But my heart’s already picking up speed, and it has nothing to do with Knox. I don’t know what I’ll say when I see her—hell, I don’t even know if she’ll want to see me.
And then the door opens.
Charming steps in first, grin stretching ear to ear. “Told you he’s fine.” He holds the door, and then?—
There she is.
Sawyer.
She freezes like the breath’s been knocked clean outta her. Her eyes are wide, glassy. Her mouth parts, but no sound comes out.
“Sawyer,” I whisper.
She’s starin’ at me like I’m a ghost. Like she’s not sure whether to cry, faint, or slap me for scaring the shit outta her. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Mama giving Fisher a little nudge. He raises a brow, then quietly follows her out, the door clicking shut behind them as they pull Charming with—leaving just the two of us and the storm of everything unsaid.
“You gonna stand there all day,” I say, “or you gonna come kiss me like you missed me?”
She moves quickly across the room in three long strides,fists knotting in my shirt like she’s afraid I’ll vanish if she lets go. My ribs ache, pain radiating through me from the shot, but I don’t care. Not when she’s here. Then her mouth crashes into mine.
It’s fierce. Desperate.
She tastes like rain and salt and all the things we never said.
She kisses me like she’s trying to make sure I’m real, and I kiss her back like I’m proving I ain’t goin’ anywhere.
When she finally pulls back, her breath trembles against my cheek. Her eyes are bright and wet. “How dare you,” she whispers, voice breaking in the middle. “I thought—” She swallows hard. “I thought I lost you. You’re such a… such a jerk.”
A slow smile pulls at my mouth. “Yeah,” I murmur, brushing my thumb across her damp cheek. “But I’m your jerk.”
“You can’t just—” Her voice cracks, and it almost kills me. “You can’t almost die on me and then?—”
“Then what?” I ask, though my chest’s already tight like I know where she’s goin’.
And then she says it. Words spill out like she’s been holdin’ ’em back for years. “Then make me realize I love you. And I thought I was going to be regretting not telling you that for the rest of my life.”
“You love me,” I say, slowly, like I’m lettin’ the words settle into my bones, tryin’ ’em on because they feel too good to be real.
She rolls her eyes, but there’s no hidin’ the truth in ’em. “Yeah, cowboy. I love you.”
That’s all I can take. I pull her in with one arm—slow, like I’m bein’ real careful with her. “Then I reckon I betterstick around for a while. Just to make sure you never regret it.”
Her fingers trace my jaw like she’s memorizing every line, and I feel her heart hammering. When she speaks, her voice is trembling, vulnerable in a way that’s more painful than anything I'm feelin’.
She looks up at me, a little tremble in her voice, but those eyes—God, those eyes—lock on mine. “Tristan… do you… do you want to be with me?”
I blink, caught off guard for a second. Then a slow grin spreads across my face. “You mean… do I want you to be my girlfriend?”
Her lips twitch in that victorious little smile. “You… said the word.”
I lean toward her, brushing my thumb across her cheek. “I’ll say it for you,” I say softly, the way I do when it’s just us. “I want you, Sawyer. All of you. You can be whatever you want to me.”
I can feel the weight of every word she’s about to say.
“Tristan… I need you to know that if you really want to do this, I’ll ride off into whatever sunset you want, on whatever horse you want. I’ll stay in this town. I know I’ll be happy—but you have to promise me, if I’m all in, you’re all in too. That you’ll never cheat, never almost leave me again… that you’ll be mine the way I’m yours.”
“Sugar… you had me the second I walked into that trailer and grabbed that perfect ass of yours. Cheat? Never gonna happen. I’m all in with you.” She takes my hand, lacing her fingers through mine, holding on like she’s never letting go as I continue. “You wanna be in my phone? I’ll set the lock as your face. You don’t feel right with me doing something? I swear, I won’t do it again—except bull ridin’. That’s who I am, and I can’t lie about the possibility of me gettin’ hurt that way.”
I tip her chin up to look at me. “But you… If you ever need me? I’ll drop everything. I will never—ever—choose anything over you.” My voice cracks a little, and I force it steady. “Never thought I could love anyone… thought I was given abs instead of a heart. But if it’s there, it’s yours. Only yours.”
