Page 95 of Unruly

I park around back, out of sight, and check my reflection in the rearview mirror. Tired eyes, frizzy hair, but no mascara streaks. Good enough. I touch up my lipstick, grab my bag, and slip through the back door.

My gaze locks on the broad shoulders hunched at the far end of the bar. Cash. Whiskey glass in hand, eyes not really landing on one particular thing.

Aria catches my eye from behind the bar and gives me a small, knowing smile before disappearing into the back. I take a breath, heart hammering, and walk toward him on quiet boots.

He doesn’t hear me at first. I stop just behind his stool, close enough to smell the faint remains of his cologne mixed with hay. My chest tightens with everything I’ve been holding back for two weeks.

The grief. The relief. The want.

I reach out and tap his shoulder gently.

Cash turns, and the moment his eyes meet mine, the whole world narrows to just us. Surprise flickers across his face, and his glass thumps softly onto the bar. He pivots fully on the stool, knees parting as if instinctively making room for me.

“Halle,” he breathes, as if he’s seen a ghost.

I smile, small and tired. “Hey, stranger. Miss me?”

I step into the space between his legs without hesitation, wrapping my arms around his neck. He braces one hand on the bar behind him, the other coming up to settle at my waist.

“Every damn second,” he murmurs, that confident, crooked smile tugging at his lips. His thumb brushes the curve of my hip through my shirt, grounding me. “Thought you might’ve decided to stay gone. Had half a mind to ride to Dallas and drag you home myself.”

A soft laugh escapes me. “Divorce is done. Zach didn’t even show up. He’s in Costa Rica, apparently.” I give him a pointed look. “It’s all over.”

He smirks, knowing that Zach is buried somewhere deep in a forest. Then, his eyes darken. “So, what does that mean for me, Halle?”

I lean in and kiss the corner of his mouth, tasting the faint bite of whiskey. “You still looking for a girlfriend?”

His hand tightens at my waist. “Hell, I’ve been waiting on you since the day you came back to Cedarbrook all those months ago.”

I kiss him again—slow, sweet at first, pouring in every unsaid thing from the last two weeks. The grief I carried alone. The relief of being free. The want that had grown louder with every mile. Cash kisses me back like I’m oxygen—like he’s been starving for this. When we finally break apart, breathing each other in, Aria whistles from the back hallway.

Cash’s lips curve into that rare, full smile I love so much.

“Welcome home, Darlin’,” he says against my lips, voice low enough that only I can hear.

I rest my forehead against his, letting the warmth of him chase away the last of my doubts. “I am home.”

The bar fades around us—the clack of pool balls, the low murmur of voices. For the first time in years, the future doesn’t feel like something to survive. Instead, it’s something I’m looking forward to.

Aria reappears with two fresh drinks, sliding them across the bar with a wink. “On the house. Looks like you two have some catching up to do.”

Cash doesn’t let me go as he reaches for the glasses, keeping me tucked between his legs. “Damn right we do.”

And for the first time in forever, I let myself believe I might actually be safe in someone’s hands.

EPILOGUE

HALLE

Eighteen Months Later

“I can’t believe we’re doing this. They’re going to kill us when they find out.”

“You better believe it, wife-to-be. We’ll be there before you know it. No going back now.”

I clutch my boarding pass, heart pounding, as I check my phone for the fifteenth time in the terminal. Cash proposed to me about six months into dating. I said no, but he did it again about three months later and I said no again. It’s basically turned into a year of him asking me and giving him excuses.

Until now.