He was right of course, the talking would never stop, but I grinned anyway. We sat a bit longer, neither of us moving to go inside. The world felt different, like maybe it owed us tranquility after the last storm.
“You know, you’re still not off the hook,” I said at last, holding his hand tight.
“For what?” he balked.
“For fucking disappearing for two days, Cole,” I retorted. “You didn’t think you were just gonna get away with that did you? What the hell were you doing anyway?”
“I was getting some things in order,” he replied nonchalantly. “I didn’t know how this audit was going to go, and I wanted to make sure you were taken care of.”
My mouth fell open. “Taken care of? What does that mean?”
Cole shifted uncomfortably, not meeting my eyes. “I went to see a lawyer in Billings. Made sure that if they took the ranch from us, you’d still get something. Half of everything I own.”
“You... what?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“I put your name on my personal accounts. Set up paperwork so you’d get my truck, my savings, everything. Just in case they ruled against us and we lost it all.” His voice was quiet, almost embarrassed. “I wasn’t running away, Jesse. I was trying to make sure you’d be okay.”
A lump formed in my throat. All this time I’d been furious, thinking he’d abandoned me when things got tough. Instead, he’d been trying to protect me, just like Jack said.
“You asshole,” I muttered, but there was no heat behind it. “You could have told me.”
“I didn’t want you to worry,” he said simply. “And I needed to be alone to think. About what I’d do if we lost this place.”
“And what did you decide?”
Cole finally looked at me, his eyes reflecting the starlight. “That I’d follow you anywhere. That the ranch doesn’t matter if you’re not here.”
My heart skipped a beat. This was Cole Nelson, the stoic, stubborn, ranch-before-everything cowboy, and he was sitting here, telling me I mattered more than the land his family had worked for generations.
“Well,” I said, trying to sound casual despite the emotion threatening to choke me, “good thing we’re not gonna lose it then.”
He smiled, a real smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Yeah. Good thing.”
We sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, the night wrapping around us like a blanket. I thought about Jack’s letter, about the acceptance he’d offered us from beyond the grave. About all the wasted years and missed chances.
“So what happens now?” I asked, my thumb tracing circles on the back of Cole’s hand.
He took a deep breath, looking out over the darkened ranch. “Now we keep working. Keep building. Make this place something that would make my dad proud.”
“Our dad,” I corrected gently.
Cole nodded. “Our dad.”
I leaned against him, feeling the solid warmth of his shoulder. “And us? What happens with us now that the secret’s out?”
“Hell if I know,” he admitted with a soft laugh. “I’ve never done this before.”
“Done what? Been in a relationship?”
“Been in a relationship that matters,” he clarified. “Been with someone I can’t stand to lose.”
The raw honesty in his voice made my chest ache. “Well,” I said, “maybe we figure it out together. Day by day.”
Cole turned to face me, his expression serious in the dim light. “I meant what I said in there, Jesse. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
I reached out, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck and pulling him close, my forehead resting against his. “You won’t lose me,” I said softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise?”
