Cami nudges me and gives me a more serious expression. “Would you ever want to live out here on the ranch again?”
I keep my eyes on Poppy, and the answer comes easy and undeniable. Home is wherever she stands. But I’m not ready to say that out loud or admit that to Poppy. She’s made it clear that I’m friend-zoned. Plus, the ranch isn’t my family’s anymore. It’s complicated, but it’s Jack and Cami’s now. That ship sailed for me. But I do dream about having a place of my own someday. I don’t know where home is anymore except with them.
“You did that thing where you answered in your head, again,” she says, rolling her eyes, teasing me.
“I can’t afford land or to build out here on a firefighter’s salary.”
Cami watches me and says nothing. “That’s not what I asked.”
I huff out aweak laugh.
She tips her head toward the barn. “You two ever gonna get together? Or you just gonna raise Owen together and pretend it’s casual?”
Heat crawls up my neck. “We’re best friends. She doesn’t wanna mess that up.”
Cami’s voice softens. “You’re not messing anything up. You’re already family.”
You’re already family.
Just hearing that is like the air is whooshed out of my lungs. Because I want that. I look at Jack and my sister, and I want what they have. A home, a family to do life with. I want to be needed. And most importantly, I want to be wanted. I want a family. Cami and I didn’t exactly have that growing up. Our dad was a con artist. Our mom, Theresa, is a nurse in Bridger Falls, but she’s never going to win the Mother of the Year award. She’s gotten slightly better lately with Cami, but I still keep her at arm’s length. I haven’t forgotten how she treated us when we were kids. Both of us worked the original Wilder Ranch as unpaid hands after our grandparents passed. This goes way beyond everyday childhood chores. We ran that ranch full-time for our parents as kids. They ran that ranch into the ground until my dad finally left, and my mom was letting it go back to the bank for unpaid taxes and payments. Jack stepped in and saved it for Cami. He merged it with his family’s ranch, The Jessop Ranch, and they rebranded it all Wilder Ranch because the Jessop kids didn’t like their family name, either.
Sometimes I wonder if I even deserve to be a part of a family.My dad sure as hell didn’t deserve us. What if I turned into the kind of dad he was?
“She doesn’t seem to want me,” I whisper. “What if she wakes up one day and realizes she can do better?”
Cami’s eyes flash. “She already realizes you’re the best thing that ever happened to her. And believe me, it scares her, too.”
There’s a lump in my throat I can’t swallow. “She said that?”
“I don’t know, bro. I can’t tell you what she says. Girl code. You gotta figure it out.” She pushes away from the fence. “Go help your girl. She’s pretending she’s fine, when she’s anything but fine.”
Jack calls from the barn. “Ollie! You coming to help us out with the horses, or are you just here to stare at Poppy all day?”
I flip him off low by my thigh, so Owen won’t see. Cami snickers as I head toward Poppy.
Poppy looks up and smiles. “I think I’ve finally figured out what’s making this stall.”
“Of course you did. You’re a mechanical genius,” I tease.
She smirks and nudges my shoulder lightly. It’s an easy gesture, but everything between us is. We’ve spent years like this—side by side, sharing meals, sharing Owen, sharing life—without calling any of it what it really is. Partners. Without the bravery to cross the line. It’s like hanging out by the pool, calling it swimming, but never actually getting wet.
Owen runs by, breathless, waving a soft brush. “Cami says I’m a ranch pro now.”
“You are,” I say instantly. “You’re killing it.”
“Have you figured out where you’re moving to?” I ask Poppy as we head outside the barn.
“Nope, still working on it,” she says, her mouth in a line. I know she’s stressed and I wish they’d just move in with me. We’d make it work.
Cami and Jack wrap up for the evening, and Owen insists on helping put away the grooming tools. He takes it very seriously, lining brushes just right and double checking the buckets like he’s been promoted to ranch foreman.
When it’s finally time to go, he launches himself straight into my side.
“I love you, Ollie,” he says.
My chest tightens, sharp and sudden. I don’t hesitate and hug him back. “Love you too, bud.”
Poppy’s standing a few feet away, keys in her hand. Her eyes flick to us, then away just as quickly, like the emotion hits too close to something tender. She swallows and heads for the truck.
