Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Ridge ignores the barb from Flint and focuses on Vale. “Are you still looking?”
“I’ll never stop,” Vale answers, referring to his search for his wife. I hope for his sake that he finds her soon. I hope she’s just as in love with him as he is with her. I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if Mira didn’t love me back. Just the thought makes me feel like I can’t breathe.
Kane clears his throat. “Look, somebody has got to say it. You may not find her, and maybe that makes me an asshole, but let your wife go, man.”
I exchange a look with Bronco who shakes his head. “He can’t.”
Kane pops a tab on his new beer. “And why is that?”
It’s hard to explain why, and we’re all quiet for a moment, searching for the right words. Finally, I tell Kane, “When you have a woman who is the reason your heart beats, there’s nothing on this earth that will convince you to let her go.”
Chapter 12
Mira
“Did you get everything boarded up?” I ask Cord when he comes in the door of his cabin.
He looks dead on his feet and so damn exhausted. He’s spent the last hour boarding things up around the ranch. A pretty intense storm is expected overnight. He sent me back to the cabin telling me to go to bed and get some sleep. But the truth is, I didn’t want to sleep, not without my husband home.
He gives me a weary nod, presses a kiss to my forehead, and says, “I’m going to bed.”
He’s already given me his bed in his room, and he said he’d take the guest. I tried to insist that I was the guest, but he gave me one of those panty-melting looks and said, “You aren’t a guest. You’re my wife.”
I stand from the couch, thinking of the nightmares that are likely to plague him. He seems to sleep so much better when I’m beside him. “Wait, I get cold at night. Do you think you could sleep in the same bed with me?”
He gives a quick nod. He’s either too exhausted to object or he enjoys sleeping next to me. I hope it’s the second reason.
In his bed, I put my head on his shoulder, loving the way his body relaxes into mine. It’s so much easier to sleep when we’re together.
“You were right,” I tell him, “Valor Ranch is amazing.”
I’m woken hours later by a loud clap of thunder, and I fight not to whimper. I hate reminders of that night.
Cord’s arm wraps around me sleepily, but his eyes aren’t open. I think he’s between wake and sleep, and I don’t want him worrying about me. He has to be exhausted after our day, and tomorrow is going to be just as tiring. “You go back to sleep.”
I wrap myself in my robe and make my way toward the kitchen. I pause in the living room when I see Molly and Milo cowering underneath the couch.
“It’s okay,” I croon to them. “Come in here with mama.”
The two of them follow me into the kitchen. My eyes go to the window just as lightning flashes, lighting up the sky purple. Lightning is one of nature’s most beautiful shows, but it just reminds me of the scariest moment of my life.
I struggle to focus on my breathing, the way my therapist taught me. I don’t know if the anxiety around storms will ever get better, but I’ve spent the last few years trying to at least ease it.
Strong arms wrap around me from behind, and I melt into Cord. My back is to his chest, and some of the tension leaves my body now that he’s here. “Shh, I’ve got you. I’m right here.”
We stand in silence for a long moment, neither of us moving as the thunder cracks and the lightning flashes, and through it all, my man is a steady support.
“I was sixteen and driving on a night just like this. A truck driver had a medical emergency at the wheel. He lost control of his vehicle, and it crossed the double lines.”
“Fuck, sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” he murmurs.
“They had to use the jaws of life to get me out. There were so many surgeries after that, and the doctors didn’t think I would ever walk again. I remember being so scared.”
“You fought your way back, my brave warrior,” he says.
Hearing him call me brave does something to my insides, it warms them and reminds me that I’m strong. I clear my throat and tell him, “I’m lucky to be alive. But these things still really freak me out. But you don’t have to stay up with me. You have an early day tomorrow.”
“We’re married. Your burdens are my burdens,” he rumbles.
He presses a soft kiss to the top of my forehead, his beard tickling my ear. Then he steps away long enough to grab a saucepan and heat up milk. He makes me hot chocolate, keeping up a steady stream of chatter as he does. He tells me funny stories from his time in the military.