Carter snorts.
A laugh slips out of me. I hate how ridiculous I probably look, but the knot in my chest loosens anyway, just a fraction, enough that I can breathe.
Seth tilts my chin up, firm fingers making me meet his eyes. “We bought this ranch for us,” he says. “For our pack. For our family. We were trying to keep it quiet to surprise you, but clearly we’re terrible at surprises, because you thought we were planning to abandon you.”
“In our defense,” Carter adds, “we’ve never planned a surprise in our lives. We’re learning.”
“You’re awful at it,” I mutter, wiping my cheeks with the back of my hand.
“Noted,” Kai says. “We’ll add it to the list.”
I pull back and look around the property with new eyes. It’s so beautiful that it doesn’t feel real but like something you drive past and admire, not something that could belong to me.
To us.
“Wait,” I whisper, the truth spreading through me in slow waves. “So this is… our home.”
They nod, all three of them watching me closely, faces open in a way that makes my chest ache.
And then the absurdity of it hits so hard I almost laugh again.
“I just sold us our own home,” I say, voice cracking.
“You did,” Kai confirms, grinning. “Extremely professional. Strong pitch. Ten out of ten. I felt emotionally manipulated in the best way.”
“Shut up,” I whisper, but I’m smiling through tears.
I flip through the documents with trembling fingers, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. “But the paperwork was under a different name. A company name.”
Seth nods. “Three Kings Group,” he says. “It’s the business entity we run together. We keep earnings, contracts, and investments under it, and it’s different from my dad’s.”
He pauses, then continues more carefully, as if he’s choosing each word for me. “We want to add you to it. Your name on everything. The ranch, the company, the future.” His gaze holds mine. “If that’s what you want.”
My hands shake as I reach for them, touching their arms, their chests, their faces, as if I need proof that they’re solid and here and not a dream I’ll wake up from.
“I can’t believe you did this for us,” I whisper. “So does that mean you’re settling down here in town?”
“Yep,” Seth says, and I want to scream with joy because I love this town.
The sound of a vehicle coming up the driveway cuts me off. We all turn to watch as a truck pulls up beside my car. It’s Seth’s father.
“Dad. What are you doing here?”
His father gets out of the truck, giving Seth a smile that appears strange on his face, not because it’s fake, but because I haven’t seen it often. “You think I’m missing this? I’ve waited a long damn time to see you settled, son.”
Then his attention shifts to me.
The look he gives me isn’t soft, exactly. It’s assessing, sure. But it’s also the kind of approval that doesn’t ask for permission. It says he’s already decided I belong here, whether I’m ready to believe it yet or not.
“June,” he says with a firm nod. “You’ve been good for him. For all of them. I’m glad they found you.”
I wipe my cheeks, still trying to pull myself together. “Thank you. I’m glad too.”
He clears his throat and turns back to Seth, the warmth still there, but tucked under that gruff tone he never fully drops. “I’ve got a gift. For all of you. Call it a housewarming.”
Seth’s shoulders go tight beside me.
His father reaches into his jacket and pulls out a thick envelope. When he hands it to Seth, it’s not casual. It has weight. Intent.
