Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
The corners of her lips tilt to the ceiling, and it’s like a light shining in my soul.
“I’m giving you my heart because I know it’s safe in your hands. And I want you to know that yours is safe in mine.” I lean toward her. “Always.”
She launches herself at me, letting me envelop her in my arms.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
Gray
“I really wish you would’ve told me about this before now.” Hartley sighs through the phone. “That was a lot to go through on your own.”
Telling Hartley about Caroline and Liza wasn’t something I ever planned on doing. But I’ve thought a lot about my relationships with the people in my life a lot over the last few days. I got the idea, from my Pap, probably, that being a good friend, or brother, or son, meant not sharing the hard parts of your life with them. The goal was not to be a burden.
But I’ve come to realize, or theorize, anyway, that I might have been wrong. Because sharing the darkest part of my life with Astrid has only brought us closer together. It freed up a part of me that I can now use on her. Sharing the dark weakens it, allowing more light to shine through.
“Yeah, I know,” I say. “I should’ve said something. But I’ve put it behind me now and we’re all good.”
He chuckles. “I like this version of you.”
“What version might that be?”
“You’re a mortal, just like the rest of us.”
My laughter joins his, and it feels good.
“So, you’re on the back end of the season,” Hartley says. “Any plans for the offseason?”
I pace the kitchen as my stomach winds into a knot.
In a perfect scenario, I would go back to Sugar Creek for the offseason. Find a little place back there to fix up and spend more time on the ranch. But that feels like a dickhead thing to do to Hartley—just come back when I want to and leave when I need to. All the while, he’s stuck there every day.
“We have that cabin behind Baker’s Pasture,” he says. “It’s been empty for five or six years now. I let Jasper crash in it from time to time, but it’s yours, if you want it.”
I swallow hard. “Really?”
“Hell yeah, really. Why do you sound surprised?”
“Well, you know, I mean that I don’t want to just waltz onto your ranch because I have a few months.”
“I don’t know why not.” He sighs again. “Look, Gray—this ranch is mine. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not yours. Sure, I manage the land and the livestock. I do all of that. But this place has been in our family for generations, and I don’t want that to stop now.”
He’s so much better of a man than me.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he says, laughing. “Stay the hell off the equipment. You already lost one piece in the creek.”
I smile. “Oh, come on. That was fifteen years ago.”
“Again, you’ve already lost one in the creek. But this is your home, too. Or I want it to be if that makes you happy.”
I rub my chest, massaging the tightness behind my ribs. It’s a good pain. It’s only there because I never expected to have this relationship with my brother again. I’d convinced myself he was pissed at me. Now, I realize that I made that up because it was easier for me to justify being gone.
“Maybe one day our kids will cause mayhem in these fields like we did,” he says.
“We gotta have kids first, Hart.”
“Yeah, and I gotta find a mama for my kids before that. Anyway …”
I frown, knowing that he’s thinking about Mia right now. But he’ll never bring her up. He hasn’t for years.
“Speaking of women, where’s Astrid?” he asks.
A smile stretches across my face as I look at the clock on the microwave. I’ve checked the time every twenty minutes for the last three hours, wondering what she’s up to and if she’s liking her surprise spa day. I had to form a truce with Gianna to figure out where she’d like to go and what treatments she might like best, and we got through it without me being threatened with a taser. That’s progress.
“Astrid is at the spa getting pampered,” I say.
“That’s nice.”
“She never does anything for herself. So, her friend Gianna picked her up today for lunch, but she dropped her off at the spa instead.” I look over my shoulder as the door unlocks from the keypad. “Hey, she’s home. Can I talk to you later?”
“Anytime. Don’t forget about that cabin, Gray.”
I grin. “I won’t. Thanks, Hart.”
“Later.”
I set my phone down as Astrid comes in wearing the softest yellow sundress. It causes her freckles to pop and her hair to shine. She’s feminine and relaxed … and sexy as hell.
She tosses her keys and purse on the couch and then makes a beeline for me.