Wild Hearts: A second chance, small town, single dad romance, page 1
WILD HEARTS
KACEY SHEA
Wild Hearts
Kacey Shea
Copyright © 2022 by Kacey Shea Books LLC
All Rights Reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover Design: Kim Wilson, KiWi Cover Design
Cover Photography: J. Ashley Converse Photography
Cover Model: Trevor Brachtenbach
Editing: Brenda Letendre, Write Girl Editing Services
Proofreading: Laura Martinez & Melissa Hake
ALSO BY KACEY SHEA
Wilder Valley
Wild Hearts
Wild Mistake
Standalones
One Good Thing
The Perfect Comeback
Dirty Dealer
Firefighters
Caught in the Flames
One Hot Night
Caught in the Lies
Caught in the Chase
Caught in Us
Chase & Alicia’s Boxed Set (Caught in the Chase & Caught in Us)
Rock Stars
Detour
Derail
Hinder
Replay
Detour Complete Series: A Rock Star Romance Box Set
Uncovering Love Series
Uncovering Love
Uncovering Desire
Uncovering Hope
Uncovering Forever
Uncovering Love: The Complete Series
For Kathleen, Nadine, & Judy
You have read my books, cheered me on, and shown me so much support from the very beginning. I hope you enjoy the fictional town of Wilder Valley, it was inspired by yours.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Prologue
1. Val
2. Ryan
3. Val
4. Ryan
5. Val
6. Ryan
7. Val
8. Ryan
9. Val
10. Ryan
11. Val
12. Ryan
13. Val
14. Val
15. Ryan
16. Val
17. Ryan
18. Val
19. Ryan
20. Val
21. Ryan
22. Val
23. Ryan
24. Val
25. Ryan
26. Val
27. Ryan
28. Val
29. Ryan
30. Val
31. Ryan
32. Val
33. Ryan
34. Val
35. Ryan
36. Val
Epilogue
Also by Kacey Shea
Acknowledgments
About the Author
FOREWORD
Dear Reader,
There are no major trigger warnings for this book, however if you would like to see a complete list of possible triggers, please visit my website: https://kaceysheabooks.com/trigger-warnings
I hope you enjoy Ryan & Val’s story!
Much love,
Kacey
PROLOGUE
VAL
Music plays inside the barn, laughter and conversation floating out from an open door and spilling into the night. I’m tucked around the corner out of view. The cool night air expands my chest with each inhalation. I needed to step away, even if just for a few minutes to gather my thoughts. There’s a celebratory mood inside, but out here I allow myself to soak in the bittersweetness of it all.
Tonight, we graduated.
No more high school. This is it. We’re adults now, and we each have to figure out what that looks like, or where we want to go.
Of course, my plan has been set in stone for months. Next week I’ll be loading up all my precious belongings to do what I’ve always dreamed of. I’m leaving this small town.
I tip my chin up to the sky. The moon plays peek-a-boo from behind the clouds and stars shine brightly against the inky darkness. I wonder what the sky looks like in Los Angeles. Will I miss the stillness? I can’t imagine I will. Everything here feels stifling. If I stay, I’ll choke on the smallness of it all. There’s nothing for me in Wilder Valley. Not unless I want to get married and raise babies. Hell, the nearest college is hours away, and while I’ve loved working at the diner, this is not how I want to spend the rest of my life. Besides, it’s not like anyone around these parts would hire me to do what I want. This town is full of hard workers, but there isn’t much thought given to interior design.
It might be foolish, but I’ve always felt I was meant for more. I want to see the world. I want to learn about designing spaces. I want to strike out on my own.
I need to move out of my family’s double wide.
“There you are.” Ryan’s deep timbre interrupts my thoughts.
I turn, just as his hands come around my waist.
He is the one thing I will miss. The hardest part to leave behind. I wish I could take him with me. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He captures my lips in a tender kiss. “Not having fun inside the party?”
“No, I am.” It’s a lie. I don’t fit here. But for his sake I’ve always pretended I do. “Just needed some air.”
He studies my face. “I don’t believe you.”
I don’t want to bring him down, or our friends. “Maybe I should go.” I take a step back.
His arms fall to his sides, a frown turning his expression forlorn. “It’s our last party before . . .”
Before I go. He can’t say it and neither can I. Ryan’s been a loyal boyfriend, my best friend, and my safe haven. We’ve already cried, argued, and fought over my leaving a dozen times. I’ve begged him to come with me, but he won’t. His fate is different here. His family owns most of the town, and if he stays the course this ranch will be his someday. He has a future here—one he wants. I love Ryan with my whole heart. Which is why I can’t bear to take this away from him, even if it breaks both of our hearts.
A lump forms in my throat as I stare into his eyes.
“Stay,” he whispers.
I shake my head, tears welling in my eyes. I’ve been putting off this conversation for weeks. “Ry. Don’t.”
“You can move in with us. You don’t have to run away to LA to get away from your family.”
Anger heats my cheeks, along with embarrassment. I know the town talks. There are no secrets here. Still, I hate it. “I’m not running away. I have plans.”
“That don’t include me.” He can’t mask his hurt.
“I wish things could be different.”
“They could be. Let me take care of you.”
“Like your family would let you.” I scoff, knowing just what his father thinks of me. What the entire town would assume if I moved in with the Wilder family. Everyone already thinks I’m trash. “I am so tired of this place. Tired of everyone in everyone’s business. Tired of nothing to do but steal a few beers and play music in your daddy’s old barn. I have to get out of here, Ryan. If I don’t, this place will eat up what’s left of my soul.”
“I thought—I just— We’re good together, Val. I love you.”
But it’s not enough. At the end of the day I need more. “I’m sorry, Ryan.”
“So that’s it? You’re gonna walk out of my life and I have to pretend you’re not taking my heart?”
“I never wanted to hurt you.”
“But it’s not enough to make you stay.”
The silence stretches between us, along with the truth.
“No.”
His features are hard. “Well, you’re making a big mistake. I hope you find what it is you’re looking for, but you should know I’m not waiting around. If you leave, we’re done.”
I always thought Ryan was different. He’s never tried to make me be anyone or anything I’m not. Until now. Anger rises in my chest. I don’t appreciate his ultimatum. Or the implication that I can’t make it on my own.
“Good.” I yank the bracelet off my wrist—the one Ryan gave me almost two years ago when he asked me to be his girlfriend. “Because I’m not coming back.” Shoving the worn leather band into his chest, I release it and push past him. My boots make a crunching sound, decimating pine needles and brush underfoot as I stomp away.
He’s got some fucking nerve.
This is not how I wanted to say good-bye, and the last place I want to go right now is home.
“Have a nice life!” he shouts after my retreating form.
I don’t turn around, throwing up my middle finger. “Fuck you!”
If he says anything else, it’s lost in the rush that fills my ears. I get into my car, slam the door, and turn the key. The engine struggles before the ignition finally turns over. Dust kicks up, clouding the rear mirror view. I should be happy I don’t have to see his face as I speed off, but I’m not.
I’m disappointed.
I’m fucking hurt.
Sure, I expected our goodbye to be painful, but not like this.
Maybe
VAL
Twenty-Two Years Later
“How bad is it?” I ask. Even though, by the lawyer’s grim expression, I already have an idea.
Clem taps her nails on the sleek desktop, her laser-focused stare poring over the documents in hand. The downturn of her lips does nothing to quell the anxiety twisting my belly. After a few painfully long minutes, she finally glances up from the file and meets my gaze. “I’m not gonna lie. It’s not good.”
I swallow hard and brace myself for more devastating news.
Lately the hits keep coming, and I’m not sure how much more I can take.
It was bad enough walking in on my boyfriend cheating on me almost a month ago. But to discover he’d been doing so repeatedly and with no remorse the entire time we were together, hurt like hell. I’d given this man a decade of my life. Things couldn’t get worse.
Until he threw me to the tabloids, twisting the truth so the general public assumed I was the liar and cheat. Not him. Then he kicked me out of the home we shared and served me with a restraining order—livestreaming every second to his adoring social media fanbase.
Now everyone hated me.
The man I loved, trusted, and lived with had done everything he could to smear my name—all to save his own ass.
Which is why I’m sitting across from Clementine Rodgers, one of the best family lawyers in Orange County, praying for a miracle. Because after tomorrow, I can’t even afford the cheap motel I’ve been camping out in.
“But I can sue him, right? It’s slander, what he’s done. No one will hire me after this.”
“Honestly?” She glances at the folder holding my account of the truth along with a check for her retainer—a check that will surely bounce if she attempts to cash it. She’s the only reputable lawyer in the state to offer me a consult, and that’s probably more to do with the fact I redesigned her home as part of a reality show we did at the start of our budding careers.
“Valeria, you have no case.”
“What about the last twelve years?” I twist my hands together in my lap as my stomach sours. “I know we weren’t technically married. But we did live together.”
She winces. “In his house.”
“What about common-law marriage?”
“This is Los Angeles.” She laughs dryly.
“But I worked for him.” Off the books. I gave him countless ideas. We tackled big projects together. I appeared on his reality show. Made content with him. Stood by his side for endless advertisements. Managed his house. Planned travel and coordinated our schedules. Fuck. It hits me just how much I did without a formal paycheck. Or without a freaking ring on my finger.
“Anything you contributed to his company was voluntary. You weren’t an employee or partner.”
Because he gave me everything I ever wanted. Opportunities. Connections. Vacations. Credit cards with zero limits, all of which he’s since shut off. Even my fucking cell phone is on his plan. I never stopped to consider if relying on him financially and solely was a bad thing. I never once felt like a kept woman. He made me feel loved. Adored. Cherished. Free.
God, I’m such a fool.
What I wouldn’t give to go back in time. Tell that wide-eyed dream chaser to steer clear of Cash Hughes and his charismatic charm. Then I could avoid this very conversation.
The panicked sickening feeling in my gut returns, twisting my stomach in knots. I’m seconds from tears. It’s difficult to catch my breath. “So, what are my options?”
“If I were you?” She slides the file folder back across the desk and pins me with a stare. “I would find someplace to lie low for a while. Consider taking some time out of the limelight. Somewhere remote where tabloids won’t follow. He’s a public figure, so you’re going to be a target until this blows over. And getting hired or starting your own design team will be next to impossible.”
“Even if I tell the truth?” Because what’s being reported is anything but that.
“Without proof?” She shrugs. “It’s your word against his, and I’m sorry, Val, but in my experience, this won’t go your way. He has too much money. Too much power and influence.”
It’s what I already knew, but hearing her say it aloud causes tears to flood my eyes and escape down my cheeks. The truth won’t set me free.
“Call up a good friend, or use this time to visit family. A year or two and you’ll be old news.”
But I don’t have any friends. The people I thought I could consider as such won’t return my calls or texts. Because everyone I’ve surrounded myself with, I met through Cash. Which leaves family.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
A little unsteady on my feet, I wipe away my tears and take back the folder. “Thank you for being honest. For seeing me today.” Dread sits in my belly as I realize what I have to do next.
“You’re okay to drive?” She eyes me warily. “You have someplace to go?”
“Yeah, no. I’m fine.” I wave off her concern because this isn’t her problem.
But internally I’m screaming, crying, and stomping my feet. I know what I have to do, and it’s something I swore I never would. The last few dollars in my wallet should buy me a tank of gas. Then it looks like I’m heading back to Wilder Valley. Damn it.
2
RYAN
“Dad,” my son calls as he walks through the kitchen, his backpack slung over one shoulder, hair a mess, and eyes still bleary with sleep. “Can I get twenty dollars?” Zach slides his feet into a pair of shoes near the door.
“Sure.” I pause to meet his stare before I finish scrambling the skillet of eggs. “Tomorrow after you finish your chores for the week.”
He groans. “Come on? Dad, please. I promise I’ll get everything done after school.”
“He’s gonna waste it on a girl,” my oldest daughter says without looking up from the homework she’s finishing at the kitchen table.
“Riley!” my son chides.
“Seriously?” I turn the gas off and turn to face Zach. “We talked about this.”
“It’s my allowance. I get to do whatever I want with it. That’s the point.”
He’s right, but still. “Could you save a little?”
“Dad, I need my permission slip signed.” Tess, my youngest skips into the room. She slaps a paper on the counter, and it instantly soaks up the bit of raw egg I meant to wipe up before I started cooking. “Ugh! Dad!” Her mood instantly melts to one of despair. “It’s ruined!” Ten-year-olds can be just as dramatic, if not more so, than teenagers.
“It’s not ruined,” I lie and do my best to keep the annoyance from my tone. Plucking the paper off the counter, I shuffle to the other end to find a pen. “Get a plate, please. Riley, Zach, Tess, eat up. The bus will be here soon.”
