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Aiden only looked more distressed. "Are you hurt?"
Seth ignored the question. He propped himself up on one elbow and cupped Aiden’s beloved face in one hand. Aiden's cheek twitched beneath the gentle stroke of his thumb. Seth smiled despite his aching back and said fiercely, "We chose each other the day we met. You can't go back on something like that."
"What if I fuck up again?" Aiden asked in an agonized whisper. "What if I drag you down with me? You deserve so much better than a screw-up like me."
"You could screw up a million times, and I'll love you through it," Seth promised. He couldn't hold back any longer; he'd been aching to hold Aiden again for so long. He was parched for the touch of his skin. His hands were shaking when he reached out and wrapped his arms around Aiden's tense body. "You belong here," he whispered, hauling Aiden against his chest. "In my arms. In my life. This is your home, and you've already spent too much of our lives away from it. You're everything to me. Before you, my world had edges. You opened it up and made it beautiful. Don't take that away from me—please. I can't go through that again."
Slowly, hesitantly, Aiden's arms wrapped around Seth's chest, and then they tightened, squeezing until his ribs creaked. A choked sob erupted from his throat, and he buried his face in Seth's neck. They knelt together in the mud, holding on as if they could absorb each other into their skin, and it felt like Seth could finally breathe again.
"I'm sorry," Aiden said hoarsely. "I'm so sorry. I just don’t want to let you down again."
Even though it hurt to do it, Seth found the strength to pull back far enough to look into Aiden's eyes. "You never need to say that word to me," he said.
The tentative smile in Aiden's red-rimmed eyes felt like a balm on his wounded soul. "Can I say thank you?"
"That depends." Seth felt his mouth curve in his first genuine smile in weeks. "Why are you saying it?"
Aiden's throat bobbed on a hard swallow. "Thank you for finding me," he said in a voice full of humility. "Back then, when I was just an aimless kid…and today. Thank you for waiting for me even after I ran like a chickenshit."
Seth cupped his jaw and drew him in for a brief, caressing kiss as gentle as spring rain. When they parted, Aiden's sigh was a warm puff against his lips.
"You waited for me," Seth whispered, resting his forehead against Aiden's and basking in the joy and gratitude flowing through him. "Even after I turned my back on you, you were there as soon as I was ready. I'd do the same for you, no matter how long it took."
"You were worth waiting for," Aiden protested.
Seth's smile was slow and tender. "Sweetheart," he said wryly, "so are you—and I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving it to you."
Chapter Thirty-Six
AIDEN
Aiden's palms were so damp, he was forced to wipe them on his jeans as he followed Seth’s truck up the familiar drive to the Double Jay. His breathing was rapid and shallow, but he calmed it by focusing on Seth’s brake lights and nothing else. Gravel crunched beneath their truck tires, and a chill seeped into his bones.
It felt like the world had changed. Aiden felt like he was stepping onto shifting sands, off balance and uncertain of his footing. It seemed impossible that the life he’d walked away from could still be waiting for him. A man couldn’t take a mallet to the clockworks of his life and then expect the gears to keep turning once he reassembled all the pieces. Then again, Sweetwater had a way of drawing people back. Calvin Craig and Nate Silva had come home again after years of wandering, and even Aiden’s own mother hadn’t made it far.
He wasn’t aware of consciously holding his breath, but it escaped in a rush as they took the last bend and the ranch came into view. Wide-open pastures stretched out like a landscape of fading bruises, smeared greens and browns that were just beginning to pluck up from months crushed beneath snowpack.
But it wasn't the view that captured his attention—it was the ranch itself. A refurbished feed truck sat beside the freshly painted barn; fence lines were straight and sturdy, even the areas Aiden hadn’t been able to help Seth get to yet; and the house had a new shingle roof.
Aiden frowned, bewildered, as he pulled behind Seth’s truck and cut the engine. He sat there cataloging changes with a perplexed furrow between his eyebrows.
Even with the headway they'd made over the winter, the Double Jay had still been on the brink of collapse—literally and financially. The checks he'd signed over to Seth couldn't have covered half these improvements.
As if sensing his uncertainty, Seth approached Aiden's truck and opened the door before he could muster the courage.
"You planning on camping in there?" Seth teased, a half-smile tugging at his lips.
"Just waiting for you to roll out the red carpet," Aiden quipped, fumbling with his seatbelt and stepping into the spring sunshine. The air smelled different in Oregon—richer, greener—but even a deep lungful couldn't ease the knot of anxiety in his chest. His gaze flitted over the clean, freshly repaired buildings. "You've been busy."
Seth's smile widened into a breathtaking grin, and Aiden's heart gave a painful thump. God, he was so handsome. Aiden must have been crazy to think he could ever live without seeing that smile every day.
"It was a way to keep from going crazy," Seth admitted, reaching out to give Aiden's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"How did you afford the supplies?" Aiden asked cautiously.
"Word got around about the breeding arrangement I had with Whit," Seth explained, glancing out at the grazing herd with a hint of pride. "Once they got a look at my stock, other ranchers started lining up. It's been a good couple of months, but I didn't do all this on my own. Your friends helped."
"What friends?" Aiden asked, blinking rapidly as he processed the information.
