Page 20 of April's Bad Boy: Levi
“Why?” Brooklyn put her palm over my heart and stepped into my arms.
It was hard to explain, but I’d vowed to be honest with her, so I tried my best to find the words. “No one’s ever had my back before. Kyle and I grew up competing, not supporting each other. I don’t know how I’m supposed to react to someone wanting to help me.”
“You’re driven, skilled, and super talented. Plus, Ruby has a good reason for wanting to see your business take off.Why would you be surprised someone wants to support you?” Brooklyn asked.
“I’m not used to it.”
“Neither am I, but we’ll have to get used to it together.” Just like everything else, she made it sound so easy. For once in my life, I stopped trying to find reasons to doubt and decided to put my trust in the people who loved me. Especially the woman I planned to spend the rest of my life with.
She cocked her head, studying me through heavy-lidded eyes. “I just have one more question. Why did you move the meeting from eight to nine?”
That was a question I didn’t mind answering. “Because I wanted an extra hour to stay in bed with the woman I love.”
Her eyes softened and she rose up onto her toes. “Well, I can’t think of a better reason than that.”
EPILOGUE
KODY
The gravelunder my tires crunches like bones. I hate that thought, but I can’t shake it. Something about coming to Mustang Mountain makes old ghosts stir. They never really went quiet to begin with.
The bunk of my old truck rattles as I turn down the drive that leads to Shane’s ranch. Dust swirls up in the rearview, catching the orange late-afternoon light like smoke. I glance at Sadie in the backseat—she’s pressed her nose against the window, wide-eyed, her little bear hugged tight to her chest.
“It’s quiet here,” she whispers.
“Yeah,” I murmur, eyes fixed ahead. “Let’s hope it stays that way.”
The ranch stretches out in front of us, beautiful and peaceful in that way small towns always look from a distance—like they’ve never seen pain, never heard the sound of a gavel coming down, never watched a man lose everything.
Sadie gasps. “Daddy, look! Horsies!”
I smile, a small one, but real. “They’re called horses, baby. But yeah. Pretty cool, huh?”
She nods solemnly, absorbing it all like a sponge. Her world has been shaken too many times already. I want this to be her calm.
We roll to a stop near the main house just as Shane comes out of the barn, wiping his hands on a rag. He’s still got that same easy swagger, that cool-headed steadiness that made him the only one I trusted to call when everything went to hell again.
He lifts a hand. “You got heavier since the last time I saw you, man.”
I snort and open the door. “Pretty sure you’re just getting older.”
Sadie peeks around me, then bolts toward him. “Hi! Are you the cowboy?”
Shane laughs, crouching down. “Well now, I suppose I am. You must be Miss Sadie.”
She nods, proud, like it’s a title.
He winks at her. “You like horses?”
“I love them.”
