All Chapters of Reclaiming Aria : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

He stared down at his phone, Aria’s message lighting up the screen like a match to gasoline. “Made it. Gonna get started on the donation paperwork. You?” He grinned, that low, wolfish grin that never quite reached his eyes when it came to anyone but her. “Thinkin’ about you, obviously. But I guess I’ll feed the horses first. Priorities, right?” He could practically feel her rolling her eyes from across the damn county. He pocketed his phone and headed toward the barn, the frost biting at his skin and the storm damage plain as day—fallen fences, a collapsed feed shed, mud that could swallow a man whole. It didn’t matter. He powered through it like a machine. But every chore, every damn task, was just passing time until he could see her again. Until she let him all the way in. ⸻ Meanwhile, Aria sat behind the library’s dusty desk, fingers buried in donation forms and expense ledgers, but her head wasn’t in the numbers. Not really. It was in the curve of Kade’s smirk,

Mason poured a finger of bourbon—straight, no ice, just like she liked it when she used to sneak sips from his glass after hours. The silence in the house was suffocating, oppressive in its weight. The kind that echoed your own thoughts back at you with a sneer. He stood by the window, the rain smearing across the pane like a watercolor painting gone wrong, city lights nothing but a blur. Kristen was gone. Vanished. And she didn’t just leave—she erased herself. That wasn’t just silence. That was intentional. Someone told her how to disappear. Why? ⸻ He pulled out his phone and dialed the number he hadn’t used in years. Ty Harmon, college roommate turned state patrol detective. He owed Mason big—one DUI swept under the rug big. It rang twice. “Jesus, Mase,” Ty’s voice was groggy. “You still alive?” “Yeah. And I need a favor.” A long pause. “What kind?” Mason leaned back into the couch, legs spread wide, tension locked in his jaw. “I need you to find someone.” ⸻ Ty didn’

Her phone buzzes before the sun’s barely kissed the Thursday morning sky. Kade: “Morning, princess 😏 Still dreaming of me or did you finally sleep without biting that damn pillow?” She blinked through sleep, cheeks immediately heating as she read it, curled up in her blanket like a flustered teenager. She typed back with a smirk tugging at her lips. Aria: “One more text like that and I’ll mail you my pillow. You seem desperate for it.” His reply was instant. Kade: “I’d rather have you makin’ those sounds into me, but I’m patient. For now 😈.” She flopped backward onto her bed, groaning into her blanket. “This man’s gonna kill me.” ⸻ The sun was high and ruthless, beating down across the Calloway ranch like it had a damn grudge. Kade’s shirt was long discarded, tossed somewhere across a hay bale, forgotten as sweat slicked down the muscles of his back and chest. His arms were burning—tight from hauling fence posts, securing crossbeams, and yanking twisted bolts t

The late autumn sun stretched long across the ranch, casting golden fire over the land, but Kade barely noticed. His shirt clung to him—drenched in sweat, streaked with hay and grit—as he secured the last rail on the south paddock fence. His gloves were frayed, his knuckles raw. And yet all he could think about was her. Aria. Her smile. That damn voice in his ear last night, soft and teasing. The image of her curled up in his hoodie, cheeks flushed, lashes heavy with sleep right before she passed out mid-sentence on the phone. His princess. He caught himself hammering a bolt too hard—clang—nearly stripping the damn thing. “Shit,” he muttered, shaking out his hand. “Jesus, man,” Jace called from a few feet down, eyebrows raised. “What’s got you so twisted today?” “Yeah,” Leo added with a smirk. “You building a fence or imagining it’s a headboard?” The guys chuckled, tools still in hand, watching him like they knew exactly what was going on in that distracted brain of

The gravel crunched beneath their boots, slow and steady like a heartbeat learning to match someone else’s rhythm. Kade’s arm brushed hers, his fingers twitching like they were itching to lace through hers but holding back—barely. Aria looped her arm through his, and that was it. He was done for. His breath caught like she’d reeled him in without trying. She smelled like something warm and sinful—vanilla, honey, and the faintest whisper of linen. The town around them was silent, holding its breath. Porch lights glowed in the distance, casting golden halos on picket fences and old trees swaying gently like they were dancing to the low hum of the crickets. Street lamps flickered like they belonged in an old film reel, the kind that made you nostalgic for things you hadn’t even lived. They didn’t talk. Not for a while. Just walked. His thumb grazed the back of her hand. She looked up at him then, curls catching the glow like spun sugar. Eyes soft, lips parted. The kind of look th