Wild and Wrangled (Rebel Blue Ranch, #4)

by Lyla Sage

She broke my heart a million times after that, too, and time never did what it was supposed to do: heal or whatever.

“right now, we’re at Southwest Applebee’s. Texas Roadhouse is like Cowboy Applebee’s, and Olive Garden is Italian Applebee’s.” “Red Lobster?” Cam chimed in. “Seafood Applebee’s. We should go there next,” I said.

Dusty kissed me again—he didn’t care that my mom was watching. “I’ll get you out of here someday, I promise.”

There was a whole nuanced discussion in here about cost versus labor, but maybe we’d save that for when she was eight.

Dusty put a hand on my cheek and looked straight into my soul. “I’ll love you until we’re dust, Camille Ashwood.”

“No. You’re a privilege, Cam. Being in your presence is a goddamn honor.”

There’s a reason that rearview mirrors are small and windshields are big.”

Wes nodded again, and it looked like he was fighting a smile. “So you’re mad because your high school slash current boyfriend bought you a house and let you live in it when you needed a place to go?”

Thank you, Wes. She is just being ridiculous.

“I get wanting to have something to call your own—I really do, Cam. And I know there’s a lot of other stuff wrapped up in that feeling—especially after what you went through. But I’ve also been the person who’s just trying to show the scared and fiercely independent woman how much he loves her. And sometimes”—he smiled—“it doesn’t go according to plan and you end up scaring her instead of winning her over.” “I’m not scared,” I said. “I’m mad.” “So you can tell me with one hundred percent certainty that the combination of Dusty buying that house because of you, then spending more time with him again, and the potential of a future where you’re together and happy doesn’t scare you even a little bit? It just makes you mad?”

“Don’t you dare fucking give up on you and Dusty, Cam, I swear to god” were the first words out of her mouth.

“I think the technical term is a love declaration or grand gesture,” he said. “And also a deed.” “What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked. “You think you can just give me a house and tell me you love me and all is forgiven?” “No,” he said. “But I thought it could be a good start.”

“I love you madly and deeply. I love you in ways that people don’t believe exist in real life. I love you for who you’ve been and who you are and who you’re going to be, Ash.”

“This is my best work,” Teddy said as she looked me up and down with a smile. “You say that every time.” I laughed. “And I mean it every time,” she said. “I just keep getting better, I guess.”

“Ready, Spud?” my dad asked. He’d gotten out of the side-by-side and had a hand held out to me. I took it. “Ready,” I said. And I was. I’d been waiting for this day for a long time—maybe since the night I came home and saw Luke at the Devil’s Boot. I would’ve married him the day of my last race if he’d asked, and I would’ve married him a million times since then. But I was happy that we had a chance to start putting pieces of our life together first—that I got settled in my role at Rebel Blue, that Luke turned the bar around. I’m glad we got to build furniture and take trips and lie on the couch together for a few years before we got here.