Page 2 of Love Me Brazen
I give the door a little push and lock eyes with the shirtless man tucking into his jeans.
Kelly whimpers, drawing my attention. She’s snatching at her clothes, not looking at me.
I’m whirling around and racing for the exit before I know I’m in motion, the hot jaws of shame and failure snapping at my heels. I jump in my truck and back out of my driveway.
This is how horrible accidents happen.I could crash into a tree. Run a red light and cause an accident. Drive off a cliff.
Better that than facing this…
No, I had to leave. Otherwise I would have hit Vance, and I know myself.
I wouldn’t have been able to stop.
I don’t know that I’m headed for Ruby Gulch until I pull up to the gate. I don’t know that I’m crying until I try to punch in the code but the numbers blur together. I don’t know that I need comfort until my arms wrap around Jupiter’s neck and I draw his sweet, musky scent into my lungs.
I don’t know I need someone until Dad shows up in the barn. He places his big strong hand on my shoulder. Telling me not with words, but with his touch.I’m here.
And when I am able to get out enough of the story so that he understands, he helps me saddle Jupe.Two days, he says in that steady, patient tone. It’s both permission and a warning. Take two days to mourn. To scream at the sky. To weep. To bleed.Then come on home and we’ll tackle this together.
“Nothing is ever going to be the same again, is it?” I ask, choking back a sob.
“No,” he replies, his gaze never wavering. “I know it hurts. But you will be okay. Not today, or tomorrow, but you’ll get there. We’ll get through it.”
There is no room in my heart for hope right then, so I set this idea on a high shelf. Something future me could reach for. Examine for its usefulness.
We’ll get through it, and something even more powerful.
You’re not alone.
After one final nod at the man who has stood by me since I came to him as a boy, stubborn and broken and ready to fight to protect myself and my little brother, I swing into my saddle, then spur Jupe toward the mountains.
Chapter Two
Four years later
“You weren’t kiddingabout this being a one-horse town,” Quinn says from the passenger seat. “Remind me again why you wanted to come back here, of all places?”
“Because it’s pretty, and it’s peaceful,” I say, though if I had known my new neighbor would be running his power tools at all hours of the day and night, I never would have bought the cute A-frame I moved into last fall.
Quinn’s expression softens. “Is it helping?”
“I don’t know.” I lower both windows to let in the warm summer breeze while turning out of the airport parking lot.
There’s another reason I wanted to move back to Finn River, but it’s too raw to talk about, even with Quinn.
“Well, tonight should move the needle,” Quinn says, slipping on her shades. “Maybe we’ll find you a cowboy to cozy up with, too.”
I shake my head. “Don’t you start with that.”
“Oh come on, what better way to celebrate your divorce being final?” Her glossy pink lips curve into a cunning grin. “You know what they say. Save a horse, ride a cowboy.”
“I don’t have any horses that need saving.”
“Promise me you’ll at least think about it,” Quinn says as we stop at Finn River’s one and only traffic light.
I give her a noncommittal shrug. It’s easier than explaining the complicated reasons why I’m not in the market for a one-night stand. Or anything that so much as whispers to my fragile heart that it’s safe to come out of hiding. I loved Russel in the way I’ve always loved my people—big and with my whole heart. That he’d torn it to shreds with his secrets and lies...
Reckoning with the fallout is going to take time. Until then, my vibrator and I have a wonderful partnership. She’s dependable, generous, and never guilt trips me for treating myself to a margarita and a hot bath instead.
