Chapter 12 - Colton
I don’t see her truck at the house, and my chest tightens.
It’s stupid to hope. Wyatt already told me she was planning to leave after the weekend. Didn’t know where, didn’t know what for. Just that she was going.
I’ve been walking around with a hollow feeling in my chest since he told me.
But tonight, something feels different. Like the wind’s changed. Like maybe I still have time.
So I drive.
Straight to Shadowbrook, straight down that winding gravel road, past the barn where she used to sneak out with me after chores. Past the paddock where I taught her to ride. Past the old tree swing she used to dare me to jump off when we were kids.
And there she is.
Sitting on the porch alone, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her hair pulled back in a messy knot like she gave up on pretending.
She hears the truck before she sees me. She stands when I park. Doesn’t run. Doesn’t smile.
Just watches.
I climb the steps slow, like every footfall might shake the answer loose from her chest.
“You leaving?” I ask.
She nods. “I was.”
I step closer. “And now?”
Her eyes flicker, and she swallows. “Now I don’t know.”
Silence stretches between us, thick with everything we haven’t said.
“I meant it, Lacey,” I say, voice low. “All of it. That kiss. That night. Every word.”
She closes her eyes, just for a second. “I know.”
“I haven’t changed my mind. About you. About us. I’ve waited this long. I’d wait longer. But I have to know—” I pause, searching her face. “Are you running because it’s wrong… or because it’s real?”
Her breath hitches.
And then something shifts.
She walks toward me, slow, deliberate, until she’s close enough to press her hand flat against my chest.
“It’s real,” she whispers. “That’s what scares me.”
My heart pounds beneath her hand.
“But I don’t want to be scared anymore,” she adds. “I don’t want to keep pretending I don’t belong here. I’ve never felt more myself than I do with you.”
I let out a slow breath, relief and something close to wonder blooming behind my ribs.
“I didn’t come here to ask you to stay just for me,” I say. “I came because I believe you already know this is home. You just needed to hear someone say it out loud.”
She lifts her chin. “So say it.”
I reach for her face, brush my thumb along her cheek, and smile like I’ve already won the damn lottery.
“You’re home, Lace. You’ve always been mine.”
She leans in and kisses me.
And this time, it’s not desperate or rushed.
It’s certain.
When we pull back, she lets out a shaky laugh.
“Guess we should’ve made that promise for twenty-nine, huh?”
I grin. “I’m not waiting another year.”
“Good,” she says, stepping into me fully. “Because I’m not leaving again.”