Roping The Cowgirl's Heart

Chapter 7

Wyatt

Beeping machines and murmured voices. I drifted in and out of consciousness, my thoughts jumbled and disjointed. Savannah's face, the ranch in trouble, the sickening crack of bone. As I'd been thrown from the bull—it all swirled together. In a chaotic mess that left me feeling disoriented and uneasy.

When I finally started to regain my senses, the first thing I saw was Savannah's face. She sat by my bedside, her face furrowed with concern.

"Wyatt," she said gruffly, shifting in her chair. "Glad to see you're finally back with us."

I tried to speak, but my throat was dry and scratchy. She must have seen the struggle because she leaned forward and pressed a cup of water to my lips. I drank, the cool liquid soothing the ache in my mouth.

"What happened?" I rasped, my gaze searching Savannah's face for answers.

"Broke your damn leg and a couple of ribs, that's what happened," Savannah grunted. "Nasty fall you took out there on the rodeo. I've been worried sick."

The memories of the fall. Savannah's marriage proposal, the ranch in trouble came flooding back. I started to sit up, wincing as the movement sent a fresh wave of pain through my body.

"Savannah," I said, my voice rough. "What did you mean about marriage? Me marrying you? What the hell were you talking about?"

I stared at Savannah, my mind reeling. She wanted me to marry her to save the ranch? I couldn't wrap my head around it, couldn't make sense of the desperate plea in her eyes.

"Sav," my voice rough with pain and confusion. "I... I don't understand. Why would marrying me help save the ranch?"

She bit her lip, her gaze dropping to her lap. "It's my daddy's will," she said. "He... he put a condition in it. Says I have to be married to inherit the ranch, or else it goes up for sale."

I felt like I'd been sucker-punched, the air rushing out of my lungs in a harsh whoosh. Jackson McKinley, the man who'd always been so damn proud of his little girl... he'd left her high and dry, with an impossible choice to make.

"Fucking hell," I muttered, running a hand over my face. "That's... that's one hell of a bombshell, Sav."

She let out a shaky laugh, the sound brittle and humorless. "Tell me about it. I've been racking my brain, trying to figure out a way around it. But I... I don't have any other options, Wyatt. I don't have anyone else to turn to."

I could hear the desperation in her voice, the raw, aching need. And damn it all to hell, but a part of me wanted to say yes. Wanted to sweep her into my arms and promise her the world, promise her forever. But I couldn't do that, couldn't lie to her or myself.

"Savannah," I said, reaching out to take her hand. "I... I can't marry you. Not like this, not for the wrong reasons."

She flinched like I'd slapped her, her eyes shining with hurt and betrayal. "Wyatt, please. I... I know it's not ideal, I know it's not what you probably wanted. But I'm begging you. I can't lose the ranch, can't let my family's legacy die."

I squeezed her hand, my heart clenching at the pain in her voice. "I know, Sav. I know how much the ranch means to you, how much you've sacrificed to keep it going. But marrying me... it's not the answer. You don't want to marry me, Savannah..."

She was quiet for a long moment, her gaze fixed on our joined hands. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. "What if... what if it is what I want? What if I've never stopped loving you? Never stopped hoping that somehow, someday, we'd find our way back to each other?"