Chapter 29 #3
"I came back for Cassidy and my brothers. They asked for my help." His voice turned flat. "Once we figure out what happened to Frank, I'll leave again. So yeah, Charlie. I have some shit going on."
My heart broke for him. For the young man who'd been betrayed by both the woman he’d loved and his own father. For the good man who'd learned that love could be bought and sold like cattle.
And God help me, it made me fall for him harder.
The realization hit as bright as lightning.
I was falling for him. Hard. This broken, guarded, impossible man.
I loved the way he'd protected me even when he was hurt.
I loved the strength in him despite everything trying to break him down.
I loved the tenderness he'd shown me last night, despite every reason he had to never trust anyone again.
What we'd shared hadn't just been sex. It was real. I knew it was real.
But how could we ever make this work? How could I ask him to trust me when the last woman he’d loved had been paid to deceive him?
We were both so damaged, both betrayed by partners we’d loved, and both attempting to run from emotions we couldn't escape. It was time to stop.
"Mitch," I whispered, not knowing what else to say.
He looked at me with those green eyes full of pain and a raw vulnerability. Terrifying and fragile.
"I'm not her," I said. "I'm not Hannah."
"I know." His voice was rough.
"Mitch…" I reached for his arm, and he softened beneath my touch. "So much has happened to me in the last couple of days, and yet the only thing I think about is you. The way you look at me and care for me and touch me… something is going on between us, and as much as it scares me—"
"Scares the hell out of me, too." He tilted his head, scanning the red earth around us.
"Mitch, I want—"
His gaze snapped toward the distance. His whole body went rigid.
"What?"
"Stay here." He grabbed Razor's reins and swung up into the saddle in one fluid motion.
"Mitch, what's wrong?"
But he didn't answer. He kicked Razor hard and took off across the scrub, leaving me standing there with my heart in my throat.
"Mitch!" I shouted after him, but he was already a blur against the red dirt.
What the hell?
The distant thump-thump-thump of rotor blades cut through the air. I gasped as a helicopter appeared on the horizon, black against the bright sky.
I waved my arms frantically. "Help! We're here!"
The chopper banked hard and headed toward where Mitch had disappeared.
I gripped Zeus's reins tightly, bracing myself in case the helicopter spooked him. His ears flicked back and forward, but he held steady.
Mitch appeared again in the distance, leaning low over Razor's neck as he galloped back toward me. He was halfway there when the chopper descended in a whirlwind of dust and noise.
Mitch skidded Razor to a stop and swung down as the chopper touched down about fifty yards away. Before the rotors even stopped spinning, the pilot door flew open, and a woman with long sandy-blonde hair came tearing out, running full sprint toward Mitch.
She launched herself at him, and he caught her, spinning her around like she weighed nothing.
His sister. She had to be Cassidy.
Another man climbed out behind her. He was taller than Mitch, broad-shouldered, and moved with the same determined stride as Mitch. He pulled Mitch into a rough handshake that turned into a back-slapping embrace.
I hung back, suddenly feeling like an intruder.
Mitch caught my eye and waved me over. I gripped Zeus's reins and led him toward them.
"Charlie, this is my sister Cassidy and my brother Kayden. Guys, this is Charlie."
Cassidy grinned at me and tilted her hat. "No wonder you went radio silent. And here I was worried about you being lost and alone."
Heat crept up my neck.
Kayden's sharp green eyes swept over me before locking onto Mitch. "Where the hell have you been? And who the hell is she?"
Cassidy smacked him over the head, knocking his cowboy hat clean off. "Manners, jackass." She turned back to Mitch. "We've been worried sick about you."
Mitch cleared his throat. "Yeah, sorry about that. It's been a hell of a couple of days."
"I can see that." She gave me a knowing smirk, then nodded at the horse. "Where'd you find Razor?"
"Wandering around out here," Mitch said. "Look, we can catch up at the ranch. Charlie needs food and medical attention."
"I'm fine," I protested.
Mitch shot me a look that said he wasn't asking. "She's exhausted, dehydrated, and hasn't eaten properly in days."
"I said I'm fine."
"Charlie." His voice was gentle but firm. "Let's get you back to the ranch and get you looked after." He took Zeus's reins from my hands and passed them to Kayden. "We'll ride the horses back and meet you there."
“But you need food and medical—”
Before I finished, Cassidy had her arm around my shoulders, steering me toward the helicopter. "Don’t worry about him. The big brute can look after himself. Besides, us girls have some serious catching up to do."
I glanced back at Mitch, but he and Kayden were already mounting up.
"Looks like you've been to hell and back. I can't wait to hear this story," Cassidy said, helping me into the passenger seat. She strapped me in quickly, then handed me a headset.
She shut the door and raced around to the pilot's side. Her grin was pure mischief as she climbed in, buckled up, and flicked a few switches on the dashboard. "You might want to hang on." She nodded at the handle above the door.
The chopper lifted so fast my stomach nearly shot up my throat. Cassidy kept us low to the ground, chasing after Mitch and Kayden as they galloped across the red dirt.
Once she got close, she rose up a fraction and swooped right over the top of them. I saw Mitch look up with his stunning grin.
Cassidy turned to me, her eyes dancing. "It's so good to have my brother back."
She banked the chopper hard. "So, what's your story? How'd you hook up with Mitch?"
I hesitated. "It's... complicated."
"I bet." Her gaze sharpened. "You two seem close."
"It's been a tough couple of days. He saved my life. Four times, actually."
"Four times?" She let out a low whistle. "And?"
"And I think Mitch should tell you what happened." I wasn't about to explain being a trespasser on their land or Doug's death without Mitch there to back me up.
“Oh, come on, don’t leave me hanging. The suspense is killing me.” Her smile was so beautiful that I imagined hardly anyone could say no to her.
“Sorry. It’s just—"
Cassidy studied me for a moment, then her jaw tightened. "Fine. I’ll get it out of Mitch."
The rest of the flight passed in awkward silence.
When we touched down at the ranch, another man came out to meet us. He was older than Kayden, with dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He had the same strong features as his brothers, but his skin wasn’t as weathered by the sun.
Cassidy opened my door. "Declan," she called over the dying rotors. "Come help Charlie out."
“Charlie?” Declan strode over and offered his hand. "Oh, hi. You all right?"
"I'm fine," I said, gripping his hand as I slid out of the seat.
"Mitch found Razor," Cassidy said. "He and Kayden are riding back. Should be here by sundown." She headed for the stairs of the large wraparound verandah. She glanced back at me. "I'll have Bella fix you something to eat."
"Oh, you don't have to go to any trouble."
"No trouble." She disappeared inside.
I hobbled alongside Declan, my body suddenly screaming with every ache I'd been ignoring.
He glanced down at me, his brow furrowing. "You don't look fine to me."
"Gee, thanks," I muttered, trying to make a joke.
"I mean, you look like you've been through hell." He swept a long lock of hair away from his face, and I noticed a pale scar running across his left cheek. "Let's get you inside and cleaned up."
The next few hours passed in a blur. Cassidy and Declan looked after me, bringing food and asking careful questions about my injuries.
As I devoured sandwiches and a divine lemon cupcake that Bella brought from the kitchen, they pressed for details.
I didn't answer most of their questions, but I had to explain why I was wearing Mitch's socks.
I told them about the rabbit, the dingo attack, and how Mitch had saved me yet again.
After that, they gave me privacy in the bathroom to clean up.
By the time I emerged from the bathroom, scrubbed clean and smelling much better, I was beginning to feel human again. In the large bedroom, Cassidy had put clothes and a first-aid kit on the bed, along with a note telling me to help myself.
I perched on the edge of the bed and examined my feet.
The blisters that had burst were angry red and crusted with dirt despite my shower.
The ones still intact bulged like bubble wrap.
I cleaned around the broken ones with antiseptic wipes, gritting my teeth against the sting, then dabbed on antibiotic cream.
The intact blisters I left alone, they were the only thing protecting the raw skin underneath.
With my feet propped on a pillow, I slathered moisturizer over my sunburned face and body. Every inch of exposed skin felt tight and hot to the touch.
The pair of worn jeans Cassidy had left fit surprisingly well, as did the soft, blue cotton shirt, and fresh underwear that still had a store tag.
I wandered through the old homestead, taking in the high ceilings with their exposed beams. Wide hallways lined with black-and-white photographs of stern-faced men on horseback and women in long dresses standing before this very house.
Worn floorboards creaked under my feet, and everything about the place spoke of generations of Bransons who had lived here.
I found Cassidy and Declan sitting out on the verandah, sipping beers and watching the sun bleed across the horizon.
"Here, take mine," Declan said, standing and offering me his chair.
I sat beside Cassidy. "Thank you for the clothes. I'll get them back to you as soon as—"
Cassidy waved me off. "Keep them. They look better on you anyway." She handed me an open bottle of beer, and I accepted.
"Here come the cowboys now," Declan said, nodding toward a distant hill.
I squinted and saw the plume of dust before I saw the riders.
Cassidy grinned. "Seems like Mitch is in a hurry to get back to you."
"He's in a hurry to get home," I corrected her.
"Sure, he is," she murmured into her beer.
When they arrived, the reunion exploded into chaos, and all three siblings fired questions at Mitch before he’d even dismounted.
Cassidy demanded to know what was going on.
Kayden demanded to know who I was, and Declan asked if Mitch had seen Frank.
Mitch deflected each question with clipped, evasive answers, and everyone talked over each other.
I stood off to the side, feeling like a stranger watching someone else's life unfold.
This was Mitch's world. His family. His land. His home.
Out in the scrub, it had been just the two of us with no ties to anything but each other. Simple. Raw. Real.
Here, surrounded by his siblings on the steps of this sprawling homestead that had stood for generations, the distance opened between us like a chasm.
I'd been so caught up in falling for him that I hadn't stopped to consider what loving him would actually mean. He wasn't just a man. He was a Branson, bound to this land and these people by blood, history, and obligations I couldn't begin to understand.
I was just a trespasser passing through.
Mitch's gaze found mine across the verandah. “You good?”
I nodded, and for one suspended moment, everything else fell away, leaving just him and me and all the things we hadn't said.
"Mitch, get your ass inside. We need to treat your wounds." Cassidy grabbed his arm.
"But—"
"We’ll pick this up again over dinner." She steered him toward the door.
He looked at me over his shoulder once before disappearing inside.
I wrapped my arms around myself and stared at the jagged cuts across his back as he walked away, wondering if what we'd had out in the wilderness could survive here in the real world.
Wondering, too, if there was even a place for me in his world.