Page 58 of If You Loved Me

“They both rode a lot, but it was my mom who really enjoyed it. My dad found it as a necessity to keep the ranch going in between deployments.”

“That seems like a lot of work on him. Being in the military and trying to keep a ranch going.”

I looked out toward the river that ran through most of our property. “It was. He’s definitely where I got my work ethic from. But he knew how to have a good time too. Every week that he was home, he’d come up with some ridiculous game for all of us to play. It usually involved some kind of obstacle course that Callie Rose and I had to run through. During the summers we’d always have slip ’n slide races.”

I laughed to myself thinking back on those days. “One time, when we were really little—Callie Rose had barely started walking—he created an obstacle course in the yardand he and my mom raced us in wheelbarrows until they were both dog tired and my belly hurt from laughing so much.”

Sarah’s eyes were glassy, smile serene as she said, “That sounds like a magical childhood.”

“It was,” I rasped, wishing that I could relive some of those years when my parents were happy and all felt right in the world.

We rode on for a few minutes in silence.

“Did your parents do anything like that with you and your brother?” I asked, carefully.

She huffed, “No. Their idea of fun was putting us in as many extra-curricular activities as possible. Most that neither one of us wanted to do.”

It was wild that we came from two different worlds and somehow both experienced pain where our families were concerned. Before my parents left us, they’d gifted Callie Rose and me with love and acceptance. Sarah might have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but her childhood home seemed void of the most important thing.

“I’m sorry they didn’t give you more.”

She knew whatmoremeant as she solemnly replied, “Me too.”

Her gaze turned west where the sun was sinking behind the distant mountains. “You know, I’ve always wanted land like this. A place where I can run wild and free without anyone to tell me I’m doing something wrong. Somewhere I can just beme.”

She was so beautiful at that moment, her body limnedwith the bright hue of the setting sun. If I knew better, I’d say she was an angel sent straight from the heavens. Breaking through every icy barrier I’d put around my heart with a simple look or smile.

“You can have it all, Sarah,” I whispered and she turned to look at me.

“What?” Her voice was soft.

I wished I could capture it and hold onto it forever. How the loose strands of her hair fell in gentle curls framing her face. The cute bow shape her lips made when she was at ease. And how her eyes shone with curious wonder at all the world had to offer. I wanted to give her the world. I wanted to give her everything.

“My land. My sunsets and sunrises. Anything I have that would make you smile. Hell, I’d give you the air in my lungs and the last beat of my heart if it meant I could die with you looking at me like that. You can have it all.”

Chapter 25

Sarah

The way he looked at me cracked something in my chest. It felt like an awakening. A step through a door that would change the rest of my life.

There was so much I didn’t know about him. So many questions I wanted to ask, but I also knew that every word he spoke was the raw truth, spoken from the depths of his soul. He was bare, letting himself be completely open to me. Something tugged in my heart.

It was an answer to his vulnerability. Soul to soul, I found my mind skipping forward over all the little moments that could make up our lives. Him celebrating the rise of my business. Us spending our time together riding horseback through his ranch with no one but the stars to see the love we shared for one another.

Is it possible?I asked myself. To love someone I barelyknew.

Maybe it was.

Because my heart ached for him. I ached to be in his arms when he was absent or to hear his voice when he wasn’t around.

The question seemed trivial as I looked into his eyes, a serene smile painted on his lips like he had all the confidence in the world that I felt the same.

With a subtle shift in my heel, I nudged Honey Blossom forward and stretched my hand across the space between us. When he took it, I let my eyes close for a moment, savoring how his warmth seeped deep into my skin. His touch felt like home.

“If I get to spend the rest of my life feeling like I do right now, then that would be a gift, Ranger. Because you’ve become the brightest light in my life. What I feel for you…” I swallowed against the emotion swelling in my throat. “I don’t think I could ever feel for someone else. When I’m around you, I’m alive. I want things for myself that I’ve never allowed myself to want. With you, life feels like it’s filled with endless possibilities.”

I smiled at him, blinking away the tears that lined the rim of my eyes. His laughter was soft and joyous. “Phew. I’m glad I’m not the only one hanging onto their emotions like a lifeline.”

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