The Runaway (Barrett Boys #1) - Jordan Ford Page 0,70

all afternoon.

Its rays revive me completely, and I’m reminded once again how much I love the outdoors. The sounds, the smell, the fresh air.

No matter what I do next with my life, I need to work in the open.

At the ranch.

That voice keeps calling me. Urging me home. And the more time I spend with Annie, the more I want to take her with me.

She’s a slightly different person around her friends. Not by much, just a happier, lighter edition. When she first suggested calling Franks and Billy to join us, I was kind of nervous. I’ve never really spent time with them, and I still have my secrets to keep safe.

But the day’s gone okay.

My side’s a little sore from Jackson jumping all over me, but I’m not about to let it show. I’ve never heard the kid laugh so freely. The smile on his face is damn adorable, and I want to keep it there for as long as I can… because it makes Annie smile too.

Her love for the people in this circle radiates from her.

It’s only adding to the sunlight I’m already lounging in. This quiet, isolated nook by the river is perfect.

Annie hands me a can of soda.

“Thanks.” I want to tack on the word beautiful. It’s right on my tongue, the sweet endearment all for her. But I quickly catch it before Franks and Billy can hear me.

Calling her something other than Annie suddenly takes our relationship into the couples zone, and I don’t know if we’re there yet.

I mean, I guess we are.

We act like a couple when nobody’s watching. I’ve never kissed someone the way I’ve kissed her. Sure, I’ve had sex before, but that wasn’t love or anything. That was one big failed experiment. It wouldn’t be with Annie, though. I just know it.

The idea of going to bed with her beside me each night stirs a feeling in my chest that I can’t get enough of.

I want her. I want us.

But we haven’t talked about what we are yet.

And how can we?

Whatever we’re doing has a time limit on it.

I can’t hide here forever.

As Billy launches into a story about the college he and Franks are going to, all I can think about is the fact that I’ll never be going to college. My future is so uncertain it’s terrifying.

I have the ranch, but do I?

Who knows what state it’s in? What’s happened to it since that night we all left?

I don’t even know where my brothers are.

I’m a lost, directionless runaway.

Annie deserves more than that. She deserves a Billy who has a plan for his future. Franks is a lucky lady. I want that for Annie too.

As she snuggles her back into my chest, it takes everything in me not to ask her to come with me.

I want to cut Billy off and ask right now if Annie and Jackson want to come to Montana with me.

But how could that work?

I can’t take them to some run-down ranch house. How will we live?

And the questions.

If I go back, there’ll be questions.

Questions I can’t answer about the night Grandpa died.

Harborton’s a small town. Grandpa shielded us for most of our time there, but I’ll be the one going in for supplies when the time comes. I’ll get the suspicious gazes, just like I get here. Town talk will fire up. People might come knocking at the door.

How do I protect Annie and Jackson from that?

How do I protect them from my past?

Unless…

My stomach swirls uncomfortably, but I force myself to finish the thought.

Unless I just tell her everything.

From the night Grandpa died, to my descent into crime, to the fact that I’ve got a bag of stolen money hiding under the bed.

Bending my head, I lightly kiss the top of her ear, breathing in her blossom scent as if reminding myself of what I could lose.

Will she forgive me?

If I word things right, will she understand just how much I want to be a better man for her?

34

A Black Sedan

Well, yesterday was perfect.

Sitting by the river with my best friend and the man I’m falling in love with, watching my kid brother laugh and smile like he didn’t have a care in the world. That’s what I want for him. For me.

I want that picture to run on repeat every damn day.

But life isn’t fair like that. Never has been for me, anyway.

Grabbing the coffeepot, I do my rounds, grateful for the fact that Dean didn’t say anything to me