Ibelieved.
Everything in me sighed with the contentment that Nate was pulling into my driveway; he was coming home to me.To us.
My brain was fighting, telling me this cannot be him.
But there was a Bronco.
But this one…
This one wasn’t new.
Wasn’t customized.
It wasn’t sleek or loud or anything like the one that had been peeled open by metal and ice.
This Bronco was older.
Restored.
Deep green paint, matte, not glossy.
A gentler engine hum, like it had lived a life before this one.
The door opened, and a man stepped out.
Not Nate.
Not even close.
He was maybe mid-thirties.Tall, broad-shouldered, sun-kissed, with dark hair that curled slightly at the ends like he’d run his hands through it a hundred times already today, with dark green eyes that seemed to be taking everything in.He wore jeans, worn boots, and a Henley rolled to his elbows.He looked like he belonged on a ranch.
He took three steps toward the porch before I found my voice.
“I don't know who you are or why you are here.But I don’t want company,” I said, my hand instinctively flattening over my stomach.
He stopped instantly, hands lifting in a gesture of peace.
“I’m not here to intrude,” he said quietly.His voice was low, steady.“I’m here… because I should’ve been here a long time ago.”
The anger that lived coiled under my ribs stirred.
I straightened slowly.“Who are you?”
He climbed the last step but didn’t come any closer than the porch edge.
“My name’s Callum Wade,” he said.“I’m the owner of the Kodiaks.”
My jaw tightened, and my heart rate spiked.
“I think you should leave,” I croaked.“Why would you think I want you anywhere near me?”
A shadow crossed his expression, something like regret, or shame, or both.
“I saw the footage from the hospital and the funeral,” he said.“Of you.Of the way you were treated.The way everything spiralled.So, I dug into what happened.The management… it was inexcusable.And it was my responsibility, whether I realized it or not.”
My hands curled on the railing.I wasn't sure if it was to steady me or hold me back.“You didn’t realize howyourorganization was treating people?”
His voice softened.
