Page 110 of Savage Heart

“Manny! No!” She shoves past Brandon, dropping beside her husband, shaking him desperately.

“We called 911,” I tell her. “They’re on their way.”

Her gaze snaps to me, wild with fury and pain. “What have you done? You took my boy. Wasn’t that enough? Do you want to take everyone I love? Get out of my house! Get out of here!”

“Jennifer, please. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry—” I stammer, backing away, but she’s on her feet, lunging at me.

“You destroy everything!” She swings, catching my arm, and I yelp, twisting free.

I bolt for the door, heart pounding, tears blurring my vision. I get in my car and pass the ambulances on the street outside the gate. They’re too late. Always too late.

Hours later, holed up in my trailer, the walls closing in, I dial Brandon’s number with shaking hands.

He picks up on the first ring, voice hoarse. “He’s gone.”

“We can never tell the truth,” I choke out the words. “Not to anyone. Ever. Look what it did. It killed him, Brandon. Promise me.”

He hesitates, then sighs, broken. “I promise.”

Chapter 28: It All Comes Out

Iris

Maverick shifts, sitting up more. I pull the blanket around me and move so I’m upright.

“The things you’ve been through.” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe I never knew about any of this. But you said yourself—Manny asked you to forgive him. So why do you still blame yourself?”

“He was devastated. We should’ve left the truth buried.”

“He had a heart attack. It could have just as easily happened out in the barn.”

I give him a skeptical look. “I think people would rather be angry at someone than fully deal with grief. It’s probably helped Jennifer to hate me, and I’m okay with that. I’d rather she blame me than know what really happened. I wish she wouldn’t hold it against Linc, but he’s well loved. Otis dotes on him, and . . . he has others too. He’ll be okay.”

“I want to be in his life . . . beyond this summer. I’ve loved getting to know him, and I don’t want that to stop when he goes back to school.”

“You don’t need to feel pressured to do more, Maverick. You started this as a favor for us to cover the camp.”

He leans in to meet my eyes. “I don’t feel pressured at all. I want to have a relationship with Linc. That started long before this summer. I just hate how long it’s taken us to get here. I talked to Jennifer about him that day she saw you guys at the ranch.”

“You did?” I look at him in surprise.

He nods, his hand never stopping its glide over my skin. It’s calming yet quickens my heart at the same time.

“Lincoln would be so angry with how I’ve handled this. Me and my family . . . and his.” He lets out a long exhale. “I know some things would’ve changed with us going to college, but . . . we were like brothers. We would’ve always stayed close. Sometimes I wonder what he’d think about us. I was so upset that he asked you to prom. I’d wanted to. I had it so bad for you,” he says under his breath.

“You weren’t suffering all that much,” I scoff.

“I didn’t lose my virginity until Cal Poly,” he says sheepishly.

My mouth gapes. “How did I miss that?”

“It wasn’t something I announced.” He laughs. “I was too hung up on you to give anyone else a chance . . . and too angry after—”

I nod, not needing to hear the rest. “This is crazy. I wish I’d known.”

“Would you have done anything differently?”

“I think I’d do it all differently. But I wouldn’t trade Linc for anything in the whole world. I like to think I still would’ve had a child just like him, but I guess it doesn’t work that way.”