She sighed, like she didn’t want to talk about it. He half expected her to just turn around and leave, and maybe she would have if her leg wasn’t hurting her so badly. But instead, she answered him.
“Life wasn’t all bad out there,” she replied. “I loved being next to the ocean. And I got to know some cool people in the Bay, too—they were sad when I left, actually. I thought about sticking around there, but I had to go back to Kings Mountain. That was where it all started for me. Felt like a full circle moment.”
She shook her head.
“Maybe I should have just accepted that my career in North Carolina was over,” she added. “None of this would have happened if I had just stayed put.”
“Yeah, but you were always stubborn,” he added, as she shifted her hand back to the fence.
“I wasn’t that bad,” she protested.
He laughed. “Bailey, remember I worked with you,” he reminded her. “I saw all the sides of you. And how hard it was for you to let go of anything, even when it would have been a better idea.”
Kind of like she was doing now, actually. If she had been smart, she would have seen that there was no reason to keep pushing to get to the bottom of this corruption scandal. They were small-time, and it would likely just cause her more suffering in the long term. But she had made her mind up, and when she made her mind up, there was no stopping her.
“Maybe I’ve changed,” she remarked. “I had to learn a lot of patience working behind a desk all that time.”
“Maybe you have,” he agreed, though he wasn’t sure he believed it.
He could tell by the way she carried herself she was the same Bailey he had known from all those years ago—the same woman filled with ambition and a sense of justice that ran deep down inside of her. These guys didn’t know what they were up against. Getting Bailey involved in all of this might have been the biggest mistake they had ever made.
But, judging by the state of her now, it might cost her more.
“What about you?” she asked, turning the question around on him.
“What about me?”
She gestured around the paddock. “You always seemed like such a cop to me. You must have been going crazy up here, bored all this time.”
“It’s not as bad as all that,” he replied. “Not anymore, at least.”
He had struggled when he’d first arrived, trying to adapt to this new reality and this version of himself that wasn’t a cop. The version of himself that wasn’t out on the beat doing everything he could to make the world a safer place.
“It’s been a good change of pace,” he continued. “I get to help people here. I still feel like I’m doing some good. And the people who run this place, they’re damn good guys. I’m grateful they gave me a purpose after I…”
He trailed off. No point in finishing that sentence. After he had given up his old purpose? That was what he really felt like saying. He had walked away from everything he had known, and getting settled here had been tough. He could still remember those first few restless months, feeling like he had made a mistake and wondering how long he could stick this out. Wondering if he could turn back time and undo what he had done, though he knew it was far too late for that.
“Never thought I would see you settle down, especially not in a place like this,” she added. “It’s just a plot of land in the middle of nowhere.”
“That’s what it looks like from the outside,” he agreed. “But there’s way more to it than that. Way more to everyone here, too. Everyone has their stories. Either they’re running away from something, or they’re searching for their own purpose. I guess I was a little of both.”
“Guess so,” she agreed, and he saw the flicker of a smile pass over her lips. He missed that smile, more than he would have cared to admit to himself. Seeing it again made his chest tighten. He shifted his gaze from her, not wanting to stare for too long. Their history was too long and messy now to let anything romantic get in the way. Even if he wished things were different.
“It’s like it settles into you as you settle into it,” he explained. “I didn’t think I would like it here as much as I do, but the longer I stayed, the more I liked it. Maybe you’ll find the same thing, too.”
“Maybe,” she replied with a shrug, as though she didn’t really believe him. “You think you’ll ever leave?”
He looked around at the paddock, Wheatie, and the other horses gallivanting around happily. This place was so far removed from his old life, it was hard to even imagine what being a cop had been like. Yes, there were times when he missed it, but this place had become his new home, and he didn’t want to change that.
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
He was surprised by his answer, but it felt right. There was a time when he would have jumped at the chance to get out of here and return to what he had known before, but with Bailey standing in front of him, it didn’t seem as pressing as it once had. Maybe it was her he had been missing, not the life he’d lived when they were working together.
“Well then, I’m happy for you” she replied. “If it works, it works.”
It was about the first nice thing she had said to him without any qualification, and he appreciated it. It felt as though they were finally starting to come to a place of understanding. Maybe they could even work together in taking out the men who had done this to her—to them. When he thought of how they had turned on her, his blood boiled, and he knew he needed to pull himself together before he made any kind of move. If he went after them now, he wouldn’t have been able to contain his emotions. Bringing them down would need the kind of cool, levelheaded planning he wasn’t capable of when he thought of her being hurt.
She brushed a hand over Wheatie’s nose again, and the horse snorted happily before she turned and trotted back into the field to graze. Bailey’s gaze lingered on her for a moment, a small smile on her face. Aaron just stood and looked at her. Being this close to her again, having her with him, was still surreal. He had never thought he would see her again, let alone in these circumstances, but he was glad he’d had the chance. If only sohe could take the opportunity to clear the air a little about what had happened between them. He hadn’t betrayed her—he’d only done what he needed to keep her safe, and he had to make sure she understood that.
