Page 117 of Ride the Sky

It’s a mistake I made after Aiden. I’m not playing hands off. Never fucking again.

I just don’t know what to do to shock some life back into her. Fallon lives and breathes rodeo. It’s in her blood. Legacy.

And Pappy took it all away.

I saw her expression when he told her it was over. Every light in those fierce hazel eyes went out. I’d burn the entire world down for Fallon if I could just get her to snarl at me again. Anything would be better than feeling as fucking helpless as I do.

Charlie props the bag of feed on his shoulder. “We need to go break Pappy’s legs?”

I snort. “Believe me, I’ve considered it.” Considered worse things, too. Like driving my truck through the front of Pappy’s house.

I give Fallon one last look—face impassive, body stiff—then nod toward the barn. “Let’s go.”

In silence, we trudge through the tall grass. The sun arcs across the sky. We make our way across the pasture to the barn and drop the feed in the small tack room. By the time we get to work, my worry over Fallon deflates slightly and I turn my thoughts to my brother.

“So you and Ruby getting down to the wire yet?”

Charlie grunts as he stacks the bags then straightens and wipes sweat from his brow. “Our surrogate’s got about four months to go.”

“Gettin’ close,” I say, snatching a shovel off the wall to scrape up horse shit.

Charlie’s rugged face breaks into a smile. “Feel like I’m gettin’ the whole damn world,” he admits.

I grin at the side of my brother I rarely see. Sappy. Head over boots for a good woman. Ready to become a dad. “Y’all pick a name or anything?”

“Not yet.” Charlie sobers. “It’s been rough for Ruby. With her heart. With this baby comin’. It ain’t for the fainthearted, doin’ all this.”

It’s a rare admission from my guarded brother. My best friend since birth, he and I can always talk to each other. I want him to know that, especially since I’ve been MIA the last two months.

I set the shovel against the wall. “You need anything, I’m here.”

Charlie gives me a look. “You’re busy enough with Fallon.”

“Hell, I don’t even know what I’m doin’ with Fallon.” I squeeze the back of my neck. “She could scream, murder my ass, or go absolutely silent for the next three business days.”

Charlie lifts his Stetson and runs a hand through his hair. “But you like it.”

“I do.” I wipe sweat from my brow. Finally, I admit, to my brother, to myself, “I don’t want a divorce.”

He grimaces.

“I love her.”

He laughs, the sound loud in the silence of the barn. “That ain’t a secret. We all know you’ve been whipped for Fallon for years.”

Why the fuck is everyone suddenly an expert on my and Fallon’s relationship?

Charlie locks eyes with me. “I’ve never seen two idiots more right for each other. You’d be a fool to let her go.”

I swallow. “I know it.”

“I chased Ruby down before she left. You gotta do the same for Fallon.”

I chuckle. “Chase her down?”

Charlie grins. “You’re a cowboy, ain’t ya? You get the girl. Always.”

But what if the girl doesn’t want me? The thought’s enough to damn near get me gasping for air. The reckless part of Fallon I can’t control, the sad part I can’t reach. What if she deserves better? Wants something else other than me?

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