I lift my head and look her straight in the eye. “Are we stayin’?” I rush out, needing an answer to my most pressing, worrying question.
A slow growing, soft andbreathtakingsmile appears. “I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, while I was falling in love with you, the mountain, the ranch–hell, the town too–became home. It’s where you belong, and my place will always be by your side. So yes, we’re staying as long as you want to.”
I wrap my arms around her and pull her in for a crushing hug, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
Something occurs to me and I gently push her back, framing my hands on her waist. “Wait, you’re not just doin’ this forme, are you?”
She shakes her head. “My career has been the center of my life ever since I left Idaho. I’ve let ambition and my determination to be the best at what I do, dictate everything. When Uncle George offered me the chance to go to Timber Falls, I figured I’d see how the other half lives and hopefully either discover that I love my life and go back to it or realize that something had to change.”
“And what’s that?”
“I need you, Sutton Cooper. I need my career too though. I may have been searching to find my passion for medicine again,but I never lost my love for helping people, and that’s what I want to do moving forward.”
I frown. “Is there a job at the hospital for you?”
Blair smiles. Beams, in fact. “That’s the crazy thing. At my meeting with Tabitha, she listened to my presentation and agreed with all of it. Then she blindsided me with an offer.”
“That’s great, gorgeous. What is it?”
“Head of the hospital.”
I do a double take, not sure that I heard her correctly. “What?”
“Yep. Tabitha wants to retire and wants me to take over her position. That’s not the only shocking part.”
“OK…” I say slowly.What else could there be?
“Her and Uncle George are in love and they’re both moving to Florida! Can you believe it?”
My eyes bug out of my head. “No way.”
She nods. “Uh huh.”
“Wait… doesn’t that mean you’ll be my boss,” I say, a slow creeping smirk tugging at my lips.
Blair leans in close, touching the tip of her nose to mine with a grin matching my own. “I’ll be your boss’s boss,” she says huskily before kissing me soft and slow.
My fingers flex against her waist before I wrap my arms around her back and pull her into my lap, deepening the kiss once again.
When we finally come up for air, we do it breathing each other in. All of my panic from the diner has vanished into thin air. Somehow, I now know it won’t come back either.Not this time.
I don’t have to give up any time with Blair or the mountain, and she doesn’t have to give up her career either. She’s just pivoting.
“I love you,” I whisper against her lips, holding her tight and feeling more at peace than I’ve ever felt before, bar none.
“Love you too,” she says, wiggling her butt in my lap. “Now, as much as I love being up here with you,” she kisses me again, “I really want to try some of Mags’s blueberry pie before we hit the road.”
I shoot her a grin. “I better take you back downstairs then. Can’t have my One goin’ hungry now, can I?”
“Happy One, happy life?”
I shake my head. “Happy you, happy me. Forever.”
Checking the time, I know we need to hit the road now if we’re going to get home by midnight.
Red is standing next to me, Blair, and Wyatt on the sidewalk when Mags walks out of the diner with a cooler in her hand.
Wyatt takes it from her with a huge grin on his face. “Aww Mags, you shouldn’t have,” he says, hugging her into his side before letting her go.
