Page 19 of Finding Peace
Abigail’s scream as she fell down the embankment.
Her limp body.
The thought that I’d lost her forever.
The devastation that I might never feel that kind of love ever again.
Love.
The word rocks me to my core.
I love her.
But I don’t have more than a second to think about what that means before Lawson finally speaks once we reach the first stretch of fencing as Atlas leans down to inspect the sagging post. “Is it what happened with Ethan?” he asks carefully.
“No,” I answer immediately.
Lawson straightens before glancing back at me. “No?”
I swallow, jaw tightening as I look out over the pasture, the pale stretch of snow-covered land glowing faintly as dawn creeps closer. “No. You did what you had to do, and so did I.” I shrug one shoulder. “If it’s him or us? If it’s him orher?” My grip tightens on Dezzy’s reins. “I’d do it again. I’d letyoudo it again. A thousand times over.”
Lawson watches me for a long moment, then nods once. “Me too.”
I let out a sharp breath, tension easing just a fraction. “I—I love her, Lawson.”
The word hangs there.
Lawson doesn’t flinch.
He doesn’t smile.
He just exhales slowly, like he’s been holding that breath too.
“Yeah,” he says softly. “Me too.”
I nod, eyes burning. Dez shifts beneath me, sensing the emotions stirring inside me. “You think… You think Linc and Beau—”
“Feel the same way?” Lawson finishes.
I snort quietly. “Yeah.”
Law huffs a breath that might almost be a laugh. “I’d bet our ranch on it.”
So would I. Lincoln, with his quiet watchfulness, and the way he’d hovered near her bed as often as he could, like even the mere thought of wandering too far had the power to take him out by the knees. AndBeau, with his gentle hands and steady presence, always making space for her, never demanding more than she was ready to give.
It’s clear.
They love her.
The realization settles heavy and right in my chest.
I hesitate again, a little longer this time. “Do you think…” My voice drops, suddenly more afraid of this question than asking if my three best friends are in love with the same woman I am. “Do you think she lovesus?”
Lawson’s gaze drifts back to the fence line as he takes his time answering. “I do,” he finally says. “I hope.”
Hope.
That’s the thing, isn’t it?Hopeis scarier than certainty.Hopeleaves room for loss.
