Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Even the silence between us was comfortable. Nothing but dark skies and quiet surrounded the ride. It took a few minutes before I turned as far as I could to face Slade. “What did you and Max talk about tonight? You can’t always believe everything he says.”
Slade nodded, taking a right turn on the two-lane country road that led to his property.
“I think you know,” Slade finally said, his normal expressive tone was neutral and weird.
“Tell me anyway,” I urged, not angry, not really anything. If Slade was repulsed, I wouldn’t be sitting here. The accident left a permanent mark in town. Too many lives lost not to have constant reminders. Like I’d ever forget what I had done.
“He told me that you were in an accident. That you were the only one to survive.” Slade’s gaze stayed fixed on the road in front of them. His hands relaxed on the steering wheel. No emotion showed on a face I’d studied thoroughly.
The passive expression meant he knew more than he let on.
“So you know it all? I caused the accident. I killed six people and Wildflower—”
“Who’s Wildflower?” Slade asked, cutting me off.
“The mare I loved more than anyone or thing in my life,” I said, my heart taking a hit at her memory. “Did he tell you Natalie was pregnant?”
“He did,” Slade said, monotoned and distant.
“It wasn’t my baby, but I’d planned to raise it. We were gonna be married,” I said, getting defensive. I lived under the cloud of my bad decisions every day, but I wasn’t a bad guy.
“So she was your beard?” Slade asked carefully.
“Yeah, I guess,” Mace said and turned in the seat, facing out the front window. “She knew I wasn’t into women.” The weight of the confession had me yawning, my past settling on me like a heavy blanket.
“Max doesn’t think the accident was your fault. He says the investigators got it wrong,” Slade said.
“I didn’t remember what happened at the time. There was somethin’ about brakin’ and tire marks. I didn’t get the memory back for a few years. By then, the case was closed. My insurance company paid everyone. The police wouldn’t reopen the case.”
“What life did you see for yourself back then?” Slade asked.
What an interesting question that no one had ever asked before.
“I never wanted to work at the bar. Wildflower and I were gonna travel in the rodeo circuit. I guess I’d have a home base here. I dreamed about ownin’ a quarter horse farm. Horses and I understand each other. I feel them and I believe they feel me. I did with Wildflower anyway. She was my best friend. It was cool that she understood me so well too.” I stopped talking when tears built in my eyes. I willed them to dry before they slid down my cheeks.
Chapter 13
Slade
If I had to define a single moment that fit this hard man, this would be it. From the corner of my eye, I saw the swipe of a single tear from his cheek. The heavy emotional state inside my Jeep could be cut with a knife, and I didn’t know how to relieve it or Mace.
I reached over to take his hand. In a rare move, with no attitude, he linked his fingers with mine, holding on tightly.
“What about rebuilding your life? You don’t have to be stuck here. The world’s a huge place,” I said, not really feeling those words. Instead, understanding how difficult it might be to stand up after such a horrifying experience.
“Maybe someday,” Mace said, and looked out the side window, into the darkness. “I didn’t want you to know, but I also didn’t expect you to show up like that. Anyone could have identified you.” In the dark window, I caught him wiping away another tear.
“I’m sorry then,” I said, but I wasn’t. “I’m into you, and I understand now why you battle your feelings to keep distance.”
“It’s not that,” Mace said, jerking his head around to face me. “What happens if all these people who treat me with an abundance of care, learn that I’m gay? They poured themselves into makin’ my life okay. Even with the horror of the accident, I’m still hidin’. And whatever, you’re just here for two months. I’m stuck here when you leave. You’ll move on and I’d be stuck in a worse place than I already am.”
“Being with me in all this chemistry we share doesn’t change anything. I don’t want to be outed either,” I explained, my thumb swiping over the top of his hand. “When I leave, I’m not gone for good. You could come see me, and I’ll come back here sporadically.”
Mace remained silent, his face turned away again, staring out at the night.
“I won’t show up there again. I wanted to see how you had fun since you aren’t fun around me.” I hoped for a smile and watched the spreading grin reflected in the window. Good. He didn’t need to dwell in the past. Today needed him here with me.