Page 69 of Ride or Die

“Hi,” Clara says, her voice soft and sweet, spearing me straight in the chest.

“How you doin’?” I barely manage to grit out, my voice croaky and broken. I clear the bubble of nerves from the back of my throat because of course I seem to have lost the ability to form words. This woman renders me fucking speechless.

“You okay?” Clara asks, a flicker of worry flashing in her gaze.

Lips pressed together, I offer her a tight smile, nodding once.

“Ready?” She quirks a brow.

I nod again, my gaze flitting to the house. “You gonna say goodbye to the kids?”

Clara grins. “Mama Joy took ’em to Pip’s for a treat.”

“Oh,” is all I can think to say. The fact I now know it’s just us, that there’s no risk of one of the kids running out or worse, Mama Joy butting in to say something just to embarrass me, my shoulders ease.

She sniffs a laugh. “You were nervous, huh?”

I puff air from my cheeks, nodding sheepishly.

She giggles and the sound alone relaxes me enough to take a step forward and close the distance between us. Clara’s smile falls, her lips parting as she gapes up at me. I place a hand on her hip, noticing the way her breath hitches as I stare down at her.

“You look… beautiful,” I say, leaning in close enough to press a soft, lingering kiss to her cheek. I don’t miss the slight shudder that rolls through her, and when I pull back, her eyes are closed, and fuck me if she ain’t the prettiest damn thing I’ve ever seen up close.

“You ready to go, darlin’?”

With a trembling exhale, her thick lashes flutter and her eyes open. When I see the flush creep up her chest, her neck, I’m a smug motherfucker at the thought that it’s me causing her body to react this way. No one else. Just me.

“Yeah,” she breathes out.

“I hope you like tacos,” I say, taking her hand in mine.

“I do.” She grins up at me and my god… the sight of that smile. Like I said, I’m a goner for this girl. A fuckin’ goner.

CHAPTER 26

CLARA

At thirty-three years old it’s kind of embarrassing to admit that I haven’t been on a lot of dates in my life. I think maybe three. The price of being an asshole magnet, I suppose. But it’s safe to say that Cole is most definitely not an asshole. And here, with a belly full of tacos, on a soft blanket laid out in the back of his truck with nothing but the glow of the moon and the stars overhead, in the middle of a desolate field of nothing, as a country music song plays softly from inside the cab, this might just be the top contender for best date ever. I know, who am I to judge? I don’t have much to go by. But I can’t remember a time I’ve ever had this much fun, and we’re literally just sitting here on his tailgate, talking about nothing and everything all at once.

“Where are we?” I ask suddenly, getting a better look at our surroundings. Nothing but dirt and long grass span the distance, cacti, boulders, tumbleweeds and a night sky that looks as if it goes on and on, far beyond the end of the world.

“Rattlesnake,” Cole says almost like I should’ve known.

I can’t help but balk. “The ranch?”

He sniffs a laugh. “Yep.”

“Are we allowed to be here?”

He nods.

“Exactly how big is this place?” I scan the vista again. There’s literally nothing, no lights, no buildings, no one around. The rest of humanity could cease to exist right now, and we’d be none the wiser.

“Big,” is all he says. “Second biggest cattle ranch in the panhandle.”

My eyes widen as I stare out at the darkness, to the silhouette of jagged mountain peaks in the distance. “Is it… safe?”

“You’re safer here than anywhere else in the world,” Cole says, and by his no-bullshit tone I can tell he’s serious.