Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
Abigail
third week of january
New Year’s came and went in a blur of warmth and whiskey.
I rang it in, wrapped in their arms—Lawson’s chest at my back, Lincoln’s hand laced through mine, Beau half-asleep and smiling against my shoulder, and Jasper whispering something obscene in my ear right before midnight just to make me laugh.
When the clock struck twelve, I didn’t make a wish.
I didn’t need to.
For the first time in years, I felt whole
Life has settled in the following weeks.
Well… as settled as it can be.
I’m back to work—mucking stalls, checking horses, riding fence lines.
I help with repairs when something breaks, I run errands, I sit in on the occasional business call when Lawson asks my opinion, and I spend too much time bickering with Jas because the man’s around a lot more than he’s used to, and he’s taken to pestering me as his new hobby.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.
The guys moved the rest of my things into the big house the morning after they asked me to stay. Refused to let me carry a single thing.
A week later, they dragged me to Billings and made me pick out new bedding, a rug, curtains, and a handful of gold accents and frames because Beau insisted the room needed “feminine energy.”
Now, there’s a soft cream comforter on the bed. A rug under my feet that doesn’t scratch. And little gold details that catch the light in the afternoon.
It’s not an entire house.
But it’s mine.
It feels like home.
Almost.
The only thing that doesn’t feel right is the unknown.
No one has seen or heard from Grayson.
Or Victor.
Or my sister.
Sebastian did find Miles Keller.
Of course he did. Miles isn’t the type to go into hiding. Men like him don’t believe they ever have to. He’s worth millions and has Hearthland Development to run. A business with easy access to the best security money can buy.
Luca, Enzo, Sebastian, and Dante offered—once again—to “take care” of him for us. But Miles is high profile. Untouchable on paper. A death like that would bring attention. And even if it didn’t lead directly to Willow Creek Ranch, it would circle close enough to make us uncomfortable.
We don’t need the headlines.
Or the attention.
And we certainly don’t need investigators sniffing around.
So, we decided the best course of action is to handle Grayson first.
And deal with Miles… differently.
Financially.
Strategically.
Personally.
Still, the waiting sits heavy in my chest.
I can feel it in the boys, too.
In the way Lincoln double-checks the locks at night.
In the way Lawson’s jaw tightens every time his phone buzzes.
In the way Jas doesn’t let me out of his sight if he can help it.
Or how Beau seems to be constantly scribbling thoughts down in the notebook I got him for Christmas when he thinks noone is looking.
We’re all pretending life is normal. We’re all pretending the other shoe isn’t waiting to drop. Because if Miles Keller wants this land bad enough to use my sister and kidnap me, the last thing that’s going to stop him is the death of a couple of local pieces of trash.
Men like him don’t lose.
They reposition.
“Jasper,” I groan.
He’s sprawled across my bed late the next morning, bare feet, hands folded behind his head like he owns the place.
Which, technically, he does… but… whatever. You get my point.
“Abbie Girl,” he replies lazily.
“What if they hate me?”
He blinks at the ceiling. “Who?”
I whirl around from the bathroom doorway. “You know exactly who. Don’t play dumb. It’s unattractive.”
Jas lifts his head and grins at me. But it does nothing to calm my nerves. Lincoln and Lawson’s parents, Chris and Billie, are going to be here any minute. They insisted on stopping here once they got back from their trip instead of going straight to their house on the other side of the property.
To meet me.
Officially.
My stomach rolls.
And not just metaphorically.
My armpits are sweating. My hair won’t lie right no matter how many times I brush it. And I swear if I look at myself in this mirror one more time, I really might throw up.
“They’re not going to hate you,” Jasper says calmly.
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You don’t.”
He lifts his head again. “Abigail.”
Oooo. My full name this time.
“What if they think this”—I gesture wildly around me—“is weird. What if they think I’m corrupting their precious boys? What if they think I’m—I don’t know—some-some kind of hussy?”
Jasper is fighting a smile. “Jasper Jenkins,” I snap, slamming my brush down on the counter. “This is not funny!”
He laughs.
Actually laughs.
Then he rolls off the bed and stalks toward the bathroom.
He’s wearing worn-in jeans that sit low on his slender hips and a dark Henley that stretches just enough across his chest to send butterflies to my stomach every time I look at it. His sleeves are pushed up, revealing strong forearms dusted with hair and his beautiful floral tattoo.
He’s stupidly handsome.
And right now it’s actually kind of annoying.
Stepping behind me, he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me back against him. Our eyes meet in the mirror. “You’re spiraling,” he murmurs, kissing just below my ear.
“I am not.”
“You are.” He kisses my jaw. “If Chris and Billie can love me, Josephine, and Beau—three shithead kids who absolutely were not their responsibility but who they took in anyway—they can love you.”
His lips brush my temple.
“It’s who they are.”
I watch him in the mirror. The sincerity. The quiet certainty.
“They didn’t have to take us in,” he continues softly. “They didn’t have to give us a home. Or stability. Or… love.” His hand tightens at my waist. “But they did.”
He presses a kiss to my shoulder.
“And they’ll love you.” He pauses for a moment. “Because we love you.”
“We?”
His gaze flicks back to mine in the mirror. “I. I love you.”
The world stills, and he turns me in his arms so I’m facing him fully before saying it again. “I love you, Abigail.”
There’s no teasing in his voice now. No arrogance. No swagger. Just him.
Raw and open.
“I used to think love was a liability,” he says slowly. “Something people could use against you. Something that made you weak. I watched it wreck people. Watched it make my parents small.” His jaw tightens briefly. “I swore I’d never let it do that to me. And then… You showed up.”
A small, shaky laugh leaves him.
“You fight like hell. You don’t run when things get hard.
You don’t make me feel small. You don’t make me feel like I have to be anything other than exactly who I am.
” His voice lowers. “You challenge me. You calm me. You make this place brighter just by existing in it. I was always meant to love you. Even before I knew your name.”
A tear slips down my cheek as I whisper, “I love you too.”
His forehead drops down to mine. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
His eyes search mine for a second. “Plus, it helps that you’re a super hot cougar.”
My head tips back in laughter as I smack his chest. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
A wide grin spreads across his face. “Never, Red.”
He kisses me then.
Slow at first. But it deepens quickly. His hands slide to my waist, and he lifts me onto the bathroom vanity with ease. I gasp softly against his mouth, fingers tangling in his hair.
His palms move under the hem of my shirt—
And the sound of the front door opening booms through the house.
A deep male voice calls, “Boys?”
Jasper smiles against my lips. “Mom and Dad are home.”
My stomach flips violently.
“Oh god,” I breathe.
Yeah. Definitely going to puke.