Fractured Sky (Tattered & Torn #5)(43)

Ramsey nodded, but there was still so much pain there. Hesitation. He’d been hurt by those cops and at such a formative time of his life. It would take time for him to trust again.

My fingers twisted in his flannel. “You’ll see. With time. Just give him a chance.”

“I’ll try. For you, I’ll try.”





19





RAMSEY





Shiloh moved with a grace that was hypnotizing. Fluid movements that had me leaning forward as she guided the brush over Onyx’s neck. I didn’t want to miss a moment. I shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d made this kind of progress in less than twenty-four hours. She said I worked miracles, but the truth was, she was the walking miracle—in every way.

As Shiloh pulled the brush away, she bent to kiss Onyx’s nose. She whispered something I couldn’t make out, and the mare’s ears twitched. The smile that stretched across Shiloh’s face as she walked towards the fence was a sucker punch to the solar plexus.

I rubbed a spot on my sternum, trying to alleviate the sensation. It was too much. Everything I experienced around Shiloh was. It was as if I’d been living in perpetual winter, wholly numb and feeling again for the first time. But reemerging from that numbness hurt the way fingers regaining sensation after extreme cold did.

Shiloh slid between the rails on the fence and beamed up at me. “I got her whole neck, back, and face. I wanted to do her belly, too, but I thought that might be pushing it.”

“Smart. You don’t want to backtrack by going too far, too fast.”

She glanced over her shoulder at the mare. “She’s incredible. It’s like you said. The feeling of that trust…it’s addicting.”

The best kind of addiction you could find.

“You’re doing great with her. Don’t even need my help.”

Shiloh laughed, the sound catching on the air and swirling around us. “I have a feeling I’m going to need plenty of help when we get to saddling and bridling.”

“You caught on pretty well when I was working with Pep this morning.”

The gelding was making amazing progress, too. I had a feeling with a few months of work, he could find a home on a cattle ranch somewhere and be as happy as could be, chasing after the steers.

Shiloh shook her head. “Watching is a lot different from doing.”

“You’ve incorporated more than you think by watching over the years. I see it in everything you’ve done with Onyx. And part of that is just you.”

She had the same empathy she said I had. The knowledge of what it felt like to be hurt by someone else’s hand. It gave her a gift and a way with these creatures. To make good from the bad.

A smile curved her beautiful mouth. “I hope so.”

My hands itched at my sides. The urge to pull her to me was so strong. I remembered how she’d thrown herself at me yesterday and the way she’d held on with feral ferocity. I wanted more of that. More of her. Needed to feel her body pressed against mine. To inhale her scent. Every little piece of her…I wanted it. Craved it in a way I’d never craved anything.

I was playing with fire, but I couldn’t walk away. Not when I’d seen how I’d hurt Shiloh by putting up my walls before. She hid her tender heart from most of the world, but she couldn’t hide it from me. She might’ve mastered the blank-masked, cool exterior where nothing seemed to make her react, but I saw the flickers of pain beneath it, and how she held the weight of the world on her shoulders.

“How was your phone call with Hayes?” My throat tightened around his name, but I did my best to keep my expression neutral. I knew he cared about his sister, that much was as clear as day. I just couldn’t make it all the way to trusting the sheriff.

Shiloh worried that spot on the inside of her cheek. “He called to tell me about Ian. Said he got distracted when he was here yesterday but wanted me to have a heads-up in case I saw Ian in town.”

“So, he’s out for good?” My throat constricted, making it hard to get the words out. I hated anything that brought those memories back for Shiloh, and I’d seen the way Ian terrified her.

She swallowed hard, nodding. “I guess there was an overcrowding issue, and he was a model prisoner.”

I flexed my hands to keep them from clenching at my sides. “You tell Hayes about the letter?” As far as I was concerned, Ian must have sent it. Who else would’ve had access to Howard Kemper’s belongings after he passed? Who would want to scare her that badly?

She flushed, looking out at the field. “If another one comes, I’ll tell him. I just…everything comes crashing down if I do.”

“Maybe it needs to come crashing down. You can build something better in its place.”

Shiloh let her gaze drift back to me. “I’ve kept so many things hidden. It’s going to hurt them more, and I’ve already caused them so much pain.”

I moved in closer, the urge to touch and comfort so strong. I fisted my hands at my sides, forcing them to stay put. “You aren’t the one who caused them pain. Howard Kemper did. You dealt with things afterwards the best you could.”

She swallowed hard, her throat working with the motion as if it required all her effort. “I feel like I handled everything badly. Every choice I made was the wrong one. It’s a lot to undo.”