Page 108 of Wild As Her

“Better than okay.”

We lay in silence for a while, listening to the crackle of the fire and the slow thud of our hearts, which find the same rhythm.

Then I say, “I don’t know how to do this.”

He doesn’t answer right away. He kisses my temple, pulls me tighter. He knows what I mean.

“We'll figure it out. Together.”

I want to believe that.Ido.But the scared part of me still whispers that people leave. That love fades. That I don't know if my heart could survive another loss.I close my eyes and press my face to his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

For now, that’s enough.

Chapter 27

Jack

Hurricane by Luke Combs

The morning after changes everything for me. I've waited so long for her, and truthfully, I'd have waited for forever. I've always known that she was it for me.Even when I was on a ship halfway around the world, I knew. When I worked on missions and wondered if I’d make it out, it was her I thought of when shit went down. It’s always been her, always will be her.

She’s wrapped around me like she belongs there, her bare legs tangled with mine under the worn, thin quilt, the vanilla scent of her shampoo filling me. The back porch creaks gently under us as the breeze lifts through the screens. Sunlight filters through the pine trees, golden and soft. My arm is under her head. My hand is on her hip. And somehow, I never want to move again. I can’t stop thinking about where we go from here. I told her last night that we'd figure it out together.

I’ve been thinking about my dad, Granger, and Jace.Opposition of what we’re trying to do with the ranch. About the ghosts I still haven’t faced and the fact that if I’m going to build something real with this ranch, with Cami, then I can’t keep running from the past. I have to face things and put the things in the past behind me.

I kiss the crown of her head, then take a deep breath. "I think I should go see him."

She shifts against me, groggy. "What?"

"My dad."

Cami goes still. “Really?”

I swallow hard. "Maybe if I go see him in prison, I’ll finally stop feeling like he's going to come back and ruin everything again. Maybe I’ll get some closure."

And I can try to find out who is messing with the ranches. Because I have a feeling he’s behind it and there are even more snakes around in plain sight I haven’t figured out yet. Granger isn’t smart enough to be doing what he’s doing alone.

She props her chin on my chest, studying me. Her eyes are still sleepy, but alert. "I'll go with you."

My gut clenches. "No."

She blinks. "No?"

I shift, propping myself up slightly. "I want to protect you from him. From that place. From what he can still do to me if he has access to you."

She lets out a low laugh. "Jack, I don’t need protecting. If you want to be with me, be a team with me. I can handle it. We can handle it. We can handle anything together."

God, she means it. I can see it in her eyes—the fire, the steadiness, the fierce loyalty. It hits me all at once: she’s not just my partner on paper. She's my anchor. She's my shelter from storms. And I am hers. We always have been, even when we had years apart. She still had my heart even when she didn’t know it.

I look at her, my chest tight, my throat thick. I nod slowly. "Yeah. You can go with me, baby."

"Baby?" she teases.

I kiss her head and pull her to me again. "Yeah, baby."

We sit like that for a while. Talking quietly. She teases me about my morning breath. I tell her she drools when she sleeps. She doesn’t deny it. And in that soft, early light, with nothing but our honesty between us, I almost feel like I can do anything. Like facing him won’t break me.

After checking on the visiting hours, we take off and drive in silence most of the way, the sound of the tires on the highway filling up all the space between us. Cami’s hand rests lightly on my thigh, a steady rhythm that keeps me grounded. I keep glancing over at her, half-waiting for her to change her mind, to tell me she doesn’t want to do this. She doesn’t.

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