Page 137 of Branded Betrayal

She turns, her hands clasped together. “And because I was scared. I mean, what if I came back here and got involved again, only to find out things between us can’t be fixed? It would have devastated me to the point where I really don’t know how I’d be able to move forward.”

“But you did come back.”

She nods. “I realized I can’t heal if I keep avoiding everything that hurt me. And because the letter made me realize all of the things I might be giving up if I didn’t take a chance. If I didn’t try. So I came back. For me. To reclaim this place and my life. To face everything I left behind.”

“I’m glad,” I say softly, my throat tight. “I want you to heal. To find happiness.”

A thought jars me. But what about the Denver boyfriend? Is he coming too?

I ball my fingers into tight fists. Fuck that.

Her lips pull into a tight line, and she stalks over to me. “You know, I had a life in Denver. A boyfriend. A great guy who adored me. An amazing career.”

“I know,” I say. “I heard all about it from Nash. And I’m . . . happy for you.”

She slams a hand against my chest and shoves me. I stumble backward, too shocked to keep my balance. “Yeah, well, guess what? I broke up with him. We were making plans for the future, and I realized I didn’t want that future. I had just been trying to fill the emptiness. And it wasn’t fair to him. To either of us, really. So I ended things. He just wasn’t you.”

My jaw drops, and I’m not sure what to say at this point. Or if I should say anything and risk getting shoved again.

But then I see the way she looks at me. She closes the distance between us, her hands coming up to frame my face.

“I tried,” she whispers, her forehead dropping against my chest. “I tried so hard to get over you. To build a life that didn’t include you. And I couldn’t.”

I wrap my arms around her, and she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she grips my shirt tighter, her breath shuddering against my neck.

“I’m so angry at you,” she says, voice muffled. “For what you did. For making me love you when I shouldn’t have.”

“I know.”

“But I can’t seem to stop.”

I tighten my grip, burying my face in her hair, breathing her in. “I love you, Savvie. I never stopped. I never will.”

She pulls back just enough to look up at me, tears tracking down her cheeks. “I don’t know if love is enough.”

“Then we’ll figure out what else we need.” I cup her face, thumbs brushing away her tears. “However long it takes. Whatever you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

She holds my gaze for a long moment, searching. Then, slowly, she nods.

Her fingers fist my shirt. “I’m not saying I forgive you. Or that we’re together. Or that I trust you. What you did . . . none of that goes away just because you restored this place.”

She releases me and takes a step back, a deep sigh quaking her chest. “But I can’t deny everything you did for me. I’m not saying we can’t find our way back. I’m just . . . I don’t know. I came back to find what I’ve been searching for. My sense of self. A real home.”

With a shrug, she twists her ponytail between her fingers, a move she always makes when she’s carefully considering her next words. “You’re part of that now. I can’t separate you from it. So I don’t know what happens next, but . . . I’m willing to find out.” She bites down on her lower lip. “If you are.”

I swallow hard. “Does that mean you’re staying?”

“I’ll buy the ranch back from you, over time,” she says. “I appreciate all the work you’ve done, and I will reimburse you for everything.”

I hold up a hand. “No. Not a chance. I bought it for you. I’ll sign everything over to you, but I don’t want a cent.”

“It’s too much. I can’t—”

“I insist. Please. Let me have this one thing. I wanted to do this. Every second I spent working to get Red Rock back to its glory days was worth it if at the end of the day, you love it as much as I love you.”

She recoils with a gasp.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that,” I say.