“They would send a search party out for us if I didn’t take you there on our way in.”
“Right?” She laughs. “Oooh. There’s my bag. Oh. And there’s the other. I’ll be right out.”
The line clicks and I hop out of the truck, jogging from the parking structure to the terminal to meet her.
When she appears in the double glass doors, my smile breaks free. The antsy nerves under my skin transform into a buzz of excitement—she’s home. Cars pass between us on the arrivals roadway, pulling to the curbside or momentarily blocking my view of McKenna as they zip by. At the first break in traffic, I step onto the crosswalk, heading in her direction.
“McKenna!” I shout.
She looks around and then her eyes land on me. I run across to her and we throw our arms around each other, clinging and jumping as if she’s been gone for a year, not eight weeks.
Our words overlap. “Oh my stars!” McKenna says at the same time as I say, “I can’t believe you’re here.” We chatter away, our smiles and excitement drawing attention from other passengers.
“Here, let me take that from you,” I say, grabbing the handle of her second bag.
She loops her free arm through mine and we walk toward the parking garage.
“You look like an LA fashion editor,” I say, eyeing her. “But after pulling an all-nighter to meet a deadline.”
“Thank you,” she says with an amused grin. “I was going for exhausted chic.”
“You nailed it,” I say, laughing. “I’m kidding. You look amazing as ever—effortlessly glamorous and gorgeous.”
“Yeah? Well, that’s good news. The flights were less than ideal this time. I hate layovers. At least I only had to stop in Phoenix. But still. We hit turbulence, I still can’t hear out of my left ear, and the guy on my second flight snored—and not softly like your prize hogs.”
“Well, you can rest now that you’re home,” I say. “You can even nap on the drive back to Waterford if you want.”
“Are you kidding me?” McKenna nudges me playfully. “I couldn’t sleep if I wanted to. We need to catch up.” She straightens her suitcase when it wobbles. “I really need to stop hauling things back and forth between LA and Tennessee.”
“As long as you still haul yourself back and forth, I’m good.”
She’s silent for a beat and I stop in my tracks. “You are still going to be living in both places, right?”
“I am. It fits us in this season. Westley travels enough that I’m able to settle in Tennessee while he’s off to wherever his job takes him.”
“Okay, whew.” Relief loosens something between my shoulder blades. “You scared me for a minute.”
“Well, get ready for more shock,” she says, pausing just inside the parking garage and unlinking her arm from mine.
She holds her hand out and I glance down.
“What!?” My voice echoes off the concrete. “You’re engaged!”
“Yep.” She smiles. “I didn’t want to tell you over the phone.”
Heat blooms behind my eyes—joy first, light and bubbly—followed by a tiny ache I shove down before it can take shape.
“When did this happen?”
“Last week. My family doesn’t know yet. I’m going to tell them today, but I wanted you to be the first to know. You’ll be my maid of honor, right?”
“Of course! Oh my gosh! McKenna! You’re getting married! You’re going to be a wife … and a mom … and … oh my gosh. This is happening!”
She just chuckles. “I’m not going to be a mom anytime soon.”
I throw my arms around her and hug her tight. My best friend is getting married. We’ve spent years dreaming of the day we’d both settle down. Of course, in our childhood imaginations, we’d both stay on our adjacent ranches and our kids would be best friends. Our husbands would too. Our future was as entwined as our hearts.
When she fell for Westley, I couldn’t have been happier for her. But he lives in California, working for the film industry in Hollywood. The idea of him settling in Tennessee is slim to none. Besides, Mac won’t inherit the ranch when it gets passed down. She’s the fifth-born in her family. She’ll get something, but more than likely, one of her brothers will end up running the ranch—if they keep it going.
