I guide her into a slow loop around the ring. Cash leans against the fence, arms crossed, watching me with that unreadable look of his. But I don’t need his validation.Not right now. Because for the first time in years, I feel like me.
Like fire and wind again.
I click my tongue, and Dusty picks up a trot. The rhythm flows through me, grounding me in a way nothing else has. My heart kicks in my chest, not from fear, but from something like joy. Raw and real.
And I don’t realize I’m crying until the tears hit my jaw and trail down into the collar of my shirt.
I’m home. For real this time. The scent of hay and sun-warmed wood fills my lungs, grounding me deeper with every breath. The breeze brushes my skin like a whispered memory, and Dusty’s warmth beneath me settles something restless in my bones.
This isn’t just home by blood or name, it’s home in every aching, dust-kissed detail.
Not because of a will. Not because of a year-long sentence.
Because I chose to be.
A soft squeal pulls my attention toward the porch.
Emmy barrels down the steps with a pink bandana tied around her head and her cowgirl boots clomping like thunder. Harper follows at a more leisurely pace, handson her hips, eyebrows arched like she already knows I’ve done something crazy.
“Mama! You’re riding!” Emmy practically bounces in place. “Can I ride too? Please, please, please?”
I circle Dusty back toward the gate, smiling through the tightness in my chest. “You can sit with me for a bit, but only if you promise to hold on tight.”
Harper rolls her eyes. “Look at you, cowgirl reborn. Didn’t take long before the saddle called you home.”
I laugh. “It’s like riding a bike. A giant, hay-scented, attitude-filled bike.”
Cash has moved a little closer to the fence now. His arms are still crossed, but there’s a softness to his expression I haven’t seen before. Not quite a smile, not quite surprise, but something in between. Like he’s seeing me. Really seeing me.
“You were good,” he says, voice low. “I forgot how natural you were on a horse.”
I arch a brow, grinning. “Is that a compliment, cowboy?”
He shrugs. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Too late.”
I swing Dusty to a stop and wait for Cash to put Emmy in the saddle with me. She clambers up with Cash’shelp, settling in front of me, legs barely reaching the saddle flaps.
“This is the best day ever!” she squeals, clutching the horn like she’s preparing for a rodeo.
We walk the perimeter of the corral slowly, her giggles bouncing off the barn walls, her joy infectious. She turns to look up at me, her face glowing with sunshine and excitement.
“I wanna be just like you, Mama.”
Something in me cracks wide open.
When we circle back, Cash is still standing there, watching every step.
“She’s got your spirit,” he says when I dismount and lift Emmy back down into Cash's waiting arms.
“Let’s hope she has my good sense too,” I tease.
He chuckles, the sound warm and low. “Nah. Spirit’s more useful around here.”
I catch his gaze, and for a moment, everything between us stills. The tension, the heat, the secrets, it all settles into something quieter. Something that feels a lot like admiration.
And maybe something more.
