Chapter Eighteen - Westin

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

WESTIN

All she has to do is get out of the house and make it to the fence. It's a ten-minute walk. From there, I'll meet her, and we'll go back to where I hid the truck in the woods.

Then, I'll take her home.

The sun sinks so slowly, I swear I can hear it etching its way across the skyline. I sit at the top of the hill, elbows on my knees, staring at the straight line of the hill where she'll appear.

Only, she doesn't come.

I glance at my watch.

My stomach turns, and I run a hand over my face to clear the sweat. From the moment we met, I've been able to feel her emotions, like the bare end of a live wire, touching my heart. I know she wouldn't just leave me here waiting for her unless something happened.

Something happened. I know it did.

I cling to that as the sky goes dark and stars glitter white. There's no way in hell she stood me up, not after what happened at the swimming hole. I was with this woman all day, naked inside and out, listening to her spill her fears, her hopes, her pain.

We talked about having babies together, for fuck's sake .

She didn't stand me up. I know she didn't.

The air is cool, and the ground is wet with dew when I go back to my truck. I've waited long enough. I need to drive down and see if I can catch a glimpse of her. I make it halfway there when a pair of headlights appear over the hill. They slow and pull up beside me, window rolling down to reveal Jensen. His jaw is set.

"Diane's gone with the Garrisons," he says, not meeting my eyes.

My stomach sinks. Part of me knew she'd pick the responsible choice. She's practical to a fault. My fingers tighten on the wheel, knuckles aching. Jensen leans out the window, concern in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he says. "She said to tell you she was sorry. And that she was handling things, so you should…stay away."

I hear myself thank him through the roaring in my ears. I put the truck in reverse and pull onto the gravel shoulder of the road, spinning it around. My foot hits the gas, and I'm going back to Sovereign Mountain, in shambles inside.

For a short hour and a half, I thought I'd talked her into coming back with me, letting me take care of her and the farm.

Maybe I wasn't that convincing after all.

I drive through the dark until Sovereign Mountain appears in my windshield. My chest burns like it has never burned before. I head into the gatehouse and up to my bedroom. Wrathfully, I pull the mattress aside, propping it up against the wall.

On the platform underneath is a long list of names carved into the wood. Most of them are crossed out. The only ones that aren't are Avery and Thomas Garrison. I take out my jackknife to add one more name to the end.

David Carter.

I flip the knife shut and pocket it. I'm going to enjoy killing him. There's no easy death for men like him. He's going to be the unfortunate recipient of all my rage and disappointment that, after thirty-seven years, I fell in love, and he ripped her from me at the eleventh hour.

My father told me to always aim to kill. Men do the job right the first time around. Maybe I'm a hell of a lot more like him than I hoped, because I'm going to make sure there's nothing left when I'm done.

I go to shower the dried mud off. I smell like her, like sweet lemonade. When I dry off, I catch a glimpse of the brand on my back.

Gunslinger.

I stop, eyes dropping down to my hands. I think this might make me into something far worse than I've ever been.