Chapter 17
Kayden
I woke in the dark with Sapphire still beside me.
She was asleep, her breathing slow and even, her face turned slightly away, hair fanned across my pillow. In the faint pre-dawn light, I let myself watch her longer than I should have.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d told me. About her aunt. About the cops who’d walked away. She’d been a seventeen-year-old kid carrying all that around in silence.
I’d always hated cops but had never had a good reason for it.
No cop had ever laid a hand on me or done a damn thing to me.
Years of Frank’s bullshit had drummed into me that all cops were corrupt.
That they hid behind their badges and thought they were better than us.
Bob was an asshole like that, and a whole lot worse.
So, in a roundabout way, the old bastard had been right, but only about one cop.
Sapphire was nothing like Bob. She was the real deal. Everything a cop should be. Everything Bob wasn’t.
I hated that I’d been so wrapped up in my own bullshit back then that I hadn’t seen what being a cop meant to her. It was everything. And Bob wasn’t taking that from her, too. Not while I was still breathing.
Careful not to wake her, I slipped out of bed.
The wound on my arm stung when I reached down to grab a T-shirt off the floor. I gritted my teeth, pulled it on, and climbed down the ladder, hating every tiny creak the rungs made.
At the bottom, I shoved my feet into my boots and strode through the barn. The air outside was cool and crisp, the sky just beginning to glow along the eastern horizon.
Lights were on in the homestead. That’d be Cassidy, up before the birds, like always.
Xavier was probably up, too, crashing around the kitchen hunting for coffee like his life depended on it.
That city bloke had a hell of a lot to learn, especially around the farm animals.
Silly bastard was always trying to pat them.
I was warming up to him, though. It was hard not to like a bloke who was that determined to impress my sister.
I was halfway across the paddock when a woman’s voice cut through the stillness.
“I knew it!”
I spun around.
Sapphire stood outside the barn in her shorts and T-shirt, barefoot, hands on her hips. “I thought I could trust you, Kayden. I can’t believe—”
“Sapphire, what are you talking about?”
“You snuck out of bed like a thief, and now you’re—”
“Stop. You’ve got it wrong.”
“Bullshit.” She threw her hands up.
“Will you stop?” I took a few steps toward her. “I’m going to my horse.”
“What? Yeah, sure. You’re such a—”
“Fine. Then follow me.”
I strode away, hoping she would follow. Around the back of the machinery shed, I glanced behind me. She was picking her way across the dry grass, wincing every time a rock bit her bare feet.
I led her to the brumby’s yard. Comet was on the far side, her ass toward me. She turned her head and snorted.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I called to her.
The name Comet suited her. Fast, fiery, and damn near impossible to catch. I hadn’t been out here since the morning Sapphire arrived. It was the longest I’d gone without seeing the brumby since I’d started training her.
I leaned against the rail. Comet stayed at the far end of the yard, but she’d turned toward me, head high, ears pricked forward.
“Hey, girl,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Miss me?”
She snorted and pawed at the dirt.
I climbed over the fence and dropped into the yard. Comet didn’t bolt, she just watched me with those dark, wary eyes.
I took a step. Then another.
She held her ground.
“That’s it,” I murmured. “I’m not gonna hurt you. You know that by now, don’t you?”
Behind me, Sapphire climbed onto the bottom rail and leaned her arms on top of the fence. I didn’t turn around, just kept my focus on Comet. I paused ten feet from her, hands low.
The filly stretched her neck forward. Her nostrils flared as she sniffed the air between us. Then, for the first time since I’d brought her here, she took a step toward me.
My heart hammered.
“Easy,” I whispered. “That’s it. Good girl.”
She took another step.
“She’s never come toward me before,” I said to Sapphire.
“How long have you been training her?”
“A couple of weeks. She’s stubborn.”
“Just like her trainer.” Sapphire giggled.
I hadn’t heard that laugh in over ten years. Damn.
Sapphire was right. We used to have fun.
What happened to us?
Comet bobbed her head and stepped close enough that I felt the warmth of her breath on my outstretched hand.
I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.
Her muzzle pressed into my palm.
“That’s it. Good girl.”
“She’s beautiful,” Sapphire whispered.
“She’s feisty,” I said, my voice low and calm. “Just like you.”
Sapphire huffed. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Take it however you want.”
Comet pulled back, but she stayed close, shifting her weight and giving me sideways glances. I moved closer, slowly and carefully, until I was standing at her shoulder. I let her sniff my palm, and as I ran my other hand along her neck. My bicep burned, but it was worth it.
This was a milestone.
“She’s never let me do this before,” I said. Her coat was rough under my palm, but the muscles beneath were healthy and solid.
“Maybe not seeing her yesterday made her realize what she was missing,” Sapphire said.
I glanced back at Sapphire. “You think the break was a good thing?”
“I think a break can do wonders sometimes.” There was something sad in her smile.
I held her gaze for a long moment. “Yeah. Maybe.”
Comet raised her head and snorted, then bolted away, kicking out sideways.
“You missed me,” I called, shaking my head. I turned to Sapphire. “She got me the other day—kicked me in the ribs. Hurt like hell. I was lucky she didn’t crack one.”
“You must be getting soft. I’ve seen you take much worse back on the rodeo.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot you used to watch me ride.”
“I didn’t.” She shrugged. “Forget, that is.”
The morning light caught her face just right, and her hair fell loose around her shoulders. Standing there barefoot in shorts and a T-shirt, she looked damn sexy. My favorite part of the day was so much better with her in it.
I topped up Comet’s water and grain bucket from the barrel by the gate, then climbed back over the fence. Sapphire hopped down, and we walked back toward the homestead together, the sky brightening with every step.
We were almost to the barn when Cassidy appeared on the back verandah, coffee mug in hand.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked between us, grinning way too much. “Hang on a minute. Did you two spend the night together?”
“It’s not what you think, Cass,” I growled.
“Oh, I think it’s absolutely what I think.” She took a sip of her coffee, still grinning. “So, what’s the story between you two anyway?”
I shook my head. “We’re not having this conversation. Be at the chopper in ten minutes, or we go without you.”
“You can’t go without me, bro. I have the map up here.” She tapped her temple. “Besides, I’ve got Bella making us some breakfast packs. You two look like you’re starving.”
I groaned and walked away.
“She doesn’t miss anything, does she?” Sapphire murmured beside me.
“Nope. Much like you.”
Sapphire and I took turns in the bathroom, then climbed back into the loft. She sat on the edge of the bed while I grabbed a clean shirt from the pile on the floor.
“Sorry about Cassidy,” I said. “She’s relentless.”
“It’s fine.” Sapphire smiled. “But I get the feeling it’s going to be a very long flight to that cave, right?”
“Yep.”
She reached for my hand. “Kayden, I’m sorry for not trusting you this morning.”
I looked down at her fingers laced through mine. “I told you I’d only tell the truth from now on. I meant it.”
“I believe you. And I’m sorry.” She stood. Suddenly, we were inches apart. The air between us went thick.
I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her.
For half a second, she froze. Then she melted into me, her hands gripping my shirt, pulling me closer. Her lips parted, and ten years of trying to forget her were gone in a heartbeat.
There was only Sapphire. The taste of her. The small sound she made in the back of her throat that nearly undid me.
This kiss wasn’t soft or tentative. It was desperate and real and everything I’d been too stupid to fight for ten years ago.
My hand slid into her hair, tilting her head back, deepening the kiss.
She dug her nails into my back through my shirt, and I wondered how the hell I’d survived a decade without her.
When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing hard. Her cheeks flushed, and she looked at me like I’d just knocked the world sideways.
I grinned. “That was a surprise.”
She laughed, breathless, and pressed her forehead against my chest. “We should get ready.”
“Right.” Every part of me wanted to pick her up, lay her back on that bed, and make up for ten years of missing her. I’d show her exactly what she meant to me until she couldn’t doubt it anymore.
But I wouldn’t. Not yet. We’d broken up because of me. Because I’d been too wrapped up in my own anger to see what I was throwing away. I needed her to trust me again. To choose me, not just fall back into old habits because our chemistry was still there.
She grabbed her bag and pulled out a pair of cargo pants and a clean T-shirt. “Can you turn around, please?”
“Fire, I’ve seen you before.”
“Will you just ...”
“Fine. Bossy boots.” Grinning, I turned around and walked to the trunk in the corner where I kept my gear. I pulled out a clean pair of jeans and shrugged a long-sleeved plaid shirt over my T-shirt. I grabbed my cowboy hat and set it on the trunk beside me.
“Okay, I’m dressed now.”
I turned back. She was tucking her shirt in, all business now.
“You’re not wearing your uniform?”
“I don’t need a uniform to be a police officer.” Her jaw clenched as she strapped on her gun and holster.