Homebound: A Novel

by Meredith Trapp

“She’ll kill you, wreck you up nice and good if you’re not careful, but it’ll be a hell of a way to go.

It’s not the gray-haired ladies that keep the rumor mills churning; it’s the rowdy cowboys who can’t keep their mouths shut.

The only way to keep a secret in a small town is to tell it to your dog.

Everyone wanted her. But me, I was desperate for her—still am.

Growing up, she never saw me as anything more than the little boy next door, and for a while that was enough.

My poor bb Wyatt, he deserved to be SEEN 🥺

She’s fearless, and if my baby girl grows up to be just as bold, I’ll have done something right.

Kissing the metal, I remember the day I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. I was ten, and she said no because we were kids, but I promised to keep the ring until she was ready to say yes, and keep it I did—for sixteen years.

Looking at her now, I realize those feelings have never gone away. I tried all kinds of vices to get her off my mind after I left. Whiskey. Weed. Women. They all got me in trouble, but that last one got me my daughter, so I’ll never regret that choice.

She might be Kodie Cutler to everyone else, but to me, she’ll always be my Dakota.

You’re not a flower that needs to be watered with validation, you’re a cactus, darlin’, prickly enough to thrive in a desert of doubt.”

She was never one to grin all that often, which is why I used to do anything just to see her smile. Those dimples did me in every time.

Give me a man with a mean smirk who tastes like bourbon whiskey over a blond sweetheart every day ending in Y.

I like my men a little more rugged, a little more scowly, and a little looser when it comes to their morals.

“You’re still so positive, aren’t you? Always looking at the bright side.” “I mean, yeah? I’d rather focus on the good parts of life than the bad parts.”

Wyatt’s always been a giver, giving everything to everyone, so much so that he forgets about his own needs. He needs a push when it comes to taking care of himself, and I can give him that kick in the ass.

“It’s okay. Sometimes, I just want to scream at the world too. Let it out while you can, girl, ’cause when you’re all grown up, you’re gonna have to muster up a fake smile, and you’ll feel like you’re tacking on a cowboy emoji to hide all your hardest feelings.”

🤠 valid af

“A girl can still love you and want to strangle you at the same time,”

I’m pretty fast on the ice, so I’m sure I can have you panting in no time.”

😏 yes daddy

Dakota might be a rough and tough bull rider with a mean attitude to boot, but she’s got a softer side that only comes out of hiding for the people who matter most. She rarely whips it out, so when she shows you that tender piece of her, it makes you feel like someone important.

“Any woman worth having takes a little bit of handling.”

I thought passion meant you’d have a good relationship, but I think relationships are all about finding someone who balances you out. Passion burns everything and dies out quickly. Only in those ashes do you realize the relationship wasn’t made of anything substantial.

I always liked the girl I was around Wyatt. She was more carefree. Really, all she did was smile more, but it made a world of difference.

“I’ll always bet on you, Dakota Cutler.”

Dakota’s not a sunshine girl; never has been and never will be. She’s an ambitious cynic with a crazy drive to succeed, and I couldn’t think of a better role model for my daughter.

“If you give everything away to everyone else, you’ll have nothing left for yourself.”

“You’re a goddamn catch with an even cuter little catch. You deserve a woman who wants every part of you, Wyatt.”

To him, life isn’t just half-full; it’s full to the brim, and I wish I could be more like that… I’m a half-empty kind of gal.

Not everyone finds their passion in life, and I think the ones lucky enough to find something they love owe it to themselves to go after their dreams with everything they’ve got.

She imagines the worst-case scenario first, that way if it ever happens, she can claim she saw it coming. But if she needs someone to lift her up, I can be that man. I can be her best-case scenario.

🥹🥹

No one can call you a failure if you’re doing what you love.”

Crush my toes, my fingers, every bone in my body, so long as you don’t crush my heart again.

“I forgot how much I like it when you say my name. Say it again for me, would you?”

“You’re trying to take control like you always do, but you can’t control a bull, and you can’t control me.

You can’t control the ride, so just roll with it. Sometimes, the best things in life happen when you let it be.”

Most men treat kissing like a pit stop on the way to sex, but not Wyatt. He kisses like it’s the main event, not the lead-up.

I believe in working your ass off to get what you want because no one owes me a damn thing in this life.

“Us nice guys might always finish last, but that’s only ’cause we know our ladies get to finish first.”

I thought I needed a man who could handle me, but maybe what I really needed was a man to hold me.

Loving someone as brave as you could only ever be considered a privilege.”

Your dreams will always be here waiting for you, but the people? They might not be around forever.”

“If you or Tremblay jumped off a bridge, I’d jump,” he admits, and that’s Micah Cruz, loyal to a fault.

Pleaseeee I love Cruz so much, I need his book immediately

There’s a difference between falling for a stranger and falling for someone you’ve known forever. When you fall for your best friend, you’re falling for their secrets, their backstory, and every skeleton in their closet. It’s a heavier kind of love, but it’s the kind forevers are made of.

what she doesn’t know is I’ve never minded losing if she’s the one doing the winning.

I love the dichotomy of Wyatt Patterson. He’s hard, but soft. Rough, but gentle. Dominant, but caring.

“That’s the kind of woman I want you to be one day. Strong. Fearless. Soft. Kind. I don’t care what you want to do with your life as long as you go after it with everything you’ve got. Take life by the horns, baby girl. Just like her.”

I always thought love meant finding someone who makes you stronger, but for me, I think love is finding someone who makes me softer,

Life dealt me a royal flush with Wyatt Patterson. He’s soft where I’m hard. Calm where I’m intense. Caring where I’m focused. He was crafted so perfectly for me, slid so effortlessly into my life, that I never realized he was meant to be there all along.

“Everyone knows you never disrespect a lady unless she’s begging for it in the bedroom.”

*sigh* I love Wyatt 🙂‍↕️