"He came back," I realized.
Cy nodded. "He sucked up all of his fucking pride - and that's not easy for a man to do - and he begged. He took the scraps you were willing to give him, and he busted his ass to prove himself. What he doesn't realize is that it worked. I trust him. I..."
"Love him?" I asked.
Cy pushed to his feet and moved back to his chair, but he didn't sit. He just looked at it for a little too long. "Not yet. I love Ash, and I always fucking will. I love you, and I can finally say that without you thinking it's just in a friendly way." Then he pushed out a breath. "But your cowboy makes me feel things, and not just below the belt. I'm also not going to hold back. Emotionally, I mean."
"Don't," I agreed. "Fall in love, Cy. Fall so hard and burn so bright. The boy I knew wouldn't let anything like fear stop him. He'd charge right in, make it clear that if people didn't like what they saw then they could fuck off. And if that didn't work, he'd make them. That's you, Cy. You keep trying to be the calm and sensible one here - the doctor - but you're not."
"Someone has to be," he said softly. "You and Ash? You're dangerous. You always have been, and you fuel each other."
"And Luke?" I asked.
"He doesn't know what type he is yet," Cy admitted.
"And you?"
He finally turned back to look at me. "I'm a fucking mess, Violet. A big one. I spent thirteen years hating myself and you both just forgave me. Well, I mean after Ash threw a few punches, but still. He actuallyforgaveme."
"Because we never stopped loving you," I told him. "Not once, Cy. That's why us leaving hurt so bad, and I'm sorry."
"I'm not," he admitted. "Somewhere along the way Ash became polished, and you? You healed. You figured out that no one else's opinion matters."
"But ours," I added. "You and Ash and Gran? I've done all of this to make you proud of me. I wanted to impress Luke, but I thought it was just to leave him wanting - the way he left me. I wanted petty revenge. Instead, I got something so much better."
"Now we just have to figure out how to make it work for the long haul." He nodded and then eased himself into the chair. "But Faith comes first. She will always come first, and I won't make that man choose."
"Because he won't choose us," I said, nodding to show I understood. "That little girl is Luke's whole world, and I don't mind at all."
"You're going to make one hell of a hot stepmom, though," Cy teased.
I just laughed. "Maybe I want to marry you. Ever thought about that?"
His lips curled into a smile. "I'm ok with that too. Believe it or not, I look good in a tux."
I let my eyes run across his body. "Oh, I believe it, Cy. I think you look even better out of one, though. I have a weakness for a man who fills out a t-shirt like that."
"And here I was daydreaming about becoming Dr. Cyan Walker," he said. "Might have to change that to Dr. Cyan Dawson. Has a nice ring to it. Sounds like someone who belongs at Southwind. Guess I'll have to let that cowboy know he's got a little competition for your hand. I mean, since he already knows we're all fighting to claim your heart."
"Keep sweet-talking, Cy," I laughed, turning back to my books. "It's kinda working for you."
"Or maybe I'll marry the cowboy and you can have Ash. Violet Walker sounds good too."
"Ashton Dawson," I corrected. "I'm keeping Gran's name. Ring or not, I'm not changing it. I worked too damned hard to prove I deserve it. Now, I get to do it all over again."
"You deserve it," Cy promised. "So tell me how I can help."
Chapter Three
Ispent most of the day with Violet, going through the old books. None of us wanted to talk about it, but we all knew that Southwind was going to get dragged into Luke's custody battle. The simple fact that he was living here would make it applicable. That was why Paul Simmons was so interested: because anything that could hurt Southwind would make it that much easier for him to get his greedy little hands on the land.
But unlike Violet, I couldn't sit in an office all day long. The fact that she hadn't put on makeup by dinnertime meant that she was fretting in her own way, and working was her solace. For me, it was something a little more physical, so when the sun started to set, I called it a day and headed out to the barn.
My plan was to throw some hay to the horses and get some measurements. Ash had mentioned that Luke wanted to clean up the place, and we had a budget for the barns. A few pegboards and some tool chests wouldn't even come close to touching it. Since it was finally starting to cool off - August in Texas was brutal - I headed for the work bench first. There had to be a measuring tape around here somewhere.
The closer I got, the more organized I realized things were. Wrenches were on one side. Screwdrivers were on the other. Luke had an entire collection of hammers on the second shelf, and so much more. Under a cloth, I could see a few cords, which meant those were the power tools. I lifted the edge, not surprised at all to see that even they were lined up and organized.
It seemed that anyone who spent time at Southwind learned to keep their crap together in one way or another. Bea had been a stickler for that. She'd said that in an emergency, we wouldn't have time to go hunting for what we needed, so it needed to have a home. Wayward things always belonged somewhere, so we owed it to them to make them a place of their own.
