Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch, #1)

by Lyla Sage

I was lucky to have a friend like her, the type of friend most people could only dream about.

There was just something about a neon sign cutting through the dark.

Just like his stupid eyelashes that framed his stupid chocolate eyes.

If giving me shit made her smile like that, I’d have no choice but to let her do it as often as she wanted.

When it came to Emmy, I was playing with fire, but I would happily walk into the flames for her. And I’d have a smile on my face the whole damn time.

There was just something about food and the way it brought people together.

My eyes were always on Emmy.

“Is it hard? To love someone even though they’re gone?” I felt like I needed to take advantage of this time with my dad when he was freely talking about my mom. “No, loving Stella is the easiest thing I’ll ever do, whether she’s here or not.”

It was the small moments like those where I could see him clearly. Yes, he was absolutely a t-shirt mutilator, but he wasn’t arrogant, irresponsible, or careless. He was thoughtful and protective.

It was hard to breathe, but not because I was panicking. It was because this man had quite literally taken my breath away.

You know in the action movies, when the hero and heroine kiss right before the battle, and all of the sudden they’re ready to take on the aliens or the mutated monster or whatever? I understood that now.

I didn’t really know how to be in love, but I knew I wanted to be with Emmy in every way I could. I wanted the kitchen slow dances, nights out with shots, rides through the mountains, hot sex, afternoon naps, and two-lane highways with the windows down. I wanted it all.

“Emmy never asks for anything. She just puts her head down and deals with things in the only way she knows how, by kicking shit around in her own brain. But she asked for you.”

I noticed he wasn’t even tacked up. Luke had ridden through the ranch’s roughest trails bareback. All to make it to me.

A tear snaked its way out of the corner of my eye. Luke caught it. Just like he’d caught me countless times over the past few months.

“Don’t cry, sugar. You know I hate it when you cry.”

This woman was the love of my life.