“I swear on Evie’s life, Sarah—I didn’t say a word. Told everyone how you saved my Angus. Told ‘em you’re an amazing vet.”
The air between us hums, sharp as electricity. My heart trips, and when his mouth dips close. I don’t move away. My body betrays me, leaning in, ready to answer with a hunger I thought I’d buried a decade ago.
Bandit’s bark and Evie’s high and bright voice saying, “Daddy,” makes us break apart so fast that I almost stumble.
Cade swears under his breath.
Bandit barrels across the pasture, barking, with Evie right behind him, pink dress flying, curls bouncing.
Evie launches into her father’s arms. “Bandit and me were playin’ chase! Did you see?” She grins at me. “Dr. K, you want to see the doghouse Daddy made for Bandit?”
Saved—by the kid and the dog.
Hallelujah!
Cade presses a kiss to the top of his daughter’s head, but his eyes stay locked on me over her curls.
They’re dark and stormy, but soft, too. I know how he’s feeling because I feel the same.
For a moment there, we both remembered how to breathe past our pain.
That terrifies just as much as it thrills me.
CHAPTER 27
cade
It’s been a strange week.
Sarah and I are on better footing, even though the abyss between us seems to have gotten deeper. I know the truth now, but like she said, she’s known it all along, so my realization isn’t changing her life in any significant way.
We had a solid argument about me telling everyone at Wildflower Canyon about Landon before she left on the day we almost kissed again, when she accused me of telling people she had poisoned Thunder.
“No.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because this needs to be done right.”
“What does that mean?”
“What you have now could be deemed slander, muddy the waters. A brother who is fighting with his brother, probably because he wants to sell the ranch, and you don’t.”
I stare at her like she’s grown horns.
“How do you know about that?”
She shrugs. “People talk. I have ears. According to the grapevine, his campaign isn’t raising enough money. His competitor is outpacing him. He wants to sell the ranch, get his part of his inheritance.”
I should’ve known that she’d hear. This was a small town, and gossip spreads like ticks in a herd. After all, I’ve even been asked a couple of times if I was selling.
“So I just let people say things about you that aren’t true?” I protest.
“You’ve been doin’ it for ten years, so why not a few more months?” she retorts.
I lower my gaze as I shake my head. “Sarah, allowing it to go on for another day is wrong.”
“I’m not going to let you tip off your brother that he’s being investigated,” she snaps.
