My chest tightens. Not painfully. Just… aware.
“You always did see the best in people,” I murmur.
“And you always pretended you didn’t deserve it,” she replies softly.
Silence hums between us, heavy with things we didn’t say after that night. She doesn’t bring it up. I don’t either. We’re in public, my daughter’s beside me, and yet, the air shifts. Her eyes flicker once to my mouth, and my throat goes dry. Every breath, every inch of space pulls toward her like gravity.
Aria breaks the tension first. “Miss Ella, you look really pretty today.”
Ella laughs, cheeks warming. “Thank you, baby. You’ve made my day.” Then she steps back, smoothing her sweater. “I should let you two celebrate. Really, Cole… I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you,” I say, meaning it more than she knows.
“Bye, Miss Ella!” Aria waves.
“Bye, darling.”
Ella turns to leave. The bell rings again as she steps into the sunlight. And the moment she’s gone, the booth feels empty in a way I can’t explain. I stare out the window until she disappears out of sight, letting the weight of wanting something I shouldn’t settle deep into my bones.
Ella isn’t mine, and I’ve got no business wishing she was.
But God help me… I wish it anyway.
3
ELLA
Iron Stallion is a symphony that refuses a conductor: doors slamming, a toddler’s high-pitched negotiation with the world, the metallic rat-tat-tat of nails being hammered into fence posts somewhere outside. It’s oddly comforting; the chaos is the ranch being itself.
I sit at my desk in the little study off the kitchen and pretend the world can be filtered through spreadsheets, that the numbers will steady everything, and that my breath isn’t a metronome that speeds whenever I think of Cole.
My thoughts drift back to seeing Cole and Aria yesterday and the news he shared. He’s finally free from that witch, and helooked so happy compared to the haunted look on his face at the wedding.
I never did like Calista. There, I admit it. She was always… sharp, and not the kind of sharp that’s useful. More like a blade held sideways. She had an opinion about everything, usually the nastiest one. Or maybe I was just being petty and biased because she had what I wanted.
I tuck my face into the palm of my hand and try not to play the film of what they were like together in my head. She had him for ten years, and she took him for granted. Which is why I’m glad they are no longer tethered to one another. His being single now doesn’t automatically make him mine, but he’s happy, and that matters more.
A knock on my door has me lifting my head to see my dad standing there, thick head of silver hair a mess, and that damn bolo tie I hate so much a permanent fixture at his throat. “Dozing off on the job?” he asks.
I sit up, smoothing the hoodie over the part of my chest that still feels raw. “I wish. I’ve been working all morning. I just wanted to rest my eyes for a few minutes,” I explain, because telling him the truth is not an option.
Hank Morgan might be a cool dad, but even he has his limits, and I’m not about to start talking boys with him.
“I’m just teasing, sweetie. You work harder than the rest of us, keeping the ranch alive and the rest of the family fed—that’sworth a medal,” he says, smiling in a way that makes the lines around his eyes look softer.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Keep it up. I just came in to inform you that we have a family meeting during lunch. Attendance mandatory,” he decrees.
I’m about to argue, say I have too much to do, but I swallow it down. Anyone who grew up here knows that when Hank Morgan calls a meeting, you show up. It’s less ceremonial and more like the law.
I nod. “Okay, Dad, I’ll be there.”
He leaves my office, and I get back to work, pushing all Cole thoughts aside.
By the time lunch rolls around, the porch table is a riot of bodies and voices: Zane chewing over cattle rotations, Beck quietly muttering about training schedules, Quinn by his side, her posture that of a woman who’s used to making decisions that move towns. Jace and Tessa brought their work to the table, muttering something about a security update that needs to be done. Ava is by my side, soothing Luella to sleep, stealing bites off my plate.
Dad clears his throat in that way that makes the chatter slow into a hush. “All right, time for my announcement. This has been a long time coming, but it’s time we sit down and discuss it.”
