“Love does that to a person,” she said. “It’s scary. Risky. Terrifying. But it’s also the most rewarding thing life has to offer. It’s wonderful andrare. And if you don’t hurry, you’re going to miss her!”
Wade practically tripped over his own feet as he ran to the parking lot.
* * *
Trish
Trish Meadows was stuckin the mud.
“This is seriously not happening!” Trish pounded her fists against her steering wheel, but it did little to change the fact she was stuck in the same stupid mud puddle that had welcomed her to the ranch almost a week ago.
She rolled down her window as Glenda pulled her car off to the side, hazard lights flashing, and rushed over. “Stuck?”
“Very.”
Glenda extended a sympathetic look. “Sweetie, I think we’re gonna have to wait for help. My little car can’t pull yours out.”
Trish groaned. “I’ll call a tow truck.” That was definitely better than running into a single Holbrook. If she did, she might just shatter into a million pieces.
“You have any cell service out here?”
“I always have service out here.” She dug her phone out of her purse after insisting that Glenda go back and park at the ranch until Trish could be rescued. She scrolled through her phone to find the number to her insurance company. With her roadside assistance option, they’d send a tow to her anywhere.
But her call dropped half a second after it dialed.
“No bars?” Trish whined. “But I always have bars.”
She tried to flag down Glenda, but she’d already turned her car around and disappeared out of sight around the bend.
Trish opened her door a crack and peered down. Heavy raindrops pelted the deep puddle. Last time, it hadn’t been raining yet she still managed to get covered in mud. Now that it was pouring down, Trish felt the odds stacked against her.
If she waited in her car for Glenda to figure out she didn’t have cell service, there was no way she’d miss the entire Holbrook clan when they returned. But if she hiked back, the house had a landline. She could offer a towing company double if they’d hurry. No price was too high to avoid another encounter with the man who’d broken her heart. It might take weeks or months away from Starlight, but eventually she’d forget about Wade Holbrook.Right?
Trish stretched one leg as far as it would go, but even the very tip of her toe was destined to land in murky brown water. “I really need to take up yoga,” she mumbled.
Her boots were packed out of spite, of course, in her trunk, and she was left with the same flip-flops she’d been wearing the day she arrived.
“The irony isn’t lost on me,” she said to the sky. But that only resulted in heavy raindrops splashing her in the eyes.
Tossing her shoes onto the passenger side floor, she winced as she dropped a toe down until it touched solid ground. Well, itwasmore soggy than solid. The rain soaked through her jeans, the denim making that awful sucking sound when she shifted to get a better balance in the puddle. Once her foot was flat against the ground, she whispered, “One down, Trish, one to go.”
She then turned and reached for the car door, trying to ignore the squishy sensation of mud creeping between her toes, but her hands wouldn’t quite touch. Another small, cautious step toward the door until she could touch it and swing it shut.
“Success!”
Trish was about to celebrate her victory when the roaring of a diesel engine startled her. She let out a little scream, reaching for a door she’d already closed.
But no, she lost her balance and slipped into the mud puddle. “Are you kidding me?” she screamed toward the sky.
“Where’re your boots?”
Trish swallowed at the deep sound of Wade’s voice cutting through the heavy rainfall. Why couldn’t it be Lina or Chet? Chet would’ve hardly used ten words before he had her pulled out of the mud and on her way. “I packed them.”
“If you ever hope to live on a ranch, you need to get used to wearing boots. They’re made to get wet and muddy so you don’t have to.”
“Thank you, Mr. Obvious.” Trish considered ignoring the hand he extended, but images of flailing around in the mud like a floppy fish scared her into accepting help. “And what do you mean if I hope to live on a ranch? I live in an apartment, remember? Oneyoutold me to go back to.”
“But would you want to live on a ranch? Maybe one in Wyoming?”
