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and ordered Rick on his knees.
Rick struggled and grunted as Sam cuffed him.  You re
in over your head. One weak paycheck and you ll be
done.
Chase grinned.  Nah, it ll take more than that with the
investments my family has made over the years.
Rick s eyebrows went up.  What investments?
 Oil you asshole. Sam tugged him to his feet and
searched him.  Lots and lots of oil. Didn t you do your
homework?
Rick looked dumbstruck.  What?
Chase smirked.  Most of us are rancher s, but there
was one McCree that struck it rich down in Texas. Didn t
have any heirs, so his money went to his nephew when he
died.
 Who was his nephew?
 Will McCree, my father.
Rick doubled over,  Fuck you.
I glanced up at Chase. It was starting to sink in that
I d fought a man twice my size. But I never actually asked
him&  How much money do you have, exactly?
He smiled.  Enough.
I pressed my hand to my forehead, flat staring at him.
 Is this a joke?
 Nope. He laughed.  If you want I could buy you
something to prove it.
 Like what?
 An island, or maybe a small country?
I shook my head, thinking I was going to pass out,
and headed for the corral Firefly was in. The bridle had
come off and was stuck in the mud. I left it there and
trudged over to the skittish horse.
Chase hovered at my side.  She chose you.
I smiled,  I love her. She s beautiful.
 Great, she s yours.
I balked at him.  You can t give me a horse.
He shrugged.  She s not mine to give.
 Then&  I petted her snout.
 Like I said, she chose you. It s her decision.
I beamed up at him.  Can t argue with that.
 Briar, I m sorry, he touched his nose to mine.  I never
should have left you.
 Shh, I smoothed my fingers through his hair, slicking
the strands off his forehead.  It s alright. I m okay.
 I love you. I ll never leave you like that again. I swear.
I brushed my lips over his softly.  I love you too.
 I d follow you to the ends of the earth just to kiss you.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him
with everything in me.  Good thing for you I m not going
anywhere.
Chapter 28
Rain washed away all the bad. Rick and Tom went
to jail. The McCree cemetery was back to its peaceful
glory, and Millie and Jerry were happy to be home two days
later. Jerry s brother was going to live, but it would be a
while before he was back to his old self.
I was in a grassy field with the horses. Sprite
pranced with Ash, playing in the sunshine. Chase was
dozing next to me, his hat covering his eyes. I was content
and happy with our decision. Now all that was left was to
face my parents. Mostly my father. My mother wouldn t be
hard to deal with. She was nothing but saline and lipstick. I
felt bad for her.
I didn t want to go back to Florida. I wanted to stay
with Chase. It had been the best summer of my life. But my
parents would be flying in, just in time for dinner.
I sat up to watch Ash gallop down to the creek,
shaking his head. Sprite chased him. his little legs moving
furiously to keep up.
There was a soft ringing, and Chase stirred to
answer his phone. He didn t say much and hung up.  Your
parents will be here soon. Jerry s gone to pick them up at
the airport.
 I don t want to go back. I picked a dandelion and
threaded the stem into my hair behind my ear.  I ll miss you
too much.
He pushed his hat off his face and smiled up at me,
 I ll go with you. Just say the word. It s only till we graduate.
Less than a year.
 But I ve been attacked, taunted and humiliated. I m
done putting myself through that. I sighed.  I m done
not being happy.
He reached his calloused hand out and brushed my
tears away.  It s like I was supposed to meet you and
bring you here, you know?
 Yeah, I know. Your mother was crazy to leave this
place. I took a deep breath and pressed my hand over
his.
I didn t think it was possible to feel so much for
someone. Not outside of the movies and TV. It was all
fairytale. But then I met Chase, and at least for me, it wasn t
a fairytale anymore. I knew in my heart that there wasn t any
reason why we both couldn t have what we wanted.  Don t
let them take me.
 I won t, he said.  As long as you re not staying
because you don t want to face what happened back
home& 
 I m not running away. I wouldn t care where I was,
as long as I had him. Florida, Montana, hell, even Canada. I
could go to school anywhere and become a vet. The
decision was simple.
 But Montana? Middle of nowhere. No malls. No
theme parks. Or designer stores. Was he changing his
mind? Did he not want me to stay?
 Family takes care of each other. You take care of me.
I take care of you.
He chuckled,  I take care of you because I love you.
 So why can t you be my family? Why don t you want
me to stay? I was so confused.
 Your parents are going to be pissed. He said.  But
I don t care. Damn them all, remember? I just want to make
sure you feel sure about this.
 You said you d follow me to the ends of the earth. I
squared my shoulders and looked him right in the eye as he
sat up.  Well, now I m saying the same to you. I want you to
finish teaching me how to ride a horse, whip cans off a
fence, sleep under the stars. If you stay here, I ll stay. Hell, if
you go to China, I m going too! I m chasing you McCree,
just like you chased me.
 When have I ever chased you? he asked.
I frowned.  It s kind of fuzzy, but I remember you being
on a horse in the park near the school.
He laughed,  Yeah, I was following you.
I stood, pulling him to his feet. We walked through the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]