He exhales, rougher now. Like he’s losing his grip on something. “I don’t do this,” he says.
“Do what?”
“This.” His hand lifts slightly, then drops again. “Whatever this is.”
I take a small step closer. Close enough that I can feel the heat of him even without touching. “Maybe you should,” I say.
His gaze locks on mine. “Foster kid. That’s my tale of woe. Treated like shit long as I can remember. A rescue like the horses I work with…”
Silence settles heavy.
“Only no one took the time to rescue you, did they?” I finish.
Something simmers behind his eyes. My words have hit too close.
There’s a moment—sharp, suspended—where everything narrows.
The fire. The voices. The music.
Gone.
It’s just him. Just this.
He leans in. Barely. “Some things aren’t worth rescuing.”
But his eyes simmer in the twilight, dropping to my mouth. He doesn’t believe his own lie.
I freeze, anticipation shuttling through me like tiny sparks of electricity.
Then, he stops himself. He closes his eyes for half a second like he’s physically pulling something back into place. When he opens them again, it’s different—controlled, shut down.
“Enjoy yourself, Dakota. Don’t stand here with an old grump like me.”
This time, it’s not a suggestion. It’s the last thing he’s got.
I hold his gaze a second longer. Then I nod. “Maybe I like grumps, though old? Not quite how I’d describe you.”
The last part earns his curiosity. “Describe me,” he growls like I’ve said something wrong.
“Guarded. Quiet… looking for something you can’t name.” I step back. The distance hits immediately. Cooler. Emptier.
His eyes narrow, deep indigo catching the reflection of firelight. But he doesn’t say another word. And his face doesn’tbetray anything—not interest, not want, nothing but a vague curiosity he works to conceal.
I turn toward the fire, the noise, the place he refuses to step into.
But I feel it. The pull between us. Stronger now. Clearer, too.
And when I glance back once more, just before I disappear into the light, he’s still watching me.
As if letting me walk away costs him something.
Chapter
Five
LEVI
The storm hits just after dark.
