Her expression softened, but she didn't interrupt.
"It looks like me not asking you to slow down or choose me over yourself," I continued."I don't want you smaller.I don't want you waiting.I want to choose with you, even if the outcome isn't guaranteed."
"Even if I still go to the clinic."
"Even if you still go," I confirmed."This isn't me trying to stop you.This is me telling you that when you come back—if you come back—I won't be the same man who kept you at the edge of my life.I want you front and center, Trouble."
She was quiet for a long moment, her gaze searching mine like she was trying to figure out if I meant it.
"You’re sure?"she finally asked.
"Yeah."
Lilah pushed off the stall door and closed the distance between us, stopping just close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in her eyes.She didn't touch me.Didn't lean in.Just stood there, holding my gaze.
"I'm still going to Bozeman," she said.
"I know."
"And I'm not making promises about what happens after."
"I'm not asking you to."
Her lips curved into the smallest smile, something almost sad but not defeated."You really waited until now to figure this out."
"Yeah," I admitted."I did."
She shook her head and exhaled a soft laugh.The she reached up, her hand settling against my jaw, her thumb brushing the edge of my cheekbone.
"I love you too," she whispered."But loving you doesn't mean I’ll stop building my life."
"I don't want it to."
"Good."Her hand dropped, and she stepped back, putting space between us again."Then we'll figure out what this looks like when I get back."
I nodded, the tightness in my chest easing just enough to let me breathe.
She was still leaving.The ledger still existed.The feud still loomed.The countdown was still on for having to report to the insurance company.But the truth was finally out in the open between us, and whatever happened next would be built on that instead of silence.
I'd crossed a line I couldn't uncross.And for the first time in weeks, that didn't feel like failure.
It felt like a choice.It felt like finally opening my heart wide enough to let someone else inside.It felt damn right.
CHAPTER10
LILAH
The ranch looked exactlythe same when I pulled through the gate.
Same fence line.Same gravel drive.Same weathered barn catching late afternoon light like it had been doing long before I ever showed up.
But something felt different.
Not the place itself…me.
I'd left Mustang Mountain a week ago, wound tight and unsure, and I was coming back tired but solid.The clinic had gone well.I'd taught riders who listened, worked horses that responded, and reminded myself that my career didn't stall out just because my personal life got complicated.I'd flown.I'd proved what I needed to prove.
Now I was back, pulling up to Dawson's ranch with my trailer rattling behind me and no script for what came next.
