Page 35 of Daybreak

“Hey, Dylan, what’s up?” he said.

Dylan snorted in his ear. “You tell me.”

“Who ratted me out?” Gunner said.

“Dad, and then he was upset thinking he’d said something out of turn.”

Gunner sighed. “I’ll make it right with him, and I’m sorry, brother. I didn’t say anything because I did not want you in the middle of it.”

“I assume Asher knows,” Dylan said.

“Only because it’s sort of a big deal for someone to put out a hit and a bounty to go with it on an officer of the law. His boss is on it. I’ve already been shot at once and missed. The hit is being called off because I put the fear of God in the man who did it, but I didn’t want to hang around Dallas and get shot because the hunters hadn’t been called off.”

Dylan groaned. “Oh my God. Gunner. You don’t have to work another day in your life now. Get out of that business before it swallows you whole.”

“Already in the process,” Gunner said. “I have plans…and I’m moving back to Crossroads. Dad’s giving me a place to build on his property back up in the hills behind the house and bar.”

“Thank God,” Dylan said. “Does your boss know this?”

“Not yet, but he will when I go back to get my car out of the body shop.”

“What happened to your car?” Dylan asked.

Gunner related the purple Yamaha story again.

Dylan took a breath. “Okay then. Who’s building your house?”

“Hell if I know. We’re in the middle of nowhere out there. Probably some construction company out of Amarillo.”

“I wish I could,” Dylan said.

Gunner smiled. “I wish you could, too, but you can’t drag a whole crew of men and equipment that far from Austin for the months it will take to make that happen, so let go of that.”

Dylan laughed. “You’re right. But just for the record, no more secrets, okay?”

“Deal. Also, hello to Angie and my nephew,” he said, then refocused on the big sign notating the way to the Dillon Ranch and took the turn. The moment he turned north, the thought of seeing Holly again made his heart skip. He recognized the crash site almost instantly when he drove up on it. It was the sparkling bits of glass shining in the grass and on the blacktop that gave it away, and he wondered how long it would take for the Dillon family to travel this road without thinking, This is where she died.

For Gunner, his last memory of his mother was when he was seven and she dropped them off at school. He never saw her again, and for years, he thought she’d left because she didn’t want them anymore. Now, his memory of her was vague. Shadowy images of incidents and moments of joy with her and his brothers that became faded by time. There were no pictures of her anywhere. And he didn’t care. He couldn’t even remember what she looked like. Only that her selfish choices had blown up the family they’d had.

He kept driving with an eye on the road and soon saw the ranch house and all of the outbuildings in the distance. His eyes narrowed against the glare of the sun, and he wished he’d brought his sunglasses, then remembered they were still in his other vehicle. The one in the body shop back in Dallas.

A couple of minutes later, he pulled up to the house and got out. The front door opened before he reached the steps, and Holly walked out.

The last time he’d seen her, she’d been wearing a pantsuit and makeup. Today, there was no makeup, just pure beauty—a picture in motion, and he was thinking how perfectly she fit the image of a rancher’s daughter. Bootcut jeans, the Ropers on her feet, and the loose summer blouse the wind had plastered to her curves. But it was that fiery crown of misbehaving curls framing that beautiful face that made his heart skip a beat.

“You came,” she said.

“I could never tell you no. Seeing you sitting in the dugout at baseball practice, sneaking the last two Fritos in my snack, or drinking the last of my pop I left sitting there.” He walked up the steps, opened his arms, and she walked into his waiting hug.

Curls beneath his chin. Her cheek against his chest. He could feel her shaking as he finally let her go.

“Thank you for coming, Gunner. Shall we go inside out of the heat? I’ll pay you back with a whole cold pop of your own.”

The side of his mouth tilted upward. The only sign of the smile bursting inside him. “Lead the way, lady.”

A few minutes later, they were sitting on one of the sofas and facing each other. Condensation was forming on the outside of the cold drinks, and a plate of cookies was on the table beside them. Gunner could see she needed to talk, but he’d conducted enough interrogations to guess she didn’t know where to start.

“Talk to me. I’m really good at keeping a confidence,” he said.