Page 43 of Breathe Me In

“Him, who? The killer?” His eyes widened out of his head. “No! Why? Have you?”

“No.” I pulled my chin in. “I only ask because he got a good look at us, and I always wondered if he followed us that day. You know, followed us home.”

“No,” he repeated, “I’ve never seen him since that day. Same goes for you, right?”

“Right.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, Brad, it was just a curiosity thing. Let it go.” I felt myself shut down. This was the reason I never spoke about the topic, because look where it got me. Now he’d doubt me and wonder if I was all messed up. And why did I have to bring up fucking Sherry? She’d always been a sore spot for me, a wound that had never healed. Here I was in bed with a man I’d loved nearly my entire life, and I brought her up.

“I wish I could read your mind sometimes.” He flopped back on the bed with a heavy puff. “Because you’re maddening, woman.”

“I know.”

“You’re such a stubborn woman,” I heard him whisper, then he suddenly reached out and pulled me into him, then wrapped his leg over mine as his arm went around my waist. “You can push me away emotionally, but you’ll have to fight me physically if you want me to leave you alone.” He chuckled because we both knew he could pin me down and I couldn’t wiggle free. He moved his hand into my hair and held my head in place. “I will break you down, Bree.” He was serious, but his eyes softened in low light. “Because I don’t want you living with all that fear.”

“I’m really okay.” I pulled myself together. “I think it’s just you and me here, where we are—it’s just bringing back all those emotions and memories.”

“I can understand that.” He yawned and moved his warm hand to my hip. “Let’s see about getting some sleep.”

“Okay,” I whispered. I tried not to focus on the heat caused by his touch and let my gaze drift to the side walls of the tent. The shadows from the branches were dancing around the canvas when suddenly, they morphed into a silhouette of a man, and I squeezed my eyes shut tight and wrapped my fingers around Brad’s arm. You’re fine, Bree. He’s not out there . . .

The next morning, I was happy to overhear a few comments about how much fun the guests had had. I knew my sister would want satisfied customers who’d give good reviews.

“Storm’s coming in, quick.” One of the ranch hands pointed to the dark sky. “I think we should head back.”

“I agree.” He went to tell the others while I quickly gathered my things and went to get my horse. Brad was already mounted as I drew close.

“Morning.”

“Morning.” I avoided eye contact, feeling a little uncomfortable about him witnessing my night terrors.

He pulled back on his reins as his horse started to move. “Don’t pull away from me, Bree, just because you were vulnerable.”

I didn’t answer, but he was right. I was good at keeping people at a safe distance. I put my foot in the stirrup and hiked myself into the saddle as the others joined us.

“Ready?” I asked. “We’re going to go a little faster to make it back before the storm.” I led the way, and they fell in behind me.

Once we got home, the ranch hands gathered the horses, and the guests raced to get out of the wind that had picked up. Brad and I quickly helped Charley and the others put the horses away.

I finished up and headed outside. “You feel like working?” I whirled around to see Brad’s fit body as he leaned against the door. Why did his T-shirt have to be so tight on his arms? Nothing was left to the imagination, and I was totally all right with that.

“I feel like a shower more than working.”

“All right.” He pushed off the wall. “Let’s get cleaned up then, and I’ll meet you back at your cabin in, say, an hour.”

“Okay.”

He moved to stand in front of me and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I resisted the urge to lean into him.

“If you overthink things and don’t answer the door, I might be inclined to come looking for you. So unless you want some company in that shower . . .” He winked playfully, and I let out a light laugh and started to walk backward as my heart thumped against my rib cage.

“I’ll see you soon, Brad.”

Chapter Nine

Brad