Page 118 of Wild As Her

“They acted like I was ridiculous for trying to save it,” she says quietly. “Gave me deadlines they kept changing. Bullied me into signing paperwork. They kept telling me I’d need a miracle if I wanted to keep it. Talked me in circles. Sometimes I think that if I were a man, they never would have done that to me or treated me that way.”

My jaw clenches. “Why didn't you tell me before now?”

She nods once. Doesn’t look at me. “I was just embarrassed. I wanted to save the ranch. I didn't want to lose it.”

"You did save your ranch.” I brush my knuckles down her cheek. “That's why I wanted to fight with you. I saw how hard you were fighting.”

Her eyes finally meet mine. “Thank you, Jack. You didn't have to do that.”

The vulnerability in her voice guts me, and I whisper, "Of course, baby. I'd do anything for you."

“I always pretended like I could handle things. Like I was strong and capable and didn’t need anyone. But I did. I needed you.”

I lean in and press a kiss to her forehead. “Youarestrong. And capable. And so damn smart. And you're not alone.”

She sniffs, blinking fast. “It felt like the town saw it too. Like people knew I was barely holding on. They were polite but... distant. Like they were waiting for me to fail.”

I exhale slowly, keeping my voice low and steady. “People in this town don’t always know what to do with someone who fights for what they love. But that doesn’t mean they look down on you. That means they don’t know how to measure your kind of strength.”

She closes her eyes for a second, her forehead pressing to my chest.

“I didn’t want you to save me at first,” she whispers. “Because I didn’t want you to see me as some damsel in distress.”

I tilt her chin up gently. “I’ve seen you shovel horse crap in a blizzard while screaming at a raccoon to get out of your hay barn. You’re the least damsel-y woman I know.”

She laughs through her tears, and I smile, brushing them away with my thumb. "I'd forgotten about that," she says softly.

“I think that was the night I fell in love with you,” I add, my voice quieter now. “We were just kids, but even then I knew."

She nods, her fingers curling tighter against my chest.

“I just want us to work,” she murmurs.

“We will work. Every single day,” I say, and I mean it with every part of me. “You’re everything to me.”

She exhales shakily and shifts closer, tucking herself tighter under my arm like she’s finally letting herself rest.

“I wish I’d told you sooner,” she says softly.

I kiss the top of her head. “You told me now. That’s enough.”

We lie there in the quiet, hearts beating in rhythm, wrappedup in warmth and truth and everything that’s been waiting between us for years.

She’s not hiding anymore.

And I swear, I’ll never let anyone, especially not a damn bank make her feel small again.

That night when she's sleeping, I fire off a text to Weston and Tucker and tell them to meet me at the bank in the morning.

It's time we handle business around town and let people know that neither Wilder or Jessop Ranch is going anywhere. And we won't be putting up with anymore bullshit.

Chapter 32

Cami

Memory Lane by Old Dominion

Iwake up to the smell of coffee and the feeling of being loved. A warmth fills me that I didn't realize I needed.

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