Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
DIXIE
“ I t’s okay baby, nearly there,” my voice is soft as I reach behind and try my best to soothe her, twisting my head for just a moment to look at her and that’s when I hear a loud horn alarming me. Spinning around quickly, my blue eyes widen when I see my car veering towards the centre of the road, a truck flashing its lights at me in warning.
I go into fight mode, twisting the steering wheel too quickly in an attempt to save myself and my six-month-old daughter, Lainey. Adrenaline spikes, coursing through my veins, my blood hot and pumping so fiercely that I can feel the burn flaming against my skin.
Time moves slow, but whizzes before my eyes and the only thought that consumes me is that your brain lives for seven minutes after you die.
What would my seven minutes look like?
What would I see flash before my eyes just as I plummet into an eternal peace.
My childhood.
Singing.
My guitar.
Sadness.
Grief.
Love.
Tripp.
Lainey.
My tires screech as I slam on the brakes, a loud bang radiating through the car, my ears thumping before a high-pitched noise replaces it as the hood crashes into a wooden pole.
My body jolts forward, panic surges through me but I am helpless. My fingers tighten around the wheel just as my forehead hits into my knuckles.
It takes me a moment or two to come around. Blinking a couple of times, my head feels fuzzy, eyes kind of heavy, a high-pitched ring vibrating in my ears which slowly fades into a piercing cry.
Lainey.
My instinct kicks in.
Twisting and unbuckling myself, I push my door open and stumble onto the grass beneath me. Panic pricks at the base of my neck and my heart rate jumps through my chest. I just needed to get to her.
Tugging the back passenger door open, I unbuckle Lainey from her car seat and hold her close against my thumping heart.
Her little fists are balled, her cries filling the silent roads. My lips are pressed to the top of her head, dusting my kisses over and over, but nothing seems to be calming her down. Lifting my eyes for a moment to look at my surroundings and my heart bottoms out.
Rivera Ranch.
Out of all the places in the town of Lovelock Bay it had to be here.
Shaking it off, I lean back into the car and reach for her pacifier.
“Ma’am,” I hear the rasp of his voice and my heart stops beating for just a second.
“Ma’am, is everything okay?”
And that’s when I slowly stand, Lainey pulled to my chest and my eyes lock with his.
Tripp Rivera.
I broke his heart ten years ago.
Broke his heart as I booted it out of Lovelock Bay.
But here we were, standing inches from each other.
Heart racing.
Eyes widening.
Old feelings flooring me in an instant.
His hand rubs round the back of his head, his eyes bouncing between me and Lainey.
Dark brown eyes you could lose yourself in and the low sun that’s reflecting deep within them make them sparkle in hazel, a shimmer of gold glazing over them. The scar above his eye is still prominent where his brother, Riggs, threw a horseshoe at him when they were kids. Brown stubble hides his strong jaw and his light brown hair still sits as messy as ever.
He never believed in doing his hair when it was hidden under a cowboy hat ninety percent of the day.
Slightly aged, skin a little sun worn and soft wrinkles at the corner of his eyes showing that he has been happy, he has laughed, he has lived.
I didn’t leave him completely broken.
Shirt tucked into dirty jeans; his thumbs hooked inside his belt loop.
My heart stutters inside my chest as we lose ourselves to the crackling tension between us.
“Are you okay?” his eyes search my face and I watch as his brows softly furrow.
I nod softly.
I’m not.
I am far from okay.
“You’re bleeding,” concern etches into his face. “Come into the ranch, it’s not safe out here for either of you.”
My fingers dust softly to my hair line and I can feel the stickiness coating the tip of my fingers.
He steps closer to me, fingers inching closer to my head and I recoil.
“Please, Dixie… if not for you, for your…”
“Daughter,” I whisper, shielding her as a truck rolls past at speed and Tripp throws his hand up in the air, cursing into the evening.
“Please?” He begs again.
I reluctantly pull my eyes from him and look at my surroundings again. I have no other choice.
I go to walk to the trunk of my car, but Tripp shakes his head and does it for me, grabbing the diaper bag and small suitcase then stands by my side.
I watch as his hand moves forward, hovering over the small of my back, but he retracts it, giving into his inner thoughts. So instead, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and makes a call arranging for my car to be collected.
I say nothing, just keep quiet and follow him down the driveway of Rivera Ranch.
The same driveway I drove out of ten years ago without looking back.
And I've never felt further from home than I do right now.