LINDY WAS MORE than a little bit impressed by the way the barbecue had turned out. If only looking around Get Out of Dodge didn’t make her chest ache in unspeakable and horrible ways. She had decided, in the end, that she needed to come. Because she was not a coward, even though she kind of wished she could be one. Kind of wish that she could hide away and nurse her broken heart.
But she was going to make Wyatt face her. And she was going to face him.
And however she reacted... It didn’t matter. Maybe she would cry. Maybe she would make a fool of herself in front of everyone. Maybe she would jump up on a stage and declare her love for him. She couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t. But the idea of making a fool of herself didn’t scare her anymore. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought if she had no pride left. The only thing that mattered was that she loved him. She didn’t know quite yet what she was going to do with that. But she still loved him. Even though he was stubborn. Even though he was a mess.
She sighed heavily, walking through the booths that were set up in the open field. There was a band up on a stage, surrounded by bales of hay and people dancing to country music covers out in the field.
She saw Jamie Dodge standing off to the side, her hair in a neat, practical braid. She was gathering people up because she was about to do a short trail ride around the property. But she saw Lindy, and she waved.
Lindy waved back, hoping that Jamie wouldn’t come over and try to have a chat. And was gratified when she didn’t.
Then she looked up, and she saw Wyatt. He was standing there, wearing a black T-shirt, a pair of jeans and a cowboy hat. Her heart tried to leap through her throat. She thought maybe he would stay where he was. That maybe he wouldn’t come over to her. But then he did.
She felt like she had that first moment she’d seen him. Rooted to the spot. As if she’d been struck by lightning. The unique brand of Wyatt Dodge lightning.
“I didn’t know you were going to come,” he said.
“I couldn’t miss it.” She could hardly breathe looking at him. “Not after all the work we put in.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and her heart ached. “How’s Dane?”
“Awake,” Lindy said. “He’s going to be in the hospital for a while. At first he was really disoriented. He didn’t remember what time of year it was, or what event he’d been at. He’s starting to kind of piece it all together. But his leg is useless right now and they’re going to keep monitoring him.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I mean, not that his leg is a mess, but that he’s awake.”
“Thank you. And... My mom came. Thank you for what you said to her too.”
The strains of a fiddle wound their way around them, the sounds of people talking and laughing. They’d planned this together, and she’d been looking forward to it. Now she just felt hollow. This goal that had consumed her simply didn’t anymore. She was full of Wyatt, and her love for him, and she didn’t know how to act like she was okay.
“I can’t do this.” His words were harsh and abrupt, and could have easily come from inside her. Because she didn’t think she could do it either.
“What?” She wanted clarification because for all she knew he meant he couldn’t do the country line dance they’d just started out in front of the stage.
“I can’t stand here and talk to you like we just met.” His eyes turned intense, the kind of intensity she’d glimpsed before, but that he’d covered quickly. He wasn’t covering it now, not at all. And it burned her all the way down. “I can’t stand here and act like I haven’t been inside you before.”
“Wyatt,” she said, her heart slamming against her breastbone. “Don’t...”
“No,” he said. “I need you to understand that that matters. Because I’ve been with a lot of women, Lindy. And I could stand there and shoot the breeze with any one of them. Because they didn’t matter. I can’t do that with you. I can’t just stand here and talk like we haven’t been skin to skin. You’re different, I’m different. Together we’re something else.”
Her heart slammed hard against her breast and she took a step back. “Great. Is this torture Lindy hour? Because that is not why I came. And I will leave.”
He reached out and grabbed hold of her arm. “It’s not torture Lindy hour. I need to... Come with me.”
“I don’t think I want to.”
“Then you’re about to have a very intimate conversation in public.”
She looked around, at the many people enjoying themselves, and she was tempted to tell him to go right ahead and speak his piece right there in front of everyone.
He took her hand and led her away from the booths, from all the people down away from the places that had been landscaped and polished, to an old barn on the property that she had never seen before. It was red, like a classic barn from an old painting, the trim no longer crisp and white but faded and peeling.
He opened a small door, and wrapped his warm fingers around hers, drawing her inside.
She wanted to lean into his strength. She wanted... She just wanted. But part of her was afraid. Still. Because she had been hurt, and badly. So many times. She didn’t want to be hurt again. But, she wasn’t going to cut him off either. She wasn’t going to hide. Not now. “What?”
He didn’t speak, but she could see that he was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling like he’d been running a marathon.
“I need you,” he said. And then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in, kissing her, deep and hard. “I need you. And that is the scariest damn thing I have said in a very long time. I worked so hard not to need anyone, Lindy. Because I was sure that it would only lead to more pain. More rejection. I’ve had too much of it. But I had the talk with my father that I needed to have for the past twenty years. There’s a lot of hard feelings. Mostly mine. And I realize that one conversation isn’t going to clear that up. Not in the least. But I have a choice. I can hang on to it all... Or I can let the past go. Baby, watching you let all that go by the waterfall was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. You’re the bravest person I know.” He cupped her cheek, slid his thumb over her skin. She closed her eyes and savored it. Wyatt’s touch.
“You rode bulls for a living,” she said, feeling shaky. “So that can’t be true.”
“Yeah. I did. You know why I did it? When my mom died... I was there. I came into the room and I saw her there. Laying on the floor. Jamie was in her bassinet crying. I knew it was too late. I knew she was already gone. I just... I knew. And after the paramedics had come... After my father had come running in from the field... I don’t know if I tripped and fell, if I passed out or what. But I fell on the ground, and I ended up with a mouthful of dirt. I called out to my dad to pick me up. But he didn’t. He just walked on by. He was too mired in his own pain to deal with mine.”
“Oh, Wyatt...” She reached up and held his face, held his gaze.
“He and I have to work that out. We will. But it...after that, I decided that the next time I fell down into the dirt I’d just pick myself up. And that’s what I’ve been doing all these years. Riding bulls, falling in the dirt, picking myself up. But that wasn’t me being brave. It’s not brave to live a life by yourself. No responsibilities. No ties to anything. It’s easy. I didn’t want to need anyone. Not again. I let myself need Louisa, and I lost her too. And yeah, all that was messed up, but it was real to me. And I’ve been walking around with no connections ever since. But I don’t want to do that anymore. I can’t. I think that moment in the bar... You know when people die for a minute, and they go to heaven. That’s what that was like. When you walked into that bar I died for a minute, and I saw heaven. And it was you. It was a promise. A taste of something that was coming. Like everything... Everything cleared away. All the pain we had ever been through, whatever we were living in in that moment. That’s what it was like. A taste of what we could have. Of what we could be. And it’s this. It’s love. I can’t... We can’t be done. Not us. I think we might be the real thing.” He cupped her chin. “No I know we are. I knew it then. I wanted to hide from it. Run from it. But at the same time... I never could help myself when it came to flinging myself into danger. There were a lot of ways I could have gone off and made money. But...”
“You decided to become a bull rider.”
“Sure as hell. So I flirted with you. And I teased you. And you know what? I thought I was going to escape unscathed. But I didn’t. And now... I don’t want to. Not anymore. I’ve spent a long time being worried that there was something wrong with me. That I wasn’t worthy of love. And I’m still not sure that I’m worthy of yours. I’m not sure that I’m a better man than Damien. But I love you more. I’d die for you. I’d make myself bleed for you. I’m willing to stand here and face my biggest fear. I’m willing to be terrified, admit that I’m terrified, for you. Just you. You’re right, Lindy. I could love you. And I do. I don’t know what all that’s worth. But I’ll turn myself inside out for you.”
“Wyatt,” she said, closing the distance between them and flinging her arms around his neck, clinging to him. Kissing him. “I love you, Wyatt Dodge,” she said. “I love you with every corner of myself. You are the most wonderful man I’ve ever known. You’re fearless.”
“I feel pretty damn scared right about now,” he said. “I’m damn near shaking.”
“But you’re here. Isn’t that bravery? Being afraid, but saddling up and riding anyway?”
“I don’t know. After all this... You and me, I’m starting to think that bravery is loving even when you know how hard it can be. Lindy, I’ve never been married. I loved, and I’ve lost. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve done bad things out of anger. I don’t know how to be a husband. But I promise that I’m going to spend the rest of my life learning how to love you just right. And if I make mistakes, I’m going to stay around and fix it. No running. No hiding. If you start to feel like you’ve lost touch with me, you tell me. I swear I’ll tell you. My world changed the minute that I saw you the first time. And I swear I’m not going to forget that. I’m going to stay changed. You struck me like lightning, baby. You changed me.
“I love you,” he said. “You. Not who you pretended to be. But who you are with me. You’re who I want. Forever. I want to have babies with you, and live with you. I want to marry you. And I never thought I would say those words.”
Lindy was trembling, her hands shaking, tears filling her eyes. “I want to marry you too. And I really, really never thought I would be saying those words. Not ever again.”
“Good. Then let’s get married.”
Her eyes went wide. “Now?”
“I don’t see any reason to wait.”
“Don’t you want...a wedding?”
“I don’t care. I just want you. I want you to be my wife. As soon as possible.”
“Well... Wyatt, where are we going to live?” They both lived on the properties they ran their businesses on. Not that it was necessary but they were both pretty connected to their home bases.
“Where do you want to live?” he asked. “We don’t have to live here. We don’t have to live at Grassroots even. It could be anywhere.”
She loved that. The meaning behind that offer. She’d gotten married before, and she’d stepped from one place she hadn’t chosen into another. A foreign world where she’d felt like she had to bend and change. And he was offering her the chance to choose her world. One she wanted, one she fit.
“Here,” she said, without thought. “We worked on this together. And I love Grassroots. I’ll always spend a lot of time there. But I don’t need to stay there anymore. That house was just a reminder of what I thought I needed to be, and I don’t need to be that anymore. I don’t need to be the perfect woman. I just want to be your woman.”
“That’s all I want, Lindy,” he said, his voice rough.
She leaned in and kissed him. “Call me Melinda,” she whispered against his lips. “You’re the only man who ever has.”
“Melinda,” he whispered. “I love you.” He stopped, his face looking serious, and he grabbed hold of her chin, holding her face still. “I remember thinking Damien had to be the dumbest man on the planet. I couldn’t imagine wanting another woman if I had you. I still can’t. You’re the dream I didn’t let myself have, didn’t think I could have.”
“So are you,” she said, her voice getting quiet. “Wyatt... I never thought... I never thought there was a man who could love me like this. Who could love me.”
“Baby,” he said. “I couldn’t not love you. I’ve never put any stock in things like fate... But I think you might be mine.”
She stretched up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I know you’re mine.”
Lindy Parker had hated the rodeo for a long time. And if there was one thing she hated more than the rodeo itself, it had been the bull riders.
Cocky. Arrogant. Jerks.
She had classified Wyatt Dodge as the cockiest, most arrogant of all. But oh how things changed. She couldn’t hate the rodeo, not now. Not when, in the end, it was the reason she’d found this man.
Oh, this man. She loved him most of all.
And the very best thing was, he loved her back.