The Bluff (Calamity Montana, #2)

by Willa Nash

A pair of the bluest eyes I’d ever seen met my gaze. Blue like the ocean on a sunny day. Blue like the evening skies above the Montana mountains. An endless blue that swallowed me whole.

“No. I don’t need a big dream. I’d rather accomplish a small one,” I admitted. “I want a happy life. A simple home. I want to be around people who aren’t afraid to belly laugh and tell me they love me.”

What I wouldn’t give for a rewind button on life, not to fix my mistakes, but to relive the moments I hadn’t appreciated enough.

“The only man who touches you is me,” he said, his voice husky and as dark as the painting. “The only man who watches you is me.”

Ev had the grit to gut out the hard moments. She had a smile that made the good ones shine like the sun. Along the way, it had stopped being about sex. Or only sex. She’d become a constant. A companion. Maybe even a friend.

The peace wasn’t in this meadow. It wasn’t the grass or the flowers or the trees. The peace was at Everly’s side.

I wanted to belong to someone special and have that special someone belong to me.

Care wasn’t a promise for the future. Care wasn’t the same as undying love. Except care was something, wasn’t it? He’d admitted to feeling more for me than I’d hoped for.

I loved him. I was undeniably in love with Reese Huxley. His sweet moments. His scowl. The way he loved his daughter. The way he made me feel safe.

was his addiction and he was mine.

And I knew in that moment, there would be no discussion. They’re be no fixing us. This thing between us was over. “I want a divorce,” she whispered.

“I don’t know. Probably because your mom is a . . . you-know-what. And I wish someone had cared enough about me to call my mother a you-know-what because sometimes, she is a you-know-what. But I don’t have that someone. You grow up and people don’t shout and scream and fight for you anymore. Not unless you’re really lucky.”

“He loves you,” I whispered. “Your father loves you so much. Enough to fight. You’re a lucky girl, Savannah. I hope you know that.”

I’d been lying to myself for far too long. This marriage was as real and important as they came. Along the way, I’d fallen for my wife. I was in love with Everly Christian Huxley.

Hux made me feel safe. He made me feel wanted and worshiped. His heart was a mirror image of mine, the missing piece.

“Who are you and what have you done with my scowling husband?” He flashed me his breathtaking smile. “My wife told me to work on that scowl.”