Page 49 of These Reckless Hearts

I tug on his arm to bring him to a stop. “I’d like that.” My stomach squeezes as two red blotches appear on Wyatt’s cheeks. My masculine cowboy sharing his feelings makes the lasso he has around my heart pull tight. I chuckle. “I don’t know anything about running a ranch, but I’ll try.”

“Told you,” Stone teases, the corner of his lip quirking up.

“What wouldyoudo, then?” Wyatt quizzes his friend, playfully shoving him in the shoulder.

Stone shrugs. “The only thing I want is to be next to people who care about me. I’ve spent too much of my life trying like hell to win affection. It would be nice to just enjoy love without having to try so damn hard to win it.”

Wyatt’s eyes widen as if he wasn’t expecting Stone to get so deep, and he claps his friend on the back a couple of times.

“You thought you could win your dad over with the treasure, huh?” I inquire, realizing how much Stone worked before we teamed up.

He nods. “It’s funny. I tried so hard to find it because that’s what he wanted, but now I want to find itbeforehim. Don’t get me wrong, I was always intrigued by it, but I had other motivations.”

We’re a fucked-up group. Even with my life’s story—a father who isn’t actually my father—I don’t have the craziest tale of us all. Deep down, I think Clark Wilder did love me. I’m not sure about Lance loving Stone, though. It seems like the only reason he had him was so he could raise a miniature version of himself.

“Lucas?” Stone prods. “Your turn.”

Lucas starts walking again. “Whatever makes Dakota happy.”

“You must want something,” I encourage, catching up with him. “Anything?”

He stops and studies the ground when my hand grips his forearm. “I already have the family I’ve always wanted.”

His admission hits me like a ton of bricks, slamming into my heart with a force that almost knocks me off my feet. We’re the same in that. If they weren’t here, discovering my true lineage would have devastated me. But not now. Not with them.

I swallow through the thickness in my throat.

Wyatt reaches out to squeeze my hand. “There’s no crying in treasure hunting.”

“I’m not crying,” I protest through fractured tears. After I pull myself together, I continue, “You know, I’ve been thinking. Even if we don’t find the actual treasure right now, we’ve found the most important thing.”

“So, you want to stop searching?” Stone queries, eyebrow raised.

“Fuck that. I’m taking your father down.” I smirk, and they laugh. “I’m just saying, I used to think my life would be over if I never found it, but I don’t think that anymore. Actually, I don’t know what I would do with myself if I did actually find it. I’ve been training for this my whole life.”

“You’ll finish school,” Stone states.

“You’ll come with me to my ranch,” Wyatt adds.

“We’llallcome with you,” Lucas corrects.

“I wasn’t excluding you, dude.” He squeezes his friend’s shoulder. “I’d love to see your ass mucking out stalls.”

“Sounds smelly.” I wrinkle up my nose.

“You get used to it.”

“That sounds like a lie.” Stone’s face looks a lot like mine, and I press my lips together to keep from smirking.

We walk in silence for a while, the scenes of our possible future filling my head. I don’t know what to wish for anymore. I went from wanting to fulfill my family’s legacy most of all to college to these three. What do you do when you have everything you want? Do you keep going? It feels greedy to want the treasure, too. I want to prove to everyone that my family wasn’t crazy this whole time even though I’m not sure I owe that to anyone anymore.

A finger on my chin makes me look into Wyatt’s blue eyes. “You’ve still got to find the treasure, Dakota.” He tugs on one of my curls hanging over my shoulder that escaped from my bun.

“Maybe it’s not mine to find,” I tell him.

Wyatt shakes his head. “I’ve realized something over the last few weeks. I used to shy away from what happened to my family. I didn’t want to be associated with it, and I know I’ve said some shit about your dad, which I meant,” he tacks on, “but it’s still yours to find. You’re still a Wilder. The last Wilder. No one knows your history but us. You can make yourself whatever you want.”

“You already know I think it’s yours to find,” Stone agrees.

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