Page 81 of The Past

My throat tightened again, but I nodded.The colt bobbed his head as if in agreement, and Dad chuckled softly.

“But listen,” he continued.“You’ve got a lot ahead of you and…” His words fell off and I noticed his attention had drifted past my shoulder to something behind me.I turned to see what it was, and then, everything changed.

I saw the dust cloud first, a rising plume on the long gravel drive that cut through the pastures like a ribbon of pale smoke.The sight of it sent a jolt straight through my chest.My hands clenched into fists before relaxing again, my pulse hammering as I watched the black sedan roll steadily past the main house and head toward us.The sunlight bounced off its polished hood, the tires crunching over the gravel in the quiet morning air.

I took a slow breath, steadying myself.

My boots were already moving, crossing the ring with long, purposeful strides where I scaled the fence once again.The car rolled to a stop near the main barn, right in front of the hitching post where I had stood a hundred times before, rubbing down horses after morning rides, watching the sun crest over these hills that had been in my family for generations.

But none of it mattered at that moment.

Because the door opened—

And then she stepped out.

Fiona.

The breath whooshed from my lungs.

The sun hit her hair first, setting it ablaze in shades of deep red and copper, her curls bouncing slightly as she straightened.The breeze lifted a few loose strands from her face, the same way it had the first time I ever saw her, smiling at me like she had already decided she was going to ruin me.

She scanned the farm, her expression uncertain, as if she couldn’t quite believe she was here.

She wore jeans and a dark green blouse with a tweed jacket.Her boots, well-worn and scuffed at the toes, kicked up a small puff of dust as she shut the car door behind her.

She looked different somehow, yet still exactly the same.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.I glanced to her hand, the silver ring I’d given her glinting in the sun.

It had felt like an eternity since I’d last seen her.Since I held her, since I heard her voice outside of my own dreams.And now she was right in front of me, flesh and blood, real and solid and heartbreakingly beautiful.

She turned, finally meeting my gaze.

And then she smiled.

A small, tentative thing.But it was enough to set something loose inside me.

I moved.

Before I even knew what I was doing, my boots carried me forward, crossing the space between us in long, quick strides until I stood directly in front of her.

Close enough to reach for her.

Close enough to feel the pull of everything we had been through, everything we had lost, and everything I never stopped wanting.

“Fiona,” I breathed, my voice rough from the weight of it all.“What are you doing here?”

She tilted her head back, looking up at me, something vulnerable flickering written across her face.“I’m here to marry ye if that offer still stands,” she replied with a sparkle in her eye.

“But… how?”I asked, completely bewildered.

“Let’s just say I made a deal with my father that he couldn’t refuse.He gave me permission to marry ye and bought me my plane ticket here.”

The words sent a chill skittering down my spine.My jaw clenched.“What kind of deal?”

She swallowed, tucking her hands into her coat pockets.“The kind that got me here.”

I searched her face, my pulse hammering.She was nervous, bracing for my reaction.I softened and gently touched a strand of her hair, the touch grounding me in a way I hadn’t felt in weeks.“Tell me.”

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