10. Boone
BOONE
I shovel another forkful of hay into a freshly cleaned stall, waiting to hear the fading engine of Mel’s minivan.
What the fuck is taking them so long? Sawyer didn’t exactly show up with a suitcase full of belongings.
She has nothing to pack. So why can’t she just get it over with already and fucking leave?
She’s good at that.
Leaving.
“Fuck,” I grumble, feeling judged by Lina, the mama cow who’s been sticking close to her calf since almost losing her in the storm. That’s what I thought I was doing with Sawyer. I thought that if I kept her close, that maybe this time she would stay.
But then her phone pinged in the barn.
This whole time, she was just waiting for her chance to leave. To head back to Dallas to the fancy city life I could never give her.
“You’re a pain in my ass on the best days, but today Boone? Today you’ve crossed a fucking line.”
I grip the pitchfork with both hands, willing myself not to turn around.
But then that fucking jasmine scent floats to me, and I know I don’t have a choice but to face the woman who just ripped my fucking heart out for a second time.
Slowly, I turn around.
“Why are you still here, Sunshine?”
“Because, in case it’s not been clear, I want to be here.”
Her words stun me into rare silence. I’m certain I’ve misheard.
“I didn’t stutter, Boone.”
“What about Dallas?”
“You know, if you’re going to snoop through someone’s phone, maybe you should ask for some fucking clarification before you jump to conclusions.” Her hands are on her hips and her eyes dance with fire.
I’m hard instantly.
Fucking cock has no common sense.
It only wants one thing: her.
“What’s in Dallas, then, Sawyer? Besides the life you’ve built there since you left me the first time?”
She’s toe-to-toe with me once more, poking that finger into my chest.
The fear that hit me like a fucking freight train when I first saw that text dissipates. If she’s here fighting with me, it means something. Because the first time she left, she left quietly. Is it too much to hope that she’s all in this time?
“Sammie wants to go wedding dress shopping.”
“What about your apartment? Your job?”
“My roommate hates me. My job sucks, so I quit.”
“When?”
“This morning, after you made me come right over there,” she says, pointing to the stall over. My cock hardens, wanting a repeat. “I was coming out here to tell you why I left five years. But then Mel showed up because you called her to get me out of here.”
My gaze drops to her lips, and the yearning for her grows stronger.
Last night, I was tempted to pull the ring box from my dresser drawer and ask her to marry me—again.
But then she started sucking on my cock, and I forgot all rational thought.
Now, I’m wishing I had that ring box in my pocket.
Because if she means what I think she means, there’s no fucking way I’m letting her get two fucking steps away from me without being my wife.
“When you asked me to marry you five years ago, I panicked. My mom had only been gone a year, and she said something to me on her deathbed that haunted me a little.” Sawyer let out a heavy exhale.
“I should have told you. I should have just talked this out with you back then. Maybe things would’ve been different if I’d had the courage back then. ”
“Sawyer—”
She flattens a palm against my chest. “No, let me get this out, Boone.”
I nod, clamping my mouth shut to just listen.
“My mom told me she regretted never leaving Wildwood Springs. That she wished she’d left to see the world and make something of herself.
She said it was her biggest regret. I kept hearing her voice in my head, days, weeks, months after she passed.
I thought it was a sign I was supposed to leave.
But you know what, Boone?” She reaches a hand to my cheek.
“I realize now it just fucking grief messing with my head.”
“But you never came back,” I say, the words hardly a whisper.
“Because I was too ashamed to admit I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. I thought you’d move on. Find someone better?—”
“There is no one better than you.” I cup her cheek, yearning to draw her in for that kiss. But I resist the urge so she can finish saying everything she needs to.
“I’ve been happier on the ranch with you these past three days than I ever have been in Dallas.”
“It’s probably all the orgasms,” I tease.
“I mean, that certainly doesn’t hurt anything.” The way she bites her lip, as though fighting a smile, makes me want to push her up against the wall and give her another one right now.
“You really want to stay, Sunshine?”
“That’s the only thing I want.”
I draw her lips to mine, kiss her deeply. Kissing her in a way that promises this is far from our last kiss. It’s the first kiss of the rest of our lives.
I back her up against the wall, and she hikes her knee up to my hip.
“For the love of cheesecake, please keep your fucking clothes on,” Mel announces.
“Hey, Mel,” Sawyer says, blush dusting her cheeks. Blush I put there.
“Is it safe to say I can go home now?” she asks, her gaze swiveling between Sawyer and me.
“You can go home now,” I tell her.
“We’ll send you an invite to the wedding,” Sawyer adds.
“Wedding?” Mel repeats, looking at Sawyer’s naked left hand in confusion.
“Unless you kept that ring box for someone else?” Sawyer says, looking at me.
“It’s only ever been you,” I say, gripping her cheek and dragging her lips back to mine.
“You two kids have fun,” Mel calls. “I’m leaving before this romance novel turns spicy. Bye!”
“You’re sure you want to marry me, Sunshine?”
“There’s nothing else I want more.”
“I love you, Sawyer Montgomery . I’ve never stopped loving you.”