Page 34 of Ranger's Wildflower
But enough to make the whole damn thing crack wide open.
“She took the fall.”
The words came out low.
Certain.
Not theory anymore.
Fact.
I shoved back from the desk so hard the chair rolled into the wall behind me.
Six years.
Six years carrying guilt that never belonged to her.
Six years believing nobody would ever hear the truth and stay.
My chest burned hotter the more I thought about it.
About her mother turning away.
About the whole town deciding she was easier to blame.
About Tessa standing alone while everyone else walked away.
I grabbed my keys off the desk.
Because suddenly there was only one thing that mattered.
Getting to her.
She deserved to hear it from somebody.
Somebody who believed her.
I headed for the door, rage simmering low beneath my skin.
Because whoever let that girl drown alone for six years?
I was done letting them get away with it.
11
Tessa
The bell above the shop door chimed softly.
I kept trimming stems.
Didn’t look up.
Didn’t breathe too deeply either, because my chest still felt bruised from the tavern.
“Shop’s closed,” I said automatically.
My voice sounded steady enough.
