Page 113 of Stay Wild Darlin’

I swallowed hard, but it did nothing to stop the ache already building in my throat.

Talk.

He wanted to talk.

When has that ever ended in anything but the floor crumbling beneath you?

I pulled the sheet tighter around my body and curled my arms around my knees, trying to quiet the rush of thoughts screaming through my head.

Last night felt real. He had felt real.

The way he touched and held me. Shit, even the things he said felt true.

Maybe it was only sex. Maybe it was temporary. Maybe I was the only one who thought it meant something more.

I couldn’t trust my voice, so I nodded.

“Beau and Fable are on their way to Dallas with Cora.”

I sat up straighter, heart skipping for a whole different reason. “Why? What’s wrong?”

He shook his head quickly. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine. Fable’s got a doctor’s appointment up here, and I asked them to drop Cora off.”

“Okay . . .”

“I want to go to my parents’ house and tell them about Cora. I want to bring you.”

I let out a shaky breath. My body sank back into the pillows as the fear I’d built up finally eased.

“That’s why you’re stressed?” I whispered, my voice trembling as I let out a stunned laugh. “Oh my god. I thought—” My lower lip wobbled. “I was terrified you regretted everything.”

“Darlin’—” He was out of the chair in an instant, climbing back into bed and pulling me into his lap. “That’s not it at all. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Dalton,” I muttered, swatting at his chest, trying to laugh through the remnants of panic still buzzing in my system. “When someone starts with ‘We need to talk,’ that is the universal code for emotional doom.”

He looked at me, guilt flickering in his eyes, then we both broke into laughter, his forehead resting against mine.

“I’m sorry, Poppy,” he murmured. “Truly. I should’ve said it.”

“I’m sorry too. So, going to see your parents?”

He nodded, brushing his knuckles under my chin with a touch so gentle it made my throat tighten again.

I shifted in his lap, straddling him as he sat back against the headboard. With my legs wrapped around his waist and my arms draped over his shoulders, I traced the freckles across his skin—little constellations that made up the man I was still memorizing.

“I think it’s time, and I saw how brave you were yesterday. I want to prove to myself that I can be brave like you.”

“You keep saying you want to be brave like me, but Dalton, you already are.”

His eyes flicked up to mine.

“You left everything behind. The name. The expectations. That life that was laid out for you like a goddamn checklist. You didn’t walk away from it, you built something different. Something yours.”

He swallowed, jaw tight, but didn’t look away.

“You raised your daughter when no one believed you could. You got back on bulls after your entire life changed, trusting a nanny to watch your child while you were out of state. You didn’t follow the rules. You didn’t cave to pressure. You did what you knew was right.” My voice broke a little, but I kept going, sliding my hands to frame his face. “You’re the bravest person I’ve ever known, Dalton Culpepper. You’re also the best.”

His throat worked like he wanted to respond but couldn’t find the words.