“I love you, Gabe.”
“I love you too, bookshop.”
The nickname wound around her heart like silk.
She rested her hand on his arm just below the bandage. “You scared me.”
“You scared me worse.” He didn’t bother to hide the tremor in his voice. “You can’t go missing like that again. I’m built for a lot, but not that.”
She huffed a teary laugh. “I’ll do my best to be kidnapped less often.”
“Good.” He kissed her again, light and lingering with that undercurrent she knew so well. The one that would land them in bed until the sun came up.
She drew back. “There’s so much we can do now. With the money.”
He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Knowing you, it will be put to good use.”
She nodded, catching excitement. “The ranch. The therapy program. The bookshop. And scholarships! Maybe a fund in Henry’s name for literary programs.”
Gabe’s dark eyes warmed into embers. “You’ll make the world better with it. I know you will.”
She shook her head. “Wewill.”
They got back on the road, and soon the mountains loomed closer, the sky bleeding into the dusky purples of evening. The ranch was close now.
Home. Warmth. Safety, now that she knew the person responsible for scaring her was behind bars.
Gabe’s fingers were locked around hers, adding a deeper understanding of what happened.
They had survived the impossible together.
And now they got to build the life that came after.
Chapter Seventeen
The first thing Gabe saw when the ranch came into view was the line of trucks.
All of them.
The guys were back from California, just as Carson said they would be.
His stomach burned with a flare of nerves. What if the rest of the team—the Malone brothers he respected so much, and Dutch, aka Decker, who Gabe spent time in the therapy program with—didn’t think he fit the team?
Sensing his anxiety, Felicity squeezed his hand. “You okay?”
He forced air into his lungs. “Yeah.”
He wasn’t. Not exactly. But he kept driving up the lane, the familiar sight of the house and the sweeping fields and mountains behind suddenly a little less of a comfort than they were when he rolled in the other night.
He parked near the end of the row. Before he even climbed out, the front door flew open. Dutch stepped out first, grinning, followed by Gray, Colt, Oaks, Theo and Denver last of all. One of the ranch dogs who’d been asleep on the porch even gathered itself onto all fours to bark at Gabe and Felicity as they approached the house.
“Look who finally decided to come home.” Dutch descended the steps and started toward them.
Relief hit so hard it made Gabe lightheaded. He crossed the distance in long strides, meeting his old friend in the middle. Dutch hugged him with a hard clap on his back, and Gabe returned the favor.
“Damn, it’s good to see you.”
Gabe stepped back, grinning. “You too. Heard you finally got the girl.”
