I want to get to know him, too. I haven’t stopped. I bite my lip and study him. He’s patient as I think on it, as if waiting for me to tell him to fuck off. To leave me alone.

“I’m not weak,” I say instead. “I’m broken, but I’m fixing myself.”

“Carly, you’re not br—”

I hold up a hand. “I am. I’m broken, but I’m getting better. A little at a time. Last night…” I roll my eyes. “God, last night helped with that a lot. Because you thought I was just Carly. Not Broken Carly like Chance thinks of me. Like Lexie and the entire town.”

He sighs and reaches out and strokes a hand over my hair, tucks some strands that have come loose behind my ear. “Baby, shh.”

Pet names. I don’t like them. But I no longer seem to mind.

I close my eyes and revel in the feel. In his lack of more words.

When he drops his hand, I look up at him. Does he know about the hidden spring? Probably not, since he only arrived a few days ago. Funny. I didn’t want to share that place with anyone.

Except now I do.

I want to share it with Austin. Want to share more with him.

“Okay. Come on,” I say. “I want to show you something. We have to drive for about ten minutes to get there.”

He steps back to let me out of the room. “Drive into town?”

I step out into the central hallway of the stable. The tang of horses is stronger out here. The sliding doors are open at either end of the building, allowing natural light and fresh summer air in.

“No. To the edge of your property.”

“Can’t we just walk?”

I laugh then. A big belly laugh, and damn, it feels good. “You have no idea how large your ranch is, do you? Come on. I’ve got a secret to share.”

9

AUSTIN

I’ve got a secret to share, she said. I didn’t expect this.

I’m in awe.

When I first learned to fly and had a birds eye view of the sky from the cockpit of a small plane, I fell in love with its beauty. Even during a storm, it’s still magnificent, with its blues, grays, and subtle greens. Flashes of lightning. Then after a storm, when a rainbow is visible from high above. Incredible.

Nature is awe inspiring.

I’ve never felt quite the same way about anything on the ground. Oh, I love the coasts and the mountains as much as anyone, but seeing it all from above… there’s nothing quite like it.

Until now.

Carly stops the car at a random spot on the side of a dirt road and then we walk about a quarter mile to a small clearing.

Now I’m gaping. Fucking gaping at the majesty before me.

“Holy shit.”

I see out of the corner of my eye that Carly grins.