Page 112 of My Cowboy Trouble
"I know."
"I'm still hurt. Still angry."
"Yeah."
"But I'm glad you brought me here. Glad you showed me this."
I press a kiss to the top of her head. "Me too. Even though it’s one of the stupidest fucking things I’ve ever done."
“Yeah. Carving initials is up there,” she says with a laugh.
We get dressed slowly, neither of us in any hurry to break this moment. But eventually, reality creeps back in. The knowledge that we still have a ways to go, that carved initials and hot sex don't cure everything.
"What happens now?" she asks as we walk back to the truck.
"We go back to the ranch. Face the music."
"All of it?"
"All of it. Gavin and Trent are probably pacing holes in the porch by now, waiting to see if you'll even talk to them."
She's quiet as we drive back, staring out the window at the landscape rolling by. I wonder what she's thinking, whether she's already regretting coming out here with me or if she's starting to remember why she fell for this place to begin with.
"Asher?" she says as we turn into the ranch driveway.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For the fence. For the initials. For... everything. You’re a good guy."
Cheesy as it sounds, my heart leaps. "Thank you for giving me a chance."
"We're not there yet. There's still… work to do."
"Yup. But it's a start."
She nods, and I can see her steeling herself for whatever comes next. For facing Gavin and Trent, for dealing with all the complicated emotions this mess has stirred up.
But she's here. She came with me, she let me show her what she means to me, and she's not running. That has to count for something.
Gavin and Trentare on the porch when we pull up, like I knew they’d be, both of them looking like they haven't slept. Gavin's pacing, never a good sign, and Trent's got that stillness about him that usually means he's wound tight as a spring.
"Kenzie," Trent says as we get out of the truck, his voice carefully neutral. "Glad you came back."
"I'm not back," she says quickly, but there's less ice in her voice than there was this morning. "I'm just... here."
"Fair enough," Gavin says, stopping his pacing. "Can we talk? All of us?"
She glances at me, and I nod. This is what weplanned, all of us together, no secrets, no hiding behind pride or fear or any other bullshit.
"Okay," she says. "Talk."
But instead of launching into some speech, Gavin reaches into his pocket and pulls out something small, tossing it in the air and catching it like a coin. When he holds it out to her, I can see what it is—his old rodeo belt buckle. The one from state championships. The one he never takes off.
Kenzie stares at it like it might bite her. "What is that?"
"Proof," Gavin says simply.
"Proof of what?"
