Page 139 of Wilde Flame

“It is. What are you going to do now?”

“The one thing I should have done years ago. I’ve got to go.”

“Wait! What should you have done years ago?”

I hit the end button on the screen and watched as the gate slowly opened. Rachel put her car in park and got out.

“Fucking hell.”

I got out of my truck, slammed the door shut, and marched over to her.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You honestly thought you could just show up at my door and I’d fall to my knees and welcome you back?”

“You love me, Caden!”

“No, Rachel, I don’t love you. I didn’t even know what love was until I met Lilibeth. What we had wasn’t love.”

It was a full moon, so I could see her face screw up in disgust. “That little hippie? You honestly think you’ll be happier with her than me?”

“I’m happier without you, Rachel. Being with Lilibeth is just the cherry on top.”

“This is just because you got her pregnant. I can overlook that.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Jesus H, what part of ‘I don’t love you, I don’t want you, leave me the fuck alone’ are you not getting? Rachel, I do not want to be with you. Not now, not in a year, not ever. I’m in love with Lilibeth. We’re having a baby, and if she’ll have me, we’re going to get married.”

She took a step back. “You’ve asked her to marry you?”

“Not yet, but I’m going to.”

With a hand on her hip, she stared at me for a few moments—then she started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

Motioning to me, she said, “You. You and that stupid dream of getting married and having kids. You’re still hanging on to it. Caden, you can come with me! We’ll travel the world together. I finally got my trust fund from my grandparents. Money isn’t a problem anymore. We can go to Greece and Italy, and didn’t you say once that you wanted to go to Greenland?”

It was Iceland, but I wasn’t about to correct her.

“All the money in the world would never make me get back together with you. Honestly, Rachel, I have to thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have realized how unhappy I was for years. How I deserved someone who loved me for me, and wanted to see my dreams come true, as well as her own. Truth be told, you did me a huge favor by saying no to me that day. So thank you for that. It might have taken me a while to realize it, but you leaving was the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me.”

Her mouth fell open. “You realize that if I drive off this stupid ranch, I’m never coming back.”

“That’s the plan. Don’t let the gate hit your ass on the way out.”

“Is this really what you want, Caden? Me leaving you, forever this time?”

I smiled. “Yes. Please leave now, Rachel.”

She stared at me for a good minute before she turned and got into her car. I watched as she drove through the gate, turned onto the road, and peeled out.

Pulling out my phone, I saw that Gatlin had already texted the family the new gate code…and the reason for the change. Emeline was the first to reply.

Emeline: That little bitch! I hope Lilibeth punched her lights out.

Ensley: God, how I wish I’d run into her first. I just got home and must have missed the little twat.

Mom: Girls! Language. Lilibeth, are you okay?

Ensley: Did you punch her? Please tell me you punched her.