Through the Dust (Black Springs Ranch, #2)

by Amber Palmer

“Where the fuck do you come up with this shit?” I shrugged. “Unlike some people—and I’m not naming names, of course—I read books with words, not just pictures. I know it’s a crazy concept. Maybe if you tried it some time, you could learn a thing or two.” “Are you saying I can’t read?” he asked. He seemed offended, which was weird because that was exactly what I was saying.

Lennox Hayes and I were like fire and ice. She burned hotter than a thousand fucking suns and had the temper to boot. I was the dick who acted unaffected but was anything but.

I mean, there was no way we could sleep together. That would just be stupid. Reckless, even. Exactly why I wanted to do it.

I’d been dirty talked into a quiet submission. Who knew that was a thing?

A small-town Taco Bell drive-thru on a Saturday night was my own personal kind of hell.

I admired that about her. She used her loud as fuck nature to divert the attention of others her way when things got heavy.

She’s just like me fr

Men who believed women were property, who ruled with iron fists and sharp-edged words, deserved a one-way ticket to the deepest parts of hell.

Some of the best narcissists in the world have a silver tongue at the ready.

I’d learned early on that blood didn’t define family. It was determined by who showed up for you day in and out when shit got tough, the ones who rallied behind you and lifted you up until you could stand on your own two feet.

Setting my feelings aside, which was hard to do because I took everything personally,

Ugh same

I really needed to get laid. And not just laid, but a blow-your-back-out-and-make-you-forget-your-name kinda sex.

“Have fun! Teach those kids to fight the patriarchy or whatever you do.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re six, Lennox.” “Never too early to start empowering the next generation!”

City folks might call it weird, but I loved the smell of ranch life. Sure, there were a lot of gross things we came across, but to me, it was just home. Horse shit equaled money. It meant we still had a job and employees who depended on us. I hated to think what would happen if that scent went away.

I thought that this life on the ranch was all I ever wanted, but I would give anything to stop Lennox from looking so goddamn sad.

In a world full of fuckboys and wandering eyes, would I ever find that kind of love?

Mom and Dad were already married with kids at twenty-seven, yet I was more committed to my favorite perfume than a person.

If my heart were made of glass, it would’ve shattered in my chest.

We both broke out into a fit of giggles until the tears we’d shared in grief turned into ones from laughter instead.

“We’re all scared, bug, but just because we’re scared doesn’t mean we should stop living. We shouldn’t let that fear consume us. Shouldn’t stop laughing over stupid shit, or going after what you want, or dancing in the kitchen at”—he looked toward the clock—“5:57 in the morning with your dear old dad.”

For a moment in time, I wasn’t a twenty-seven-year-old woman walking an unknown path who was terrified of losing her father. Instead, I was just a girl dancing with her first love as we watched the sun rise over the peak of the barn.

I fuckin’ hated people.

I’d give it to the kid. He had confidence in fucking spades. It was hugely misplaced, but maybe he’d find somewhere to fake it until he made it. Or maybe he was about to get his ass handed to him by a five-foot-seven blonde who terrified most men around here.

“I’ll always be here to listen to you.” I wasn’t sure how long always would last, but for right now, it was pretty damn perfect.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Bishop Bryant?” “Dunno,” I said, ducking my head so I didn’t have to look at her. “Heard he went and fell in love.”

Kissing Lennox Hayes for the first time had been life-altering. It made me want things I’d only dreamed about. It’d given me hope for a future—a better one where I could move away from my past and do something for myself.