Page 34 of Hard To Fall
That gets my attention. “About what?”
He sobers a little. “My brother isn’t easy, as you know, and he certainly doesn’t fall easily for anyone. And when he feels too much, he runs.”
I nod. “I’ve noticed.”
“But,” Levi adds, “when he stays, he stays.”
“He’s scared about what comes next, and I don’t mean me,” I say quietly.
Levi nods. “Yeah.”
“I’m worried for him.”
He smiles softly. “That’s how you know he matters.”
I look away and think about the place I’m in and the lives I could be disrupting. And about the man I can’t stop thinking about.
“I didn’t come here looking for this, Levi. I want you to know that.”
Levi grins. “Nobody ever does.”
“I came to work.”
“And now you’re doing emotional labor.”
I snort. “It’s harder than the bulls.”
Levi stands. “You’re good for him,” he says simply. “Too good, but you didn’t hear that from me.” He winks.
He heads for the door, and I follow, almost slamming into his back when he stops and turns.
“And for the record—” he adds, smirking, “he’s already fucked.”
I blink. “Levi.”
“Emotionally,” he clarifies. “Relax.” Then he grins wider. “Physically, too, but that’s your business.”
I slap at his chest and push him out the door, all the while thinking about the truth of this situation as we walk out to his truck. This isn’t a fling. It’s two people who lost—one who’s already worked their way out and the other who’s just learning–but both finding their way back into something new.
And right now, I realize I'm deeper in than I thought, because when I fall, I fall all the way. I just hope he can catch me because I'm not sure I’m strong enough for us both.
CHAPTER 13
COLT
It’s been two days.Forty-eight hours. 172800 seconds. Divide that by eight seconds, and you've got a whole shit ton of time with Lily I've been missing out on.
Two days since her mouth, her hands, her laugh, her body have been in my arms.
Two days since I’ve slept worth a damn.
And Lily Mercer knows it.
She’s been at the ranch all morning. She’s been busy budgeting and planning meetings with new sponsors. She and my dad were working on a new website. I did my best to stick to the corral and keep my head down. But sometime after lunch, she came outside to exist in my space. And that’s when the working stopped. She was leaning against fence posts, sitting on hay bales, walking slowly, and sashaying her hips at every turn. Talking easily and smiling sweetly at everyone she came in contact with.
Except me.
And she knows exactly what she’s doing to me.
