I stayed where I was for a long minute, staring at the note lying in the center of the table. The words glared up at me under the kitchen light.
He can’t protect you forever.
The paper was creased, edges soft from how many times I’d unfolded it. I reached out and folded it again, this time smaller, until it fit in my palm. I slipped it into my pocket, the same way I’d done hours ago, and stood.
The kitchen felt too still now, too clean after the storm that had just moved through it. I grabbed my hat from the counter and stepped outside. The night air hit cold against my face, sharp enough to clear my head. Out beyond the line of trucks, the fields stretched quietly and endlessly. The moonlight spilled silver across the gravel, catching on the frost forming near the fence posts.
Somewhere out there, he was watching.
But so was I.
And this time, I wasn’t watching alone.
I climbed into the truck, the seat creaking beneath me, and sat there for a long moment before turning the key. The enginerumbled to life, steady and familiar. I looked once toward the horizon, the distant glow of the ranch house where I knew Kristin was trying to sleep.
The promise I’d made her earlier echoed back in my head.
I’ll be back for you.
And I meant every word.
I shifted into gear, gravel crunching under the tires as I pulled away. Whatever it took, whatever line I had to cross, she was worth it.
Because no one threatened what was mine and walked away untouched.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
KRISTIN
The rawness of the day and the fact that he was once again putting himself in danger made me anxious. When people start caring too much about me, that’s when I run. Well, if this wasn’t caring too much, I didn’t know what would be.
“You and the guys don’t have to do this,” I said quietly as the truck bumped over the snow drifts and the moon shone high in the night sky.
“We do, you’re one of us, Kristin, you always have been.”
“But I left,” I almost whispered as we pulled up in front of the house. Linc put the truck in park and got out. I followed him to the house. He hadn’t said another word, but as soon as he closed the door, he turned to look at me, his eyes filled with pain.
I’d known this conversation was coming. For three years, it sat between us like a locked trunk. He never asked, and I never offered, and it was easier that way, easier to pretend that walking away from him had been a closed chapter. But tonight, something in his eyes told me the lid wasn’t staying shut anymore.
“You think I forgot?” Lincoln’s voice was low, dangerous in its restraint. He stood across the room, arms crossed overhis chest, shoulders coiled tight. “You think I don’t remember waking up one morning and you were just gone? Mrs. Johnstone was looking at me with such sad eyes that someone might as well have been dead. That engagement ring was in my pocket because I was tired of the back-and-forth. I just wanted you.”
My chest tightened. “Linc.”
“No.” His voice snapped like a whip. “Don’t say my name like that. You want to explain? Then explain. Because three years, Kristin. I drank and fucked it away but nothing helped. Nothing eased the pain of losing you and I’ve still got no damn idea why you walked out without a word.”
The weight of his stare pinned me in place. My throat felt raw before I even spoke.
“I left because I was scared,” I whispered.
“Scared of what? Me?”
“No!” The word burst out of me too fast, too sharp. I forced myself to breathe, to steady. “I wasn’t afraid of you. I was afraid of what you made me feel.”
His jaw flexed, but he didn’t speak.
“I didn’t know how to be that close to someone,” I said, voice shaking. “I didn’t know how to need anyone. Throughout my life, people have left, or worse, stayed just long enough to prove I wasn’t worth their time. And then there was you.” He flinched, just barely, but I saw it.
“You were steady and sure and, everything I didn’t believe I deserved. And that terrified me. Because the longer I stayed, the more I could picture a whole future with you. Marriage. Family. A life I didn’t think I was built for. And the second I saw that, all I could think was, I’ll ruin this. I’ll ruin him.”
