Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
brIELLE
T he moment I’ve pulled onto the dirt road that leads to the Monroe Ranch, I pull over and let the car idle. Tears flood my eyes and flow down my cheeks, making it impossible to see anything. Can someone die of a broken heart? Because I think I just might.
Pain sears through me, so overwhelming it’s difficult to breathe around it. Nausea roils through me, and I don’t have the fortitude to resist it. I manage to circle the SUV, heaving into the prairie grass that lines the road. When it finally subsides, I lean against the wheel and try to get my breathing under control.
God, how could I be so damn blinded again?
I close my eyes and let the tears fall unrestrained, too exhausted to move. Time falls away from me, blurring into the background.
A car pulls up behind me, the tires biting over the gravel. I freeze, my breath catching.
“Brielle?” Melissa’s voice is soft and cautious.
The last bit of me that had hoped, had held onto a shred of possibility, withers. I surge to my feet and wipe my face, blinking until I can see.
“I have to go,” I say. “I… I can’t stay here.”
Melissa’s eyes are wide, her cheeks pale. But she doesn’t hesitate. “All right. Let me get you to the guest house.”
She opens the driver door and hops into my SUV, waiting until I’ve closed the passenger door to start toward Emily’s place. She doesn’t say a word, just watches as I get out of my own car and run to the safety of the small cabin that’s become my home, my nest. The second I’m inside, I shut the door. Cinnamon and mint hit me in a singular, overwhelming wave, and I crumple to the floor.