Page 3 of Ride the Sky

I bite my lip. Tonight, I’m young and stupid. Sixteen. I’m that girl with posters of Wyatt Montgomery above her bed.

I pull the second envelope from my back pocket. Glancing down, a small ember of anxiety sparks.

For Wyatt.

What will he say? If anything?

Words were never our strong suit.

Arguments, anger, lust. Secrets. Those we excelled at.

I turn my head and stare out at the deep, dense, dark forest. Something warm and dangerous curls inside me. A spark of memory.

Three years ago. Wyatt and the day of the farewell campfire dinner.

I shake my head, clearing it.

All we are is a mistake. Wyatt knows it. This entire last year, the man has given me those pitiful sad puppy dog eyes every time we came within an inch of contact. I got the message loud and clear.

Not only have I fucked up Dakota’s life, I’ve fucked up Wyatt’s. I see what he’s doing to himself to try to keep me afloat. Looking out for me on the rodeo. He’s another piece of wreckage I’ve left in my wake.

I don’t deserve Wyatt and all his goodness. I’m an asshole. I’m fucked up. I’m a leaver.

Like my mother. Like my sister.

A long line of runaway women.

I glance down at the letter in my hands.

Don’t know why I’m leaving him this letter. Don’t know why I’m telling him where I’m going. Hell, I don’t know why I’ve done half the things I have the last two years.

I inhale a deep breath. Then, like my hands have a mind of their own, they tuck the note into the mesh wire of the screen door. I let go of it like it’s on fire. Before I can chicken out.

Before I knock on the door, throw myself into his arms, and tell him to talk me out of this.

I shake off the thought. I’d be better off with a pack of wild dogs than the wrong man. The wrong man like Wyatt Montgomery.

It’s better this way. He won’t even know I’m gone. Won’t even miss me.

And if he does, he’ll know where to find me.

Before a wave of grief can crash into me, I tear off the steps and cut through the wind. As cold as my rage. As hard as my beating heart. I can almost feel it shudder against the black of the night.

A violent gust rattles the Airstream’s screen door, but I don’t look back.

Everything Aiden took from me—my strength, my health, my sanity—I’ll find it again.

I am Stede McGraw’s daughter. I don’t quit, and I sure as fuck don’t lose.

Moments later, I’m in my truck, throttling the engine, wondering how far away from Resurrection I can get and what I’ll do if I’m turned away from my destination. Most importantly, I stick a cigarette in my mouth and blast AC/DC.

My boot punches gas pedal. The entrance to Runaway Ranch fades to dust as I blaze through the darkness like a cowgirl ready to slay that motherfucking dragon.

I want to go where no one can find me. End of the earth.

End of the sky.

NINE MONTHS LATER

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