Page 131 of Stay Wild Darlin’

Dalton slowed even more as we passed, and I noticed the barn behind the house. It was weathered and leaning, the red paint chipped and sun-bleached, the roof starting to sag near one corner.

“The barn looks like it’s falling apart,” he said, tilting his head.

He was right—it had seen better days, but my eyes stayed on the house.

“Look at the wraparound porch,” I whispered, a soft sigh escaping my lips.

There it was, the ache I always felt when I passed it. Not for what it was now, but for what it could be.

A front porch swing.

Coffee in the morning.

Sticky fingers from Cora’s popsicles in the summer.

The scent of honeysuckle drifting through the screens.

I shook my head, forcing myself to look away from the porch before I got carried away.

Dalton and I had gotten closer—a lot closer, but he was still . . . my boyfriend.

Anything could happen. People changed. People left. I knew that better than anyone. One shift in the wind and the life you thought you were building could disappear before your feet even hit the ground.

I wasn’t naive. I didn’t wear rose-colored glasses. I’d earned my realism.

Dalton was good to me. Better than good. He made me feel safe in a way I hadn’t in years, but there was still this small, guarded voice in the back of my head whispering, What if it doesn’t last?

What if he changed his mind?

What if it got too hard?

What if this version of “home” was another temporary stop before Brooke showed up?

I swallowed hard, staring out the window again as the little house disappeared behind us.

Somewhere inside, I wanted to imagine a porch like that with Cora’s toys scattered across it, a pair of muddy boots by the door, and the sound of Dalton’s laugh coming from the kitchen, but wanting something didn’t mean it would happen.

“With a million dollars, I could buy you something bigger.”

I blinked, turning to look at him, caught somewhere between Wait, what? and Did he really say that?

Buy me something?

We hadn’t even said I love you yet. We slept in the same bed. Shared toothbrush drawers and fought over what shows to binge. This sounded like a promise with roots.

I smirked to deflect, letting the warmth flush in my chest. “You gotta win first, bull rider.”

He grinned at that, his hand slipping from the gearshift to squeeze my thigh gently.

“I like the charm of that house. It’s unique. It looks like it needs people to call it home, but there’s nothing wrong with it,” I said, feeling my throat tighten.

Kinda like me.

I was worn around the edges, not shiny or new, but maybe still capable of being loved.

We pulled up to Beau and Fable’s house as the last of the sun disappeared behind the trees. Dalton parked along the gravel drive, behind a line of trucks already there.

As we stepped out, Gatlin pulled in behind us, giving a quick wave. The passenger door opened, and Harleigh climbed out, her smile easy and bright.