3. Fallon
CHAPTER 3
FALLON
"Don't you dare talk about my family like that," Anny shouts.
I'm on my feet before Danner can blink. I turn in time to see a dude in a brown cowboy hat squaring up to my girl. Every muscle in my body tenses. The walking bag of garbage looms over her five-seven frame like he forgot that real men don't mess with women. I take it upon myself to remind him. I've got a right hook that can drop a grown man, and I'm looking for a reason to use it.
"Calm down Sugar and let me buy you a drink. I said they're crooked," he slurs, pointing a wobbly finger at Anny's chest. "Kingridge ain't nothing but backroom deals and daddy money.”
“Why don’t you fuck off?” Anny tries to step around him, but he moves in front of her.
“You defending 'em 'cause you're screwing one of 'em again? I got something for you if you come home with me tonight.” He staggers and puts a hand on her arm.
I see red.
"Say it again." Anny jerks her hand away and balls her fist. She’s never been one to back down from a fight.
But she isn’t going to get the chance tonight. This asshole is all mine. I cut through the crowd like a blade. It takes me two steps to get to her before she can swing.
"Back the fuck off," I bark, loud enough to snap heads.
The dude turns just in time to put a hand to my chest, and it's a big mistake on his part.
"Fallon?" Somewhere behind me, I hear Anny's voice, but it's too late. “Fallon don’t?—”
But it's too late.
I yank the man backward and send him stumbling over a barstool. He crashes onto the floor like the sack of shit he is. The place erupts. People scatter. The bouncer tries to pull me off. I take a step back willingly.
But the dude makes the fatal mistake of getting to his feet. He throws a sloppy punch in my direction, so I lunge again. This time he’s down for a three count.
“It’s done.” Danner puts a hand on my shoulder as I loom over the man.
I shake him off. My heart pounds furiously in my chest. "I'm not done until this asshole is done. That's how it goes. I don't make the rules, but I sure as fuck am gonna follow them."
Security surrounds me as I stare him down. The man shouts, slurring and mumbling in my direction. I put up my hands and tell them I’ll leave as they drag the man toward the back doors. I don't take my eyes off him.
I wish he would make a single move in Anny's direction. I'll have every dude on the dance floor laid out flat to get to him in three seconds flat.
"Get out of here. I'll pay your tab. Just go." Danner pushes me toward the exit.
"Okay. Okay. I'm good, I'll leave." I lie.
Danner can't possibly understand the magnetic pull that's anchoring me to Anny. There's no chance of me walking out of here without her. Not when I'm close enough to touch her. Not after all this time.
"Damn you Fallon, I had it handled!" Anny appears in front of me and she’s shouting.
"You were about to get sucker punched." I snap, grabbing her forearm and ignoring the spark of heat that shoots through me. "That's not handling it."
“I could have taken him." She jerks away from me. “I’m not your responsibility.”
"The hell you're not."
My voice booms over the chaos, over the music... over everything. The silence that follows is sharp and immediate. And just like that, I realize the whole damn tavern is watching us. But I don't care.
I look at Anny, and everything in me tightens. Her eyes are wild with adrenaline. Her cheeks are pink and flushed. Her chest rises and falls like she just ran a marathon. Fuck if she doesn't look beautiful. She's wild, dangerous, furious... and still mine. Always mine.
"Let's go," I growl, grabbing her waist.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"You are," I say, pulling her toward the back door. "Unless you'd rather me hang out here and put this guy through the drywall next." I gesture at a man running his eyes down Anny’s backside.
“What the hell?” He grumbles at me as he turns away.
She grits her teeth, but doesn't fight me. "You’re a jackass."
We get outside and I'm sure these Findlay boys are happy to see me go. The door slams shut behind us, muffling the bar noise and I let go of her. The air is thick and warm. The smell of stale beer and heat wraps around us like a blanket.
Anny spins to face me in the quiet of the night. Fury etches into every line of her face. I brace myself because I already know what's coming. There won’t be a ‘ thank you for rescuing me .’ That’s for damn sure.
She points a finger at my chest. "You do not get to pull that caveman shit with me, Fallon. I have been just fine for a few years now. I don't need you to save me. It isn’t your job, you gave that up. And why are you all the way out in Findlay? I came here specifically so I wouldn’t run into anyone with the last name Kingridge."
I fire back without missing a beat. "You're still stubborn as hell. Give me a break, Anny. He had a fist cocked back. I don't care how tough you think you are, I'm not letting you take a punch from some dude. Especially not for my last name."
Her eyes go wild all over again. "I care about your last name. I always have. More than you do, apparently, so yeah, I’m going to stand up for it. And I wasn't going to take anything."
"Don't start with that." I don't miss the fire in her accusation, but I brush past it. "And you don't know that you weren't going to take a punch. That dude is a drunk asshole."
She's yelling now. It's full-on with no filter. She winds interchangeably through the past and present. It's messy and hot and familiar. Little bits of every fight we've ever had spill out of her like no time has passed. Others simmer beneath the surface, just waiting for their chance to boil over. When she goes quiet, I take a step toward her.
"You're pissed at me for not letting some drunk asshole square up to you tonight? Fine. Be pissed. Go home and make a playlist with bad songs about ex-boyfriends on it. But if you think I don't know I've made mistakes, you're wrong. I know I did. I left you here. That was stupid. I should've stayed. I should've fought for you harder or made you come with me. That's all on me. So be pissed, but don't stand there and act like I don't care. Like I didn't try to call you every fucking day."
Her jaw tightens, and she folds her arms tightly across her chest.
"You can ignore me all you want, Anny. But I see you. I see you working the ranch, staying just out of sight. You've been avoiding me since I got back, and I let it go. But not anymore. You might have stopped caring about me, but you never left my mind. Not for one goddamn day."
A long beat of silence passes between us. Her eyes are glassy. Her lip trembles just enough for me to catch it before she straightens her spine and lifts her chin.
"I didn't stop caring," she whispers. "That's the problem."
Silence stretches between us as I take her in. All I want is to wrap my arms around her and demand another chance. But I know her well enough to know that isn’t the way to approach this. Instead I take a step back.
"I'm sorry, Anny."
Just like that, the fight drains out of both of us. We stand there in silence, bathed in neon spillover from the bar sign above. We are finally breathing the same air again, and it's like it's the only thing anchoring me.
Anny Kai is still mine. She might hate it. She might fight it. But she's still mine. And I'm not going anywhere.