The thought of Aurora even questioning whether she’s enough for me makes me want to punch another hole through my wall. But I’ve already bruised my knuckles doing it once after Holly left.

If it took running away to another continent to get over what happened with Jake, what will it take for her to feel better about this? We might have only known each other for a couple of months, but there’s no denying what we have is soul deep.

If it were the other way around, I’d be destroyed.

I should’ve never let Holly in.

I’ll come find you when I’m ready. I promise.

But there’s still no message on my phone. No missed calls. Her truck came back yesterday and disappeared again, to take Jake to the airport. It’s been parked outside the house since last night, yet I’ve still heard nothing. I’m not sure how much more space I can take.

I just have to trust that she believes me. That’s what I’d say to her if it were the other way around, to wait and know that what we have will bring her back. That maybe, I might be the luckiest man alive, and she loves me back. She just needs to give herself one of those little pep talks and then she’ll come find me. And I’ll be here, arms open, ready to help prop up her world again.

I’d do anything to be her anchor at the bottom of the ocean, sat there for eternity, just so her ship could stay afloat.

Finally dragging myself out of bed, because I still have a ranch to run, I begrudgingly get dressed. I don’t even bother eating, knowing I’ll feel better once I’m out in the fields, on the back of Dusty.

But as I turn from locking up my front door, I catch Aurora’s truck speeding off up the road ahead, towards town, dust clouds in its wake. The sun’s barely even up yet. Where is she going?

Then I notice Flynn heading towards me, from the direction of the main house. He waves, attempting a brief smile, but if anything, it’s more of a grimace. I keep flicking my eyes between him and the truck disappearing in the distance, barely a dot now within the hazy morning light, small drops of panic starting to feed into my bloodstream.

Something feels off.

“Hey,” I call over, jogging up to Flynn. “Did you just speak to Aurora? Is she okay?”

“Yeah, um…” Flynn scratches his head, his eyes lined with shadows. “I don’t really know. She seemed super flustered, was babbling on. But she told me to tell you that she’s heading to the airport to sort things out with Jake or something and to say goodbye?”

No, this can’t be goodbye.

She wouldn’t try to patch things up with Jake.

She’s my future, not his.

She’s the middle of my fucking vision board. The thing I want most in life.

But… that’s what always happens to me, isn’t it?

When I finally let myself indulge in my dreams, the universe comes swooping in and takes something away. I might have managed to beat the universe by stopping Aurora from selling off my ranch, but it would still find a way to get the best of me. It would let me fall crazy in love with Aurora, let myself be completely undone by her, think I might finally be able to have everything I want—and then it would snatch her from me. Rip her from my clutches.

I claw my fingers through my hair, laughing. If I’d just left her crying that night. If I’d just ignored my feelings for her. If I’d never kissed her and let her sweet lips steal my heart—

Actually, fuck that.

I don’t regret a single one of those decisions. Aurora Jones might just be the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ll be damned if I’m just going to let her walk away.

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