“So, I’m home,” I say with a slight laugh.
He finally glances up, meets my eyes for real this time, and nods. “It’s good to have you back.”
Good to have you back?What the hell does that mean? I feel like I’m going crazy, searching every sentence for some hidden meaning that isn’t there.
I linger, watching as he moves around the stall, finishing up his work and mostly ignoring me, and when he finally stands straighter and turns to fully face me, I take him in again. He looks… different. Older, somehow. Which I suppose makes sense since it’s been seven years. Sharper. Like the years have only made him more solid, more real and way more attractive.
And fuck, he looks good shirtless. He certainly hasn’t stopped working out since stepping back from being a full time athlete.
Why is he giving me so much space right now? Why isn’t he asking me anything?
“How long have we had the horses?” I ask because I don’t know what else to say. Because I can’t bring myself to ask the real question—the one about how we ended up here, together, married. And what else do you say to a man you married and hardly knew.
“Just got them three days ago.” He smiles easily as he watches me.
“They’re beautiful.”
“Glad you like them. You’re welcome to take a ride on them anytime. You mentioned that you used to ride Mr. Mayberry’s.”
I did? I told him that?
Interesting...
I nod, turning that idea over in my mind. “I think I’d like that.”
He watches me for a beat, then tilts his head. “You wanna grab some dinner? I’m starving.”
I hesitate, rolling my lips under my teeth again because—yeah, I’m supposed to be meeting with Declan. But is this something we did? Have dinner together in the evenings?
“Actually, I should probably get back to the house and get ready.”
His expression shifts. Subtle, but enough. The easy-going smile fades, his brows pull in slightly, and for the first time since I walked in, something sadder flickers behind his warm, hazel eyes. His breathing picks up just slightly, his pupils dilate, and I swear he’s biting back words.
“Ah, so you got plans already?” His voice is lower now, rougher.
I nod. “Yeah. I’m meeting up with Declan... um, not sure if you know him or not.” I chuckle because I wouldn’t even know how to explain Declan to him if I had to.
There it is again, that flicker, that shift. He clears his throat harshly, rubs a hand over the center of his bare chest like he’s trying to steady something inside him, then nods once, his fingers sliding along the edge of his jaw where a faint bit of scruff is starting to form.
“Yeah. I know who he is.”
I force a smile, ignoring the way my stomach twists. “So, I’ll get out of your hair then.”
He doesn’t stop me. Doesn’t say anything else until I’m halfway out the door. Then—“See you tonight?” His voice is softer now.
I pause, glancing back over my shoulder as I take in the tortured expression behind his eyes. “Okay.”
Chapter 36: Hayes
Well, fuck.?
Seeing Regan like this here in our home, so damn alive, so unshakably beautiful, it rocks me to the core. It’s not soft nor tender, it’s brutal. Like something’s trying to claw its way out of me, and I’m too far gone to stop it.
I’ve seen her every single night since the accident. Sat beside her in that stiff-ass hospital chair, watching her sleep when no one else was allowed in. Counting her breaths. Memorizing the way her fingers twitched when the dreams came, studying her vitals to be sure she was okay. I spent hours beside her, afraid to blink too long in case she woke up and I wasn’t the first one there to witness it.
Some nights, I’d pass out in that chair with my hand wrapped around hers like I could anchor her to this world if I just held on tight enough. Like I could bring her back to me and tell her while she rested all the ways that I was sorry.
But this?
