Breathe for Me (The Langston Brothers Duet #1)

by Brittany Ann

For the rest of my life, I vowed I would run through fire to protect her. Whether she forgave me or not, I would always protect her. I would always love her. I was a fool to think she betrayed me; Grayson’s data be damned. I was a fool to think she didn’t love me. I was a fool to push her away.

My soul was hers, and not even death could take it from her.

“No, no, I’ll have none of that, baby. Ya hear?” I rasped, coughing through the thick smoke. I dropped to my knees and rolled her over. Fuck. My beauty. My enchanting Valerie. Frantically, I bent, putting my ear to her chest, and my fingers on her neck. There was a pulse, but it was fading. She was fading away from me. No, no, no. I couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not when I just got her back.

“Open your eyes, Val. Let me see that green. Give me my green,”

I twisted and leaned my back against the trunk, holding my woman close to me. I pressed a firm kiss to her temple. “Hold on, Val. Hold on for me, baby,”

They checked her pulse and put an oxygen mask on her. Everyone around us stilled, waiting for her chest to rise and inhale the air, but nothing happened. Nothing happened. She didn’t move. “Baby?” I called, not understanding why she wasn’t breathing.

A defibrillator was being passed to the main paramedic, and then the pads were pressed to her body. I didn’t understand it. My baby just needed to breathe. Why wasn’t she breathing? “Clear!” Silence. No movement. Nothing. “Try again!” I demanded. They were trying again. “She’s okay, Den. She’s gonna be okay,”

The hands on me loosened and I broke free, running and crashing to my knees beside her again. I cupped her face, lifting her head gently. “Baby, don’t you fucking leave me,”

“You need to come back to me, ya hear? I need you. Is that what you want to hear, Enchantress?” My thumbs stroked her cheeks. “If that’s what you want to hear, then I’ll tell you every second of every day, baby. Morning, noon, and night. Dammit, I’ll never stop telling you how much I need you—how much I love you. But you gotta come back to me—come home to me, Valerie.”

My head dropped and I hauled her body up into my lap, my arms banding around her. I began rocking, holding her head against my heart. “You hear that? You hear that, baby? That’s for you. That’s yours. It beats for you and Caleb. No one else.”

When I looked down at her, I pressed my trembling lips against her forehead. “You can have my land! Take it, baby! As long as I get to keep you. Do you hear me? Hallow Ranch isn’t home if you aren’t here.

“Breathe for me, Valerie. Breathe for me and never stop,” I cried, shaking her body. “Breathe for me because I’m breathing for you.”

“You found my spot.”

There was a woman in front of me on the other side of the stream. She was wearing light washed jeans, a navy T-shirt with an “H” over the pocket on the left side. Her dirty blonde hair was tied behind her in a messy knot at the base of her skull. She had a pink bandana over her head, along with an old camera hanging from her neck. The woman lifted a finger and pointed to the flat rock I was sitting on. “You found my spot,” she stated. Her voice was soft, but strong.

The woman smiled. “I’m Jane.” I found myself smiling back. “I’m Valerie.” She tilted her head to the trees. “What a pretty name.” “Thank you. My mom picked it.”

Jane looked to her feet, a small smile playing on her lips. “I have a stubborn boy—two, actually.” I smiled. “Just two?” Sadness drifted over her face. “The Lord only let me keep two of them. The rest…the rest had to go home.”

“What are you doing in my spot, Valerie?”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I’m just surprised to see you

“I’m not supposed to be here, am I?” I asked, looking at the book again. A deep sigh left her, and she dropped the camera from her face, letting it hang down from her neck again.

“I don’t mean to scare you, sweet girl, but you aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Where am I supposed to be, Jane?”

“You know, every ten years or so, Mother Nature will throw this valley for a loop. When I was pregnant with my first, it had been a hot day in the dead of winter…” She trailed off and looked at me. “Recently, it had been a storm. It brought in a cold front at the beginning of summer, believe it or not. The rain was freezing, and it shocked the town.” “Get in the God damn truck!” My body jerked at the sound of the deep voice. I looked around. Who said that?

The sound of children laughing filled my ears, and my heart warmed. I smiled, my eyes following hers, but I couldn’t see the children. It looked like Jane could. “Those your boys?” I asked softly. She shook her head. “Not my stubborn ones.” She sighed again. “No, I had to leave them behind…” “Where are they?” I asked. “Discovering themselves, I suppose. Everyone does at some point.”

“Is my mom here?” I breathed, looking around. “Not yet, sweet girl. She won’t be here for a while,”

“What am I supposed to be doing, Jane?” Everything around us shifted and suddenly, we were in a field. There was a man, a tall man, with a black cowboy hat on. I watched as he fell to his knees, his body rocking back and forth. He was crying. I turned my head to Jane, struggling to peel my eyes from him. “Why is that cowboy crying?” Tears shined in Jane’s eyes, and I could see only one thing in them. Love. “Who is that?” I asked, needing to know. I needed to know everything about him. She blinked and wiped away her tears. “He’s so stubborn, sweet girl. You are going to have to be patient with him, you know? The past hasn’t been kind to that cowboy.”

“I don’t understand.” “You will,” she promised. “Now, take my hand.” My book was gone, and I took her hand. She wrapped her other over the top of min...

“You have to go back, do you understand? You can’t stay here,” she said gently. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do if I leave,” I admitted. She gave me another small smile and lifted her chin. “Breathe, sweet girl. That’s all you have to do. Breathe for him. Trust him. Be patient with him. Love him. That’s all, sweet girl.” “I don’t…I don’t know how.” “Breathe for him.” “Breathe for me, Valerie. Breathe for me and never stop.”

“There she is. There’s my enchantress.”

“Fuck, I thought I lost you,”

Our hearts were beating as we breathed. We breathed for each other.

“Denver?” “Yes, my love.” “What’s your mother’s name?” I asked, bringing my hands to his face. His beard felt like home—he felt like home. His dark brows came together, and his throat bobbed. “Jane. Her name was Jane.” Tears filled my eyes as I nodded. I didn’t give him a response. I couldn’t. So, I kissed him again. Okay, Jane. I’ll do it. I’ll breathe for him. He’ll breathe for Caleb, and he’ll breathe for me, too…

“Baby,” I growled, pulling her back to me. “Denver,” she protested. My hands slid up her wet, naked body. “Not starting my fucking day without being inside of you.”

Every morning, I made love to Valerie. Slow and sensual or hard and fast, it didn’t matter to me. I just needed to be inside of her.

“You gonna come on my cock like the good little slut you are? Hm?” She nodded against me. “Yes, yes!” Slowly, I pressed back inside her, loving her. When I was balls deep, I pressed a kiss to her temple. Then, I fucked her hard, not stopping, even as she came apart on my cock, her cries bouncing off the shower walls. “Fuck,” I ground out, thrusting my hips into her. “Fuck, that’s good. Take it, Valerie. Take it and tell me what I need to hear.” “I-I love you!” she moaned. “I love you, Denver.”

When we were both sated, leaning against the wall for support, my arms around her, I whispered in her ear, “I love you more than air.” Now, I could start my day.

“You are a good man, Denver Langston,” I whispered. “Your past doesn’t define who you are now. The mistakes of your father and brother haunt you. Your mistakes are still haunting you. The promise you made your father weighs down on you every single day. Hallow Ranch is yours. It’s all you’ve ever known. Hallow Ranch has branded you, my dark cowboy.”

“You. Are. Good. You. Are. Worthy. Of. Happiness.”

“Found a way to take Moonie down,” Mason said. Everyone stiffened and the air around us shifted. He pulled the truck door open to reveal a sleeping woman. A beautiful woman. Her hair was reminiscent of the fire that nearly killed Denver and me. She was tucked under a fuzzy tan blanket, her light pink lips parted. She was also clutching a teal metal water bottle to her blanket-covered chest with both hands. “Who the hell is that?” Denver questioned. Mason looked to me and back to his brother. “My wife.”