Page 79 of Unforgettable
“No. That fear you just spoke of. It is fear and you’re letting it decide for you. Fear stops what one deserves … what to go after… and walk away from what you want before it even has a chance to exist.”
She met his gaze.
“Hope isn’t the risk,” he continued. “It’s the beginning. Just a step.”
“And the rest?”
“Is what you choose to do with it.”
The words settled into her slowly. Not pushing. Not forcing. Just… there.
Randi looked back out at the water, at the horses, at the life unfolding in front of her.
Then back at him.
“Maybe…” she said quietly, “maybe it’s time I stop waiting for it to disappear.”
Brew didn’t respond with words. He didn’t need to. He moved closer. Slowly. Giving her time to react. Giving her space to step back if she needed to.
She didn’t.
And when his hand found hers, she didn’t pull away.
The kiss that followed wasn’t uncertain this time. It wasn’t new. It became deeper. Rooted in something they had both finally stopped trying to deny.
The world around them faded—the water, the horses, the quiet rhythm of the land—all of it slipping into the background as something far more personal took hold.
And in that moment—
There was no fear. No past. No waiting for something to be taken away.
Only the quiet, undeniable truth of what was growing between them.
Later, after they returned and the sun shifted higher, Brew stepped away to check on a ranch hand who had gotten caught up in fence wire while they were gone,leaving Randi alone by the paddock.
She didn’t hear Brew’s father, Braden, approach.
But she felt him there.
“You see them,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
Randi turned, offering a small, respectful smile.
“Oh, yes. I am soooo in love with these animals.”
He stepped beside her, his gaze moving over the herd.
“The horse does not belong to us,” he said quietly. “We belong to the land that keeps them.”
The words settled deep.
Randi nodded slowly.
“Brew said something similar.”
Braden glanced at her then, studying her more closely.
