I took a step closer, careful to keep my distance. “I wanted to help Mustang Mountain get back on its feet.”
“You did more than that.” Her voice was low and impossible to read. “You secured a future for Mustang Mountain. Only you didn’t want anyone to know.”
I swallowed hard. “Not everyone forgets the past. It’s easier to stay hidden and help from the shadows.”
She studied me for a long beat. “You think the people in this town wouldn’t accept you if they knew what really happened?”
“I know they wouldn’t. People don’t forget. They don’t forgive.”
She shook her head, disappointment tightening her features. “You don’t know that. You’re just afraid to find out.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Because she was right.
Scarlett swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, the quilt slipping. She’d pulled on my sweatshirt again and it was hanging halfway off her shoulder. The sight of her like that almost brought me to my knees.
“You need to stop deciding things for other people,” she said. “For me. For this town. For your brother. You keep making sacrifices no one asked you to make.”
I clenched my fists at my sides. “What was I supposed to do, Scarlett? Let Kacen rot in prison? Let you get dragged into a mess you didn’t create?”
She stepped closer, her eyes flashing in a way that was fierce and beautiful and impossible to ignore. “You could’ve trusted me. That’s all I ever wanted. You could’ve let me in.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
Her jaw tightened. “I didn’t need protection. I needed you.”
Silence fell between us. I wanted to close the distance, to take her face in my hands and beg her to believe I’d done the best I could with what I had. But maybe my best hadn’t been enough.
“Slade’s planning something,” she said. “I could hear it in his voice.”
“He wants to bring a rodeo to town,” I said, grateful for the change of subject. “Ruby told me he brought it up last time he was at the Merc. He thinks it’ll draw crowds and bring in some tourism.”
Her lips twisted into a soft smile. “Mustang Mountain could use some good press.”
“Yeah. And Slade’s good at that kind of thing.”
She reached for her leggings and pulled them on under the hem of my sweatshirt. Her movements were quiet, methodical. “Are you going to get involved?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t build this life to be in the spotlight.”
“But you built it here,” she said, her voice going soft. “In this town. You could’ve gone anywhere. Started fresh.”
“I didn’t want a fresh start,” I admitted. “I wanted to be home.”
That got to her. Her breath caught, and her eyes shimmered. She looked away, then back. “You can still have that, you know. If you stop hiding.”
I crossed to her, finally brave enough to reach for her hand. “I’m tired of hiding. But I don’t know how to come back from everything I’ve done.”
“You start small,” she said. “Forgive yourself for doing the best you could at the time.”
I shook my head. “That might take a while.”
She smiled. “Then I’ll help you.”
I pulled her into my arms, breathing her in, grounding myself in her warmth. “You already are.”
She pressed her face to my chest, her voice muffled. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore.”
We stood like that for a long time while my world slowly shifted back into place.
