Epilogue
EPILOGUE
T he ranch house seemed to echo with the weight of the years, both in its sprawling fields and in the thoughts that weighed heavily on her heart. The floor to ceiling windows gave her an uninterrupted view of the world Reeves had grown up in… wild, untamed, and yet undeniably shaped him. The oil pumps in the distance moved in slow, mechanical rhythm, a quiet reminder of their place in a cycle that had been running long before she entered the picture and would likely continue long after she was gone.
But none of that had ever truly mattered to her, not in the way people would have expected. She wasn’t interested in the acreage, the wealth, or the power that came with it. What she’d wanted—what she still wanted—was Reeves. She didn’t want the life he could provide. She wanted him, raw and unguarded, the way he used to be before the walls went up between them.
She leaned closer to the window, her breath fogging the glass slightly as her mind drifted back to the day he’d shoved her away. Two years had passed since then, and time hadn’t dulled the ache of that moment. It wasn’t just the rejection that stung— it was the way it felt like a part of herself had been denied, a part of her future had been erased without explanation.
In the chaos that followed, she’d allowed herself to get tangled up in someone else, someone who could never be Reeves. Paul had seemed safe. He turned out to be nothing like he seemed.
And now, standing in this house, staring out at the land that might as well have belonged to someone else for all it mattered to her, all she could think of was what might have been, if only she hadn’t let him push her away, if only she hadn’t let herself walk away from him in return. She should have fought harder for them. She shouldn’t have let the distance grow between them until it felt impossible to cross.
She wasn’t sure what had brought her here today, to this discussion, this moment.
Maybe it was the idea that if you came close enough to death—if you lived through something as terrifying as a close call—it gave you the clarity to see all the things you’d been running from. Or maybe she just needed to see, to feel like her again, like the girl who had once been willing to let all her walls down and let herself fall.
To dream of a future neither of them had been ready for.
Whatever it was, she couldn’t walk away this time—not without finding out if there was any chance left.
The soft thud of her suitcase closing felt final, like the last page of a book she’d read one too many times. It was hard to believe that after everything, after months of wrangling with her emotions, she was leaving Texas Creek with no clearer understanding of what she was meant to do with the pieces of herself she’d left behind.
She’d spent those days, weeks, and hours believing that maybe there was still something here with Reeves. But as each day passed, the truth became harder to ignore: the silence between them had grown too heavy, the moments when he had seemed to open up only to retreat again—those had hurt her heart. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make herself stay in a place where she wasn’t sure of things, especially not when he hadn’t said what she needed to hear.
Her friends had tried to tell her she was making a mistake. That love didn’t always look the way you expected it to. That she was throwing away something that could be worth it in the end, if only she could hold on long enough to let it grow. But Stormy knew firsthand what it was like to give everything and get nothing in return. To be with someone who had walls so high, you weren’t even sure how to begin to climb them.
The fact was, Reeves hadn’t said the words. He’d given her pieces—late nights, quiet moments, the kind of tenderness that could’ve meant everything—or nothing, but he hadn’t said what she needed to hear. Maybe she should’ve known better than to think there was a chance for them when he wouldn’t let himself cross that line. Maybe he was afraid, maybe he didn’t trust her with his heart. Whatever it was, he hadn’t made it clear that he wanted to try. So, in the end, it wasn’t about giving up on him—it was about not losing herself in something that wasn’t going to be.
She wasn’t sure what made it final, exactly. The realization that she was standing on the edge of something she wasn’t willing to jump into blindly anymore. Maybe it was both. But either way, the decision was made when Reeves distanced himself from her after bringing her back to the ranch.
She turned toward the door, her eyes lingering on the familiarity of the place. The smell of the land, the endless sky, the hum of the oil pumps just outside the window—all of it had once felt like a part of her future. But now? Now it felt like a place she was meant to leave behind.
She had to find her life again, to start over in a way that didn’t include waiting for someone to choose her. Texas Creek had never been her home, it had been a chapter, and like all chapters, it was time to turn the page.
She couldn’t afford to hope anymore, not like this. Not after everything that had happened. If only he’d stayed instead of retreating away from her.
She opened the door. And there he was—Reeves.
The sight of him, standing in the doorway, looking as if he had come from the depths of some thought or decision of his own, struck her in the chest. His expression was unreadable, his hands shoved in his pockets, his stance the kind that said he had something to say but wasn’t sure how to say it.
She swallowed, trying to steady herself, but her voice faltered. “Reeves, I… I’m leaving.”
Reeves didn’t answer immediately. She had never been one to cling to false hopes, but in that moment, her heart ached for a future that may never come.
“I didn’t mean to leave you like that. I... I just needed some time to think.”
Time to think? Stormy’s chest tightened at the words, the rage bubbling up from somewhere deep inside her.Think about what? She stepped back, giving them both room to say what they needed to say. “You just left me, Reeves. No message. No explanation. Nothing.”
His expression softened, but only just. His eyes were shadowed, guarded. “I wasn’t ready to talk about it. I needed time.”
“Time?” she repeated, her voice low, questioning. “You neededtime? So, you left me alone, with no one to talk to and nothing but my thoughts?”
She didn’t know where the anger came from, but it surged through her like a flood, crashing over the walls she’d so carefully built. The emotions had been simmering since he walked out the suite leaving her alone.
Reeves sighed, his fingers ached to touch her. His hands wanting to hold on to her. “I wasn’t thinking. I thought Whiskey, Parker, and Maria would be smothering you with attention,” he said, his voice carrying a trace of frustration and regret. “I thought... I thought.” Clearing his throat, he tried again to find the right words. The words that would make her see. See why he’d been staying away from her. “I mistakenly thought you would want distance from me. From what I had to do at the warehouse.” He could still feel the blood oozing through his fingers as he snuffed the life out of her psycho ex-boyfriend. “I needed time to get past it, where … if you needed me to help you, I could.”
He stared at her with the light filtering in and wanted nothing more than to go back. To take away the hurt he caused. He’d been selfish.
“I didn’t think it would hurt you like this,” he said, his voice carrying a trace of frustration and regret. “I thought we needed a little distance. I was trying to do the right thing.”
The right thing? Her laugh was sharp, bitter. “The right thing?” she repeated, staring at him, her heart pounding.
His hand reached up to touch her cheek, but she pulled back from the tenderness of it, her heart aching with the contradiction of howbadlyshe wanted to lean into him despite everything.
“I didn’t know how to approach you about what happened,” he said quietly, his voice dropping lower. “I’m not good at this, Stormy. But I don’t want to lose you.”
Looking at Stormy, he brushed her hair away from her face. This time she let him. The fading wounds and bruises were a stark reminder of what she’d been through. How close she’d come to dying at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. The blue, purple and yellow stood out against her pale skin. “I’ve been so selfish,” he said firmly, annoyed with himself.
The words should have meant something—maybe they would have once—but now, they felt like just another line in a script she knew all too well.How many times had she read these lines in her own books?
She shook her head slowly, biting back the tears that threatened to rise. “I wanted you beside me. Holding me through the nightmares,” she whispered, her voice breaking just a little.
The silence that followed was thick, almost suffocating. The tension between them hung heavy in the air, the space between their bodies full of unsaid things, unhealed wounds, and unanswered questions. “I’m sorry. Forgive me. Please,” he said, his words pleading for her understanding. Begging for her to say she would.
Stormy realized something she hadn’t fully accepted until now—Reeves Salvador wasn’t the man she wanted him to be. He was the hero in her story. He was the one who would save her. Not the one to fix her.
No, the only person who could fixthiswas her.
As she stared at him, the realization was like a flicker of light breaking through the storm. She didn’t need him to make her whole. She didn’t need him to be anything he wasn’t.
She just needed him to ask her to stay. To want her to stay. He’d asked once months back, did he still want that? Could they make this work? Could she step back and change her direction?
“You make me better,”he whispered moving closer to her. Reaching out, Reeves did the one thing he could do to show her how he felt. He pulled her to him, staring into pools of liquid honey he pressed his lips against hers, voice low, gravelly, as though the words were foreign to him, but necessary.“Let me show you who I can be. Who I will be for you.” He searched her eyes trying to read her emotions. “I’m more than a dangerous man, more than what my name stands for. Let me show you how much I love you. The lengths I’ll go to love you.”
The sound of him saying he loved her, had her stomach in knots. Her voice shaky as she asked, “You’re saying you love me, Reeves?”
“Yes, I love you.” Reeves stared down at her, his words strong, full of promises he’d yet said.
He felt her relax in his embrace, thankful for the small victory. Still there were things they needed to talk about things she needed to understand. Things she needed to accept if she would be staying with him. In time, they’d talk about all of it in time.
He was asking her to take a leap of faith, to trust him to be the man she wanted him to be. Leaning into Reeves, Stormy let the warmth of his body…the strength of his hands…the smell of his cologne wrap around her, the entire time cursing herself for being weak when it came to Reeves Salvador. “I love you too, Reeves.”