I thought I’d prepared for every eventuality, but fate somehow always manages to pull the rug right out from under me.
I was ready to face the townfolks and their insidious attitudes, the local police and their biased ones, and even the condescension from the ranching community because I wore boobs with my cowboy boots, What I wasn’t prepared for, though, was for Austin Dyer to walk back into my orbit like he had a right to—like he wasn’t the one who pulled the pin on my life then stood back and watched it explode.
Worse still, I let him make me feel small and weak, like the last fifteen years I spent reinventing myself into someone strong were nothing but a dream. And I hate him even more because of it.
This time, though, I’m not a terrified girl waving a white flag as I face the world alone. I’ve made friends and found lovers.
I have people worth fighting for, and I’ll bleed all over those white flags before I ever surrender again.
