I watch as a small tear rolls down Abigail’s cheek, and I brush it away with my thumb.
“But Ray… well, I guess he thought that I was his property. That if someone could take care of me better than he ever could, it would make him look weak. A fight broke out, and the next thing I knew, Lawson’s fist slammed into the side of Ray’s head. Hit him so hard he fell over and hit his temple on the edge of the counter. He died right then and there.” A gasp slips past Abigail’s lips. “What Lawson did, what they were all prepared to do, even Jasper, it would’ve ruined their lives had Mr. Taylor and Frank—Mr. Taylor’s right-hand man at the time—not shown up and helped, well,take careof Ray.”
“Is he… is he in the same place Ethan is?” she asks quietly.
“He is,” I answer. “I’m telling you this because, despite what I allow myself to believe every once in a while, I know they didn’t do what they did because they thought I was some burden they had to take care of. They did it because they’re the kind of people who keep people safe. They protect what’s theirs and do what has to be done, no matter the cost. And now, so am I. We’re willing to do all of this becausethat’swhat love looks like.”
I cup her face in my hands, thumbs brushing her rosy cheeks.
“And Abigail?” I whisper. “We would have had to deal with the Coates brothers and Miles Keller eventually. But…you…You are worth more than every fence post, every acre, and every sunrise and sunset that rises and falls beyond those mountains.None of itcompares to you or what we would do for you.”
You are not a burden, Abigail Adams. You’re not something we carry—you’re something wechoose. Today, tomorrow, and every day after.”
Her breath shudders.
“I love you,” I say, the words spilling out before I have a chance to rethink them.
Abigail’s eyes widen—just for a second—before she smiles. Soft. Certain. Tears rolling down her cheeks.
“You do?”
I huff a laugh. “It’s impossible not to.”
A choked sob slips past her lips. Like the mere idea of someone loving the woman she is today is a dream she wasn’t ever sure she’d have.
“I love you too.”
Our kiss is inevitable.
It starts gentle, reverent. But it doesn’t stay that way for long. Her hands curl into my jacket. Mine tighten at her waist. The world narrows down to the way she fits against me and the way her lips feel against mine.
I swallow one of her delicious moans, and that’s all it takes for me to remember. Pulling back, I rest my forehead against hers. “We should stop,” I murmur. “You’re still sore.”
She shakes her head, eyes dark and steady. “You love me?”
“More than anything,” I answer without hesitation.
“Then love me, Beau.Please.”
Something in me snaps.
“Fuck it,” I breathe.
I kiss her again—harder this time. She moves with me willingly as I back her up until her shoulders meet a wooden post between two stalls. The barn creeks softly around us, horses shifting, breathing, bearing witness as I give this woman everything I have to give.
My past.
My present.
My future.
Because Abigail Adams isn’t a burden.
She’s my greatest weakness. My deepest desire. My reminder that everything that happened to me wasn’t for nothing, because it led me right here. To her.
She’s no burden.
She’smine.
