Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
But somehow, I know deep down that I can’t give it to her.
Certainty maybe? Is she asking me to make the choice for her to stay or leave? Course I’ll beg her to stay. Hell, I’m more than a little crushed those tests on the seat there didn’t give us a different result.
I want Mollie to stay. I want her in my bed. In my life.
I want to put a baby in her.
But that ain’t my call to make. Begging would only muddy the waters.
My chest feels tight. She’s leaving. Or thinking about it. I knew this couldn’t last forever. I knew this moment was coming.
And yet I’m unprepared for how fucking awful it feels. My body is hollowed out except for this weird, tinny reverberation that’s like a kick to the chest.
Mollie is leaving.
“That’s the call I was on.” Mollie takes a sharp inhale through her nose. “Mom’s lawyers have been trying to figure out a way around that stipulation since the reading of the will. They got a judge to strike it down.”
“How?” It’s an idiot question, but I don’t know what to say.
Mollie shrugs. “I don’t know. But her legal team means business, so…”
I wish I could be angry. Anger is clean. Easy.
Sadness isn’t.
“So you gotta go back.” I manage a tight smile.
“To sign the paperwork, yes.”
“But for the long haul too.”
Her eyes continue to search mine. “I do want to go back to Dallas. My mom, my friends…things for Bellamy Brooks are finally happening.”
“And you’ve worked so hard for all of that.” I swallow. “You’ve built a life you should be proud of in Dallas.”
“I am proud of it.” She blinks, a tear rolling down her face. “But I’m also proud of the life I’m building here. I want to go, but I don’t want to leave. In fact, I really, really want to stay.”
My hands find her hips. I squeeze them and close my eyes. “Then stay, honey.”
“But how do we make that work? I hate the idea of never being fully present in either place. The ranch is such a magical spot, and it deserves someone’s full attention and devotion. It wouldn’t be fair to half-ass it. It wouldn’t be right.” She wipes away a tear. “But God, I’m in love with it, and I don’t want to just leave it all behind.”
She’s talking about the ranch.
She’s also talking about me. Us. The spark between us that unexpectedly burst into a bonfire.
I run my thumb along the buttons on her shirt. She dresses like a real cowgirl now. Jeans, Ariat shirt, working boots.
I clear my throat. My voice is still hoarse with emotion when I say, “I want to make it crystal clear that I’d like you to stay on the ranch. I’d like that very much. But I also understand why you have to leave.”
“I’m happy here.” She takes my face in her hands. “Happier than I’ve been in a long, long time. But I’m also happy when I’m with my mom and my friends. I’m obsessed with the boots I’m making.” Her lips feather over mine. “I’m more obsessed with you, though. You wouldn’t consider—”
“Moving to Dallas?” I open my eyes. “You said it yourself. The people on this ranch are my everything. My family is here. My work is here. I’m not a city kinda guy.”
Mollie scoffs. “One of the many things I love about you.”
“Then don’t try to turn me into something I’m not.”
Her eyes flicker with hurt.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “That came out wrong. I know you wouldn’t ever try to change me.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
She takes a deep breath. “I appreciate the apology. Thank you.”
“What I’m trying to say is, we both deserve to chase our dreams. Yours are in Dallas, and mine are here. In Hartsville. Rivers Ranch is my dream. Making it into the place it’s always meant to be. I want that more than anything. Or I used to want it more than anything.” I swallow. “Now I want you.”
She puts her hand over my heart. “But you also want to be around your family. Make them proud. Watch them start their own families.”
Christ, this is fucking agony. I can barely breathe around the tightness in my throat.
“Yes.”
Her eyes fill all over again as she nods her head. “I understand.”
“But I don’t wanna let you go.” I squeeze her hips harder. “Even just to go sign that paperwork. I can’t fuckin’ stand the thought of you sleeping somewhere else. I’m worried…”
She looks at me. “You’re worried about what?”
I glance down at my lap. “That you won’t come back to me.”
“I’m coming back, Cash.” She tips up my chin with her thumb. “But if you’re that worried, then you should come with me.”
“To Dallas?”
“Yes.” I see her wheels turning as she straightens. “It’d only be for a day or two. And I don’t like the idea of sleeping without you either. Although I’m apparently about to get my period.”