I hadn’t slept and wouldn’t be able to relax until he came back safe.
When the knock finally came just after sunrise, I was already sitting on the edge of the couch with my knees pulled to my chest.
Mama Mae opened the door. She didn’t say anything at first. Just crossed the room and pulled me into a hug that smelled like coffee and cinnamon.
“It’s over,” she said softly into my hair. “They got them all.”
My breath left in a rush.
“They’re dismantling the whole network,” she continued. “Arrests, warrants, asset seizures. The men who came after you won’t see daylight for a long time.”
I nodded against her shoulder, my eyes burning. “Lucas?” I asked.
“He’s up at the house eating pancakes and pretending he isn’t listening to every word,” she said. “He’s safe, sweetheart. For real.”
I clung to her, hoping with all my heart it was really over.
She cupped my face. “Go find my boy. He’s been pacing the yard like a man waiting for a verdict.”
I stepped onto the porch just as Caleb came around the corner of the barn. He looked tired. Not the bone-deep exhaustion of a man who hadn’t slept in days, but the release that came after weeks of holding a line that had finally broken in his favor.
His gaze locked on me. Everything else disappeared. He crossed the yard in long strides, stopped in front of me, and pulled me into his arms. I buried my face in his chest and breathed in the scent of dust… coffee… leather… home.
“They’re gone,” he whispered into my hair. “The threat is neutralized. The task force is staying another forty-eight hours just to be sure, but the danger is done.”
I lifted my head. “You’re sure?”
His hands slid to my waist. “I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t.”
The weight I’d been carrying since Valor Springs cracked open and spilled out of me. I laughed and cried at the same time,pressing my face back into his chest because I couldn’t hold it together anymore.
He let me draw from his strength. Didn’t rush me. Didn’t tell me I was fine. Just stood there and held me until my breathing slowed and my legs stopped shaking.
Lucas came running across the pasture a few minutes later, skidding to a stop when he saw us. “Is it really over?” he asked.
Caleb leaned down so they were eye level. “It’s over. You’re safe.”
Lucas stared at him for a long moment, then launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around Caleb’s neck.
I blinked fast, not sure if I could trust my own eyes. Then Caleb picked him up off his feet and hugged him back.
Hours later, after the task force wrapped up and the men started standing down from full alert, the ranch finally exhaled. There were no more radios. No patrol rotations. Just the quiet rhythm of a place returning to itself.
Mama Mae insisted on smoking a brisket to celebrate. We ate until our bellies were stuffed beyond full and the stars started to dot the dark night sky. Lucas asked if he could spend the night at the big house and stay up late playing video games.
I caught a wink from Mama Mae and had no doubt she’d orchestrated the whole thing to give me and Caleb the chance to be alone.
Caleb took my hand and walked me back to the cabin. We stood on the porch and stared up at the stars. “So this is what safe feels like,” I said.
He came up behind me, resting his hands on the rail on either side of me and caging me in. “This is what home feels like.”
I turned to face him. “I don’t want to go back.”
His brow furrowed. “Back where?”
“To Valor Springs and my old life,” I said. “The one where I was always running and always behind. Always waiting for the next thing to break.”
He studied my face like he was searching for a trace of doubt.
