Page 5 of Born Wild

My chest feels tight. I can’t breathe. I can’t even form a response.

When the line goes dead and the dial tone rings in my ear, I drop to the ground and hug my knees to my chest, giving in to the pain.

God, I’m so stupid.

What did I think would happen? What did I expect from that call? He made it clear he wasn’t interested in anything beyond a summer romance.

Yet how unfair is this?

He could disregard what is happening. He could live his life like I never existed. I am stuck with the consequences of our nights together.

I will be the one to pay for our sins.

I will have to face an impossible choice—one that will alter my life forever, no matter which path I choose. And I am completely alone.

2

TIM

It’s late in the afternoon when I turn onto the highway away from the hardware store and head back toward the ranch. There’s a rattle from the back of my truck as rolls of barbed wire and fence posts bump against each other, so I slow to a good ten miles under the limit. Rolling down my window, I crank up the radio and enjoy the breeze after a long day of work.

My gaze drifts to the road ahead, paying a little more attention to the cars and people I pass.Praying I’ll see a certain someone.

Cassie. Of course.

She’s back in town. I know this bit of news, not only from the townies who mention her, but from the last letter I received from her. That’s right, I didn’t abandon my pen pal promise, and neither did Cassie. For the first time, I feel as if she and I are real friends, and that gives me hope. Hope for the possibility that we can be more than friends one day. Hope for more.

But all those hopes live in my head because we’ve yet to cross paths. I am dying to see her. To talk to her. To be near her.

I do a double take when I notice Cassie standing by one of the phone booths near the mechanic’s shop. I lift my hand to wave, a smile forming on my lips at the sight of her. But my excitement is cut short when she doesn’t lift her gaze to meet mine.

Are those tears staining her perfect face?

Not wasting a second, I check my mirrors and flip my truck around, wincing as the supplies I picked up for the ranch tumble around in the back. Thankfully, they stay in the truck bed because if they fell out right now, I’d leave them in the road. My concerns are consumed by the young woman crying on the side of the road.

In all my years, I’ve never seen her so distraught.

God, I hope she’s okay.

My tires kick up rocks and dirt as I hit the brakes and throw the gearshift into park. Only then does she lift her gaze, and when our eyes meet something inside me cracks open. I need to comfort her like I need my own breath.

“Cassie?” I jump out of the truck and rush toward her.

“Tim?” Her voice breaks and she closes the space between us, practically falling into my open arms. Sobs wreck her. Big, ugly cries that turn my stomach with fear.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Questions fire from my lips as I hold her to my chest but she doesn’t answer, only crying harder. I try to be patient, I swear I do, but when minutes pass and her tears don’t subside, I have to know what’s caused the woman I love so much pain.

“Cassie, talk to me.” I step back, bracing her shoulders and meeting her gaze with as much calmness as I can muster. “Darlin’, say something before I drive you to the hospital.”

Her eyes widen and she turns away, her body leaning over as she vomits all over the ground.

Shit.

“Cassie?” I hold her to my side, making sure she doesn’t pass out while she’s sick. It’s quick though, and when she uses my arm to steady herself as she stands straight, I reach into my back pocket and retrieve my handkerchief.

She takes it, her eyes downcast as she wipes her mouth and brushes her hair from her face. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

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