"Yeah."
"For Calla."
"For Calla," he confirmed."The outfit wanted quality stock for their program.She fit better there than your horse ever would.And Calla fits your future better than my operation."
I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around it."That mare was worth?—"
"I know what she was worth," Dawson said, his voice even."And I know what I chose."
The weight of that settled between us, heavy and deliberate.This wasn't an impulsive romantic gesture or grand declaration.This was years of work.Plans quietly rewritten.A future he'd been building that he set aside because mine mattered more.
"Dawson."My voice came out rough."You didn't have to?—"
"I wanted to."
"But she was?—"
"A good horse," he said."And she'll do well where she is.But you needed yours back, and I had leverage they wanted.So I used it."
I stared at him, my heart in my throat, trying to find the right words and coming up empty.Because what he'd done wasn't about saving me.It wasn't about proving something or putting himself between me and a problem I couldn't solve.
It was about seeing an opening and taking it.About choosing partnership over protection.About trusting that I could carry what came next without being smaller for it.And that mattered more than any declaration ever could.
I didn't think, just moved.I crossed the space between us in a run and threw myself into his arms, wrapping around him hard enough that he rocked back a step before finding his footing.His hands came up immediately, one at my waist, one sliding into my hair, and he held me like he'd been waiting for exactly this.
"Thank you," I whispered against his neck.
His grip tightened."You don't have to thank me."
"Yes, I do."I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes."You gave up something that mattered."
"So did you," he said."Every time you walked away from unsafe work.Every time you chose integrity over easy money.That's what made this worth doing."
My chest ached in the best possible way.
So I kissed him.
Not soft.Not tentative.Full and fierce and certain, pouring everything I couldn't name into the contact.He kissed me back just as hard, hand cupping my jaw, his thumb brushing my cheekbone, grounding me in a way that felt like we were building a foundation together.
When we finally broke apart, breathless and steadier, I rested my forehead against his."I'm staying," I said.
Dawson's mouth curved into the smallest smile."Yeah?"
"Yeah."I pulled back, holding his gaze."At least through rodeo season.Maybe longer.We'll figure it out."
"We sure as hell will.”Dawson nodded once, like he’d already accepted that outcome but hadn’t dared to hope for it.“Rodeo season’s not short.”
“I know.”I smiled.“That’s why I said it.”
He exhaled, long and slow, and some of the tension I’d watched him carry for weeks finally eased out of his shoulders.
“I should tell you,” he said, pulling back enough to look at me.“I talked to Torin again while you were gone.”
That caught my attention.“Did something else happen?”
“No, but I wanted his take on things.His family’s been here longer than most.Longer than the Kincaids.Longer than the Hollisters.”He shrugged.“If anyone knows what those old markers mean, it’s him.”
“And the ledger?”
