Page 108 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys

After a few yards, Red glances sideways. “How long’ve you been following me?”

“Long enough to prove these boots were worth the money.”

“They’re wasted on a woman who keeps making questionable decisions.”

I bump his shoulder lightly with mine. “Says the cowboy taking a midnight stroll instead of using the perfectly good bed waiting inside.”

His mouth gives in to half a smile before he looks back across the pasture. He rubs a thumb across his beard.

“I tried.” His words disappear into the night, and I wait beside him until he speaks again. “He laughed at me. Travis.” A humorless smile pulls at his mouth. “Said I was looking for excuses because I’d finally realized he could beat me.”

We walk another few steps before he continues.

“I watched him climb into that chute knowing he shouldn’t have been anywhere near a horse, and every time I think back on it, I end up asking myself why I let him.”

“You didn’t let him.”

“I didn’t drag him off it either.” His answer comes so quickly it sounds rehearsed. “I should’ve grabbed him, thrown him over my shoulder if I had to, and let him spend the rest of his life cussing my name.”

“He would’ve fought you the whole way.”

“I would’ve taken that deal.”

I reach for his hand without thinking. His fingers stiffen against mine before they curl around my own. “You’ve spent years trying to rewrite a day nobody could control.”

“I was standing right in front of him.”

“You were trying to help him.”

He shakes his head. “I wasn’t enough.”

I stop walking, and after another step he stops with me. “Then help me understand.”

He turns to face me, tiredness etched across every line of his face. “When somebody gets hurt making their own choice, everybody left behind starts bargaining with memories. You replay every conversation, every argument, every chance you had to change their mind until you convince yourself the ending was yours to prevent.”

His grip tightens around my hand. “I’ve lived that ride a thousand times.”

My chest aches. “And every version still ends with you blaming yourself.”

“I don’t know how to stop.”

“You don’t have to solve it tonight.” I give his hand a gentle squeeze. “Just let somebody carry a little of it with you.”

He studies me for a long beat before lifting my hand to his lips. “So that’s why you chased a complete stranger into the woods.”

A laugh escapes me. “You really are going to milk that story forever.”

“I’d be doing the story a disservice if I retired it this early.”

“I was hoping your memory had started failing.”

“It has.” His grin grows. “I only remember the important bits.”

Heat creeps into my cheeks despite myself. “You’re impossible.”

“So I’ve been told.”

I step closer until our boots nearly touch. “There’s the man who’s been hiding behind all that guilt.”