Chapter 30 Rowan
ROWAN
Iheard the truck before I saw him.
The sound of tires crunching over gravel echoed through the old mill, and my heart kicked hard against my ribs. I’d been sitting near the reinforced window, pretending to read one of the old magazines Moose had found, but I hadn’t turned a page in twenty minutes.
I was waiting. Waiting and worrying.
Every sound had made me tense. Every passing minute had stretched longer than the last.
When the door opened and Tex walked in, I knew everything was going to be okay.
His shoulders looked lighter somehow. The hard tension that had lived in his jaw had eased, just enough for me to notice.
“It’s done,” he said. “At least your involvement.”
The words hit me like a wave, and I wasn’t sure if it was from relief or the thousand questions that washed over me that was making me dizzy. Did I even want to know what had happened?
But I knew I did. I had to know everything or I would never feel truly at peace again.
“It’s done?” I repeated softly.
He nodded once. “They’re finished. Mateo’s dead. Rest of ’em scattered or dealt with.” His eyes softened slightly as he looked at me. “You’re safe, Rowan.”
Safe.
The word felt strange. Fragile, almost. But relief flooded through me so hard my knees went weak.
Before I could stop myself, I crossed the room and wrapped my arm around him. I hadn’t even known I was going to do it, but clearly my body had because it molded itself around his, pulling him close, my face pressed into his chest.
He stiffened for half a second, like he hadn’t expected it, and then his arms came around me, strong and warm and solid, pulling me even closer.
“Thank you,” I whispered against his chest. “Thank you so much, Tex. For…for everything.”
I didn’t cry, though I thought I might. It certainly felt like I should. But instead there was just a quiet relief that settled inside me. Like something that had been pressing down on me for weeks had finally lifted.
The weight of worry. The realization of who my parents had really been.
The fact that they had done it all for me—to keep me safe and give me a future.
Now that the threats on my life were gone, I could remember them for who they were to me.
My mom and my dad. Parents that loved me and wanted the best for me.
Tex held me for a second longer than was really necessary before slowly, and what felt reluctantly, letting me go. My body ached for him as the heat from him left.
“So what now?” I asked. It still felt like I was waiting for the bad news. It felt impossible that this nightmare could actually be over.
“JD’s dealing with the fallout of everything,” he said.
“Meeting’s set with whoever’s next in line.
They have a stepson we think they’re going to be bringing in, but who knows.
They’ll want to save face, of course, and agree the terms because it ain’t gonna be over for the Kings, but we’ve already agreed that your land’s non-negotiable.
It’s not even on the table for discussion.
And after what’s just happened, we don’t see that it will be a problem. They went too far and they know it.”
I nodded and let out a slow, shaky breath.
I had been waiting to find out what would happen next and I had already prepared myself that I might have to give up something to buy my freedom, and I guess my life.
Hearing that I wouldn’t have to do any of that was unexpected, and extraordinary. “Wow, okay.”
Silence settled between us as the reality of my situation hit me again. Only this time harder. Everything I owned was gone. My ranch had been destroyed, my home, my things, my beautiful animals.
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do now. I don’t really have anywhere to go, Tex.”
The words sounded hollow out loud. Because now that I wasn’t thinking about dying, it hit me how bad my situation was.
Tex studied me for a moment, his expression solid and calm. Like he’d already thought about this.
“We’ve got a house,” he said. “One we use when members come in from outta town. It’s yours until the ranch is back up.
I’ve already got people cleaning it up for you.
We’ll take you there soon. It’s not a safe house, don’t worry.
You can come and go as you please. It’s just a house for you to rest in. ”
My chest tightened. “Tex, I—”
“And we’ve already got men ordering supplies for the ranch,” he continued abruptly, like he didn’t want me to interrupt. “Builders are lined up and new foundation will go down within the week.”
I blinked at him shocked and confused. “You’ve already—?”
He shrugged slightly. “Figured you’d wanna get back home as soon as you can.”
Emotion swelled in my chest again, warm and overwhelming. He stood there, his arms hanging at his sides, his bruised hands clenching and unclenching over and over like he didn’t know what to do with them.
“You didn’t have to do all that for me, Tex. I would have figured something out.”
A slow smile crept up his face. “I’m sure you would. I know how capable you are, but I wanted to help. The club wanted to help.”
Our eyes met and something shifted. There was so much there. So much still unspoken between us. The air thickened, charged with something neither one of us seemed brave enough to name.
I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me. How much I trusted him. How much he’d unexpectedly become someone important to me.
But then the doubt crept in.
He was Tex.
Strong, dangerous, untouchable Tex.
I remembered what we’d said back at the clubhouse when the cartel had come in, but those things had been said in the heat of the moment. When life and death were hand in hand.
And of course, like he’d already said and made clear, there was no future for us. How could there be?
What would he even want with someone like me? And how would I fit into his life?
And even if I did, what kind of life would that be for either of us?
When I looked at him, I saw the same hesitation and uncertainty in him. Like he wanted to say something too, but didn’t think he should.
Like perhaps he didn’t think he was good enough.
Which was ridiculous, because to me, he was everything.
I don’t know when it had happened, but Tex had become my world. My up and my down. My ground and my sky. He was both my anchor and my kite letting me fly free.
Somehow, and somewhere, along this path of death and betrayal we had been on together, he had become someone I wasn’t sure I wanted to live without.
My palms felt sweaty, my heart was racing with the desperate need to tell him all of this.
But neither of us spoke.
Neither of us voiced our thoughts—our truths—and for some reason, we let the moment slip quietly away.
6 Weeks Later
The house the Kings had let me stay in was small but comfortable.
Clean, quiet, and very…masculine. It really was a place where they let their members stay when they were in town, and it showed in the funniest ways.
It was nice though, and Tex had sent people to clean it before I arrived and buy new bed sheets for me.
It still felt strange waking up somewhere that wasn’t my ranch—no sound of horses or cows in the distance to wake up to—but at least now there was hope.
I was just finishing my coffee when I heard the rumble of his bike, and as it always did when I knew he was close, my heart jumped instantly.
I walked outside just as Tex pulled up on his bike. His helmet was in his hand, his eyes already on me.
“You ready?” he asked.
“For what?” I asked, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. He watched my every movement with a sort of hunger that strangely didn’t make me feel even remotely self-conscious.
He smirked slightly. “Thought you might wanna see.”
My pulse quickened as I realized what this was about. “The ranch?”
He nodded once, his usual slow smile climbing his handsome face. I hesitated for half a second before running inside and grabbing my jacket and shoes.
Getting on the back of his bike still made my stomach flutter. I told myself it was nerves, but I wasn’t entirely convinced. I’d only had my cast of for a couple of days, but it was feeling stronger every day.
“You holdin’ on or you plannin’ on flyin’ off when I hit the gas like last time?” he teased.
I rolled my eyes but slid my arms around his waist. “Just ride, cowboy.”
The last time he had put me on the back of his bike, my arm had still been too weak after my injury and I wasn’t sure how to hold onto him properly. But I had been building up strength and now I knew I wasn’t going anywhere.
He chuckled softly as I slid on my helmet, and he pressed on the gas, making the bike roar beneath us, and then we were moving. I pressed myself against his back, loving the feeling of his strength next to me.
I watched the world go by in a blur, my heart feeling full of excitement.
The ride felt shorter than usual and my heart pounded harder the closer we got. When the ranch came into view, I sucked in a breath.
It looked different. Cleaner, for starters. The debris was gone and the burned wreckage had been cleared away, and there—right where the original barn had stood—was my brand new barn. It was bigger than the old one, the roof taller, the base wider.
Men moved around the site, working steadily, machinery humming in the background.
“Oh my god…” I whispered.
Tex shut off the bike and helped me down.
I walked forward slowly, taking it all in. The house stood too, the blackened places had been replaced and new windows put in that had exploded. Scaffolding wrapped around one side but they were being taken down. It felt like the home I had always known.
It felt like the place I had always felt safe again.
“It wasn’t too badly burned,” Tex explained. “Once we cleared out the fire damage. The builders said you could hopefully move back within the week.”
I turned to him, stunned. “That fast?”
He nodded. “We didn’t waste time.”
Emotion bubbled up inside me again. Hope this time. Real hope.
He walked with me across the property, showing me the new fencing, the improved stable layout, and reinforced storage areas. Every step I took, I felt more overwhelmed—by the projects and by him.
“I can’t believe this,” I said quietly. “It’s like waking up from a nightmare, only to find it was a dream.”
He watched me carefully. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. And you know, maybe something good has come out of everything that happened.”
He tilted his head slightly. “What do you mean?”
I hesitated, my excitement building. I had been thinking about the money in the account and what to do with it now that everything had calmed down, and I had finally decided.
I’d told Tex about the money I’d found in the account and I’d chipped into to pay for the repairs, but I’d never told him how much there was.
“Well, with all the money I’ve got now, I was thinking I could turn part of the ranch into something more.
Maybe a charity. Help underprivileged kids learn to ride and give parents a break.
Give kids somewhere safe to go when the world gets noisy and overwhelming.
I know that’s what my mom and dad would have wanted.
That’s what they had always wanted this place to be for me, so I figured, maybe I can do that for someone else. ”
Tex’s expression softened. “That sounds real good, Rowan.”
I smiled, feeling hopeful for the first time in what felt like forever. “I think it could really—”
He paused suddenly, his forehead scrunching. “How much money was there?”
“Over two million, I said and his eyes went wide.