13
S tunned silence. Big eyes. Everyone’s mouth has dropped to the fucking floor. I’d grin if Davis wasn’t frowning.
Footsteps as Dr. Joy walks away.
Ford’s the first to speak. “Alright, I’m a little buzzed, but I think I can still break this down.” His finger moves to me then to Fallon’s hospital door. “You and Fallon are married?”
“We are.” I exhale, chest tight. “She’s my wife.” I haven’t said that word aloud, but damn if I don’t like the way it sounds.
They’re all staring. I roll out my tense shoulders, cursing my big mouth.
Fallon will kill me.
“Married?” Ruby breathes, her eyes wide.
“You ain’t helpin’ me, Fairy Tale,” I tell her.
Davis’s lips are flat like he’s going to lose it. It’s the effect I have on my brothers. “When did this happen?”
“Vegas. Last year. Right before Reese got to the ranch.”
Reese’s hand goes to her mouth.
“You married her?” Dakota’s dark eyes burn with betrayal, accusation. Tears. “You married my sister without telling us?”
“Why didn’t we know about it?” Charlie demands.
Annoyance ripples through me at the family interrogation. Fallon’s hurt, and here I am being grilled about why I popped the question last year.
“Look, it just happened.”
Davis’s teeth crack together. “ Happened . I need you to start talking, Wy. Now.”
I tear a hand through my hair, glare at him. “It was for insurance, okay? She was gettin’ hurt too many goddamn times, and I thought…I thought this’d keep her safe.”
Dakota stares at me, but she stays quiet.
“Goddamn it, Wyatt.” Davis looks like he’s going to bust a gasket. “This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”
I shake my head, my voice deep and low. “Davis, respectfully, you weren’t fuckin’ there.”
Davis’s eyes bug.
A noise pops out of Ford’s mouth. A laugh.
“You hid it from us,” Davis growls, stepping toward me.
I square up with my big brother, both of us breathing heavily. “Fallon didn’t want to tell anyone. It was her call.”
“No one can know,” Fallon says after we exchange vows in a little white chapel off the Strip. She flashes that sharp smile of hers. “It’ll ruin my image.”
“Your image?” I deadpan, a little pissed off, though I don’t know why.
“Getting married isn’t for a cowboy. And I’m not going the way of Anne Boleyn.” Her lip curls. “Or my mother.”
She was adamant we keep it a secret. I respected that. Even if deep down I wanted to scream it to the world.
I lift my arms, exhausted. “What the fuck does it matter anyway?”
Davis’s nostrils flare, emotion in his voice. “Matter? Of course, it fucking matters. You two are married.” Through gritted teeth, he says, “She’s like my little sister. I told her father I’d look out for her, and you marry her ?”
Fuck. That stings.
“Davis, cool it.” Ford’s tone is edged.
Guilt ripples through me. Davis is pissed for good reason. We’re cowboys. Loyal. We follow a code. I promised Stede I wouldn’t touch his daughter, and I broke that promise.
Jaw clenching tightly, Davis punches a finger into my chest. Charlie sucks in a breath.
My fists ball. There’s only one person I wanted to fight today, and it wasn’t my big brother.
Davis points at me. “I told you if you were lookin’ for a one-night rodeo, don’t do it with Fallon McGraw.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin’ about,” I snap, irritated he thinks I’ve been playing games all this time.
What we did, said, in cheap motel rooms mattered more to me than any fucking medal I could get on the rodeo.
Her walls came down in those motel rooms. Whatever it was, the whiskey, the weed, Fallon was an open book.
She let me see her. Secrets, confessions, scars.
And then it was back to hating my guts in the morning.
Hell, I know more about Fallon than anyone.
Her full name.
Her nine lives.
Her estranged mother.
Her scars and tattoos and all their meanings.
The only thing that’s still a mystery is what I did to make her hate me so damn much.
Davis and I stare at each other, gazes clashing.
I could say it. Say everything to get my brother off my back.
That I love her.
That I’m a love-sick bastard for the vicious, terrible, amazing Fallon McGraw. That the last year has been hell on Earth without her. That every part of me belongs to Fallon, and she doesn’t know it. That the absolute worst feeling in the world is loving a woman who can’t fucking stand you.
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I knew I loved her. It was like the slow crash of a wave. The erosion of an iron mountain. It just happened.
All I know is that when she said yes in Vegas, it felt right.
She felt like mine.
“Hey, leave him alone,” Charlie growls, causing Davis to take a step back. My eyes soften in thanks.
“So, he’s married,” Charlie continues. “Who fucking cares. It’s business. It’s between them.”
Business.
The thought rankles me, but I keep my mouth shut.
Fallon’s the woman I want to kill and fuck on a daily basis.
She’s anything but business.
“We got bigger things to worry about.” Charlie dips his bearded chin in the direction of Fallon’s hospital room. Everyone sobers. Guilt flickers in the shadows of Davis’s eyes.
My jaw locks. I look Davis in the eye. “You done? Good.”
Taking a deep breath, I turn on my heel and head straight for that place in my heart that’s always been my light.
Fallon.