Brant's Return

“Did you teleport here?”

He chuckled, coming to stand only a few feet from me. “No. My journey involved a car, a highway, several dirt roads, and a short walk through a field. I saw you heading this way when I arrived.”

“Oh,” I breathed. “W-what are you doing here, Brant?”

“I went to Graystone Hill. I”—he cleared his throat—“I went after you, but you weren’t there.”

“No.” I glanced at the horse, her somber eyes looking between us. “I had to ask them about the money.” I felt my shoulders droop slightly. “Ethan had started stealing long before his Ponzi scheme. He . . . stole the money because he knew they wouldn’t press charges, knew

they’d never sue him. He got away with it.”

Brant took a step closer. “Belle, I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I mean, it will never be okay, but . . . I’m okay. Or I will be. I returned what he took, and gave the rest to a good cause so we can put all this ugliness behind us. My parents, they didn’t have anything to do with the man that broke into our house. That wasn’t their doing. It was just . . . just a random crime.” My voice broke but I gathered myself. Random. How I hated that word. My voice faded away, but I took another breath, feeling the terrible weight of the idea that my own parents had had anything to do with the death of their granddaughter lifting.

Brant took another step closer, seeming nervous as he reached for me. I lifted my hand, reaching back, needing him despite the hurdles that still separated us, the insurmountable things that perhaps there’d be no solutions for. Maybe he didn’t love me, but he was here. That had to mean something.

“Belle,” he murmured. Then he pulled me into his arms, holding me, cradling me, seeming to take part of the burden I carried as his own, because more of that heavy sadness lifted, freeing me and allowing a full breath to move through my body. When he pulled back, he took my face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe at the tears I hadn’t realized were slipping down my cheeks. “I was on the phone most of the way here.”

I frowned, confused. “With who?”

“Edwin Bruce.”

“Why?”

Brant dropped his arms, turning and taking a few steps to the empty horse stall next to the one the chestnut mare occupied. He rested his hands on the ledge. “Giving it all away.”

“Giving all what away?”

Brant smiled as he turned back to me, shaking his head as if he realized he was making this difficult. “I struck a deal with Edwin Bruce. He’s my new business partner. He’s going to take over the running of my clubs and retain ownership of the one I was in the process of purchasing from him. He’s going to run it all, and I’m going to move to Kentucky, make some bourbon, and put it exclusively in our establishments. We’ll split the profits fifty-fifty.”

I stared at him, my brain buzzing with confusion. “You can’t do that.”

“I already did.”

I stared some more, attempting to understand the full scope of what he was saying. “Why, Brant? Why would you do that?”

His expression turned so serious, so filled with reverence, I almost gasped. “Because I love you. I’ve loved you since that moment I showed you my secret hideaway.” He smiled gently. “Maybe even from the first moment I saw you. Asking you to marry me, us being together, never had a thing to do with Graystone Hill, Belle. Not for me. I justified it to myself that way, made it seem halfway rational . . . because I needed that. But it wasn’t rational, was it? Us? It’s always been crazy and wild and wonderful. The only reason I asked you to marry me was because I was so damn in love with you I couldn’t see straight. And I still am. I always will be.”

“Brant,” I choked, unbridled joy bursting through my chest, flowing between my ribs, melding with my bones.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it.” He shook his head. “I have a lot to tell you, Belle. So much . . .” He looked off to the side as if considering the secrets we still needed to share. There was time, though. We had all the time in the world. “But the most important thing is that I love you. And I”—he glanced at my stomach—“I love that baby growing inside you.”

I sucked in a surprised breath, bringing my hand to my stomach over my coat. “How—”

He walked the few steps to me, placing his hand over mine. “I was looking for the address to your parents’ house. I opened your bedside table drawer.”

“Oh.” I nodded, recalling the moment that little word had popped up—pregnant. I’d felt deep joy and then the flicker of sorrow that had accompanied it. I’d gone riding after that, spent time coming to terms with the fact that I was going to be a mother again. I hadn’t even had the emotional strength to think about the state of my relationship with Brant. It had been all I could do to come to peace with the thought of another baby. I’d gone to Brant’s secret spot, his portal, and I’d sat there, talking to Elise, telling her how much I loved her. Still. Always. Reassuring her that no other child would ever take her place, as there was only one her.

That choir had risen inside me, making my chest feel full and achy with overwhelming joy. And somehow, sitting there, I’d known, deep, deep inside where a mother’s intuition lies, that that feeling was Elise offering her blessing, her love. Brant was looking at me as if he knew at least part of what I was thinking, as if he understood my turmoil.

“I know you must be feeling so conflicted, Belle, but we’ll work through it together, okay?”

I nodded, sniffling, and then moved forward, burying my head in his chest and taking the comfort he offered.

“I’m going to try my damnedest to protect you, Belle.” I tipped my head back, opening my mouth to speak but he beat me to it. “I know I can’t promise to protect you from everything though. Life doesn’t work that way. What I can promise is that I’ll be there to hold your hand, to love you through whatever life throws our way. To love you with every piece of my heart. Deal?”

I let out a soggy laugh, nestling into him again. “Deal,” I answered, my voice muffled against his solid chest. We stood that way for a long time, giving each other strength, whispering words of love and promises for the future. After a time, Brant took my hand and we walked out of the barn, heading to Graystone Hill. Heading home.