Page 160 of Stay Wild Darlin’

His shoulders slumped like he hadn’t let himself believe that was possible. “I was worried that when you ran off, that was it. You were done. I was too much. I fucked up too bad this time⁠—”

“No.” I reached for his hand, grabbing it like I could stop the words from coming out. “No, you don’t get to say that.”

He tried to look away, but I kept going. “We’ve talked about this before. You aren’t a fuckup. You’ve been dealt a shitty hand, Dalton, but look at how you’re handling it. Look at what you did today. You showed up. You protected Cora. You let go of someone who couldn’t love her the way she deserves. That’s not weakness. That’s impressive.”

He let out a soft breath, but it didn’t sound like relief. More like defeat. “You still ran.”

“I did and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run from you. I-I needed space. The room was full, and I wasn’t helping. I wasn’t calming anything down, I was adding tension. I didn’t want to be part of the chaos. Not for Cora’s birthday.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I am so fucking sorry.”

I shook my head, eyes still on the lake. “Don’t be. I feel bad for Brooke. And I’m sorry that happened to you.”

The breeze picked up, cool against my skin, carrying the scent of water and pine.

“I’m also sorry I ran away so fast. I need to work on that. I didn’t grow up in a family that talked about feelings. I never had friends—aside from that online group—so I kinda suck at it. Especially when I’m overwhelmed.” I glanced at him, cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Sometimes it’s easier to leave than to risk saying the wrong thing and making it worse.”

“You can never say the wrong thing.”

I let out a short laugh, not because I didn’t believe him, but because I desperately wanted to.

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Let’s agree that we’re a partnership. Together, we’re in this.”

“Are you sure?”

A part of me was still bracing—for rejection, for uncertainty, for the cracks I was afraid might still be hiding beneath the surface—but he nodded, no hesitation.

“When you left, Cora was crying for Mama.”

My breath caught.

“Please come back to us.”

I hesitated as I chewed the inside of my lip. There was one thing I hadn’t dared to bring up since that day at the championship when everything changed.

“Is it . . . is it okay that she calls me that? Mama. We never talked about it, and I didn’t want to overstep, or assume, or⁠—”

“She calls you that because that’s who you are to her. You’re the one who rocks her when she cries. The one who sings her to sleep. Who gets her to laugh when nothing else works. You’ve loved her like she’s yours from the start.” He paused. “I want her to feel that love every single day. I want her to grow up knowing what it looks like to be chosen. You are that for her. You’ve been that for her.”

I blinked hard, trying not to cry again, but the emotion caught in my throat anyway. He leaned in slightly, his hand sliding up to cradle my cheek.

“That’s not overstepping,” he whispered. “That’s showing up.”

My heart stuttered in my chest, but I didn’t have time to overthink because his mouth descended onto mine. The kiss wasn’t messy or desperate, but rather full. It was full of everything we hadn’t said, everything we’d both lost, and everything we were trying to build together.

For the first time in my entire life, I knew what it felt like to be wanted exactly where I stood.

“Come on, darlin’.” His voice was like the first deep breath after a storm. “Let’s go back to our girl.”

55

Dalton

We made it back to Lindley in time for Beau, Gatlin, Harleigh, and Fable to leave us a little piece of cake, and we sang “Happy Birthday” to Cora, just us.

“Sorry for bringing the crazy here,” I said to Beau as Poppy cooed at Cora, who hadn’t let go of her since we showed back up at the house.