“ A couple of weeks after you told me Jacob dumped her at a shelter, I got this itch to find her. It was stupid. But…” I hesitate. “It felt like having a piece of you, and I thought maybe if there was ever a possibility of us, you and the girls could still have her.”
I pause, searching her eyes. “So, I adopted her. She’s been staying at the ranch and fits right in with the barn cats and other animals. I check on her as much as I can, and my dad and sisters feed the animals daily.”
Her eyes well with tears. She drops down beside Wobbles, stroking her fur. “You kept her for me? For my girls? All this time!” Her voice breaks. “They’re going to lose their minds.”
She looks up, her expression twisting. “Why didn’t you tell me? Because of Jacob? His allergies.”
I run a hand through my hair. “I wanted to. So many times. But then things kept getting more complicated. The accident. The distance. And I knew you couldn’t keep her or risk coming here.”
“Thank you,” she murmurs. “For adopting her. For everything you’ve done this past year to make me feel loved and seen. But I can keep her now. Wobbles and Boner Dog.” A soft laugh escapes her. “I like the sound of that.”
I smile, then freeze. “I don’t understand?”
She meets my gaze, my heart rate rising. “I… I ended… my marriage.”
Each word lands heavier than the last. “We signed the papers a few weeks ago,” she adds. “I thought it would get ugly—was ready for war,” she sighs. “But I think he didn’t want our girlsgoing through the same thing he went through as a kid. And I’m grateful. But…”
Her legs buckle, and I catch her, pulling her against me as sobs rack her body.
My stomach sinks.
“I picked up a hammer and smashed the house I built to pieces,” she says between gasps.
I tighten my grip around her, grounding her the only way I know how—by not letting her go.
“I broke him. I broke us. I broke our family.” Her breath shudders. “And I told him everything.”
Her words hang there, raw, unfiltered. He knows.
I should kiss her. Tell her this is our chance. But all I can see is her pain, which is still fresh, still bleeding.
“I couldn’t keep lying,” she whispers. “I didn’t do it for you, Dylan. I did it for me.”
I’ve imagined this moment a thousand different ways. But now that it’s real? It doesn’t feel right. It feels unfinished. “You don’t owe me anything,” I murmur. “I never wanted you to leave him for me. I just wanted you to choose you.”
She tilts her face toward me, eyes glossy. “So… what does that mean for us?”
My breath stutters. “I wish I had an answer. I want to say we’re good now. We can have our happily ever after. That truck picnics and orgasms are enough. But I’m not sure it’s the right time.”
Not when her world is in shambles. And I’m scared to wait and end up hurt again.
“God, I hate this. All of this,” she says quietly, her voice turning hollow. “But ending my marriage… that wasn’t the worst part of my story today.”
My pulse spikes. “What was?”
She stops, backing away. “My nightmares…” she mumbles. “They’re worse than I imagined.”
I move closer, my stomach in knots.
“Jacob finally told me everything,” she murmurs. “He lied for years. Said it was to protect me. That the truth would break me.” Her voice cracks. “But the lies broke me more. And then he—then I….”
Her whole body starts to shake. I wrap my arms around her gently wishing I can take her pain away. “Take your time. I’m here.”
She leans into me, letting out a ragged breath. “My ex… one night, he was high. Angrier than usual. There was something different in his eyes. He started hurting me, choking me—” Her breath hitches. “I was so scared, Dylan. And I—God, I didn’t mean to. I just grabbed something to defend myself.”
Tears streak down her face. “And I… I… I killed a man.” Her voice shatters completely. “I killed him. I killed Ryan.”
The world stops.
