I pull her into my lap, laughing. “Well, that makes you the fastest cowgirl in Wilder Creek.”
She beams, then wiggles down to race off again, trailing joy behind her like a kite string.
Cash watches her go, then turns to me. “This is what I want, Avery. You. Her. The ranch. Not just for now, for always.”
I reach for his hand. “Then let’s build it. Together.”
And beneath the glowing branches of that old oak, surrounded by the people I once ran from and the family I never thought I’d have, I know we already are.
By the time the last notes of the band fade and the crowd starts to thin, I feel it settle deep in my bones,that unshakable truth. This life, this land, these people… they’re mine now.
Not in the way the deed says. Not in some legal technicality passed down by a father I barely understood. But in the way that matters most. In heartbeats and hard work and second chances.
Cash wraps an arm around my waist as we walk Emmy back to the truck, her head bobbing with sleep, a balloon string wrapped tightly around her wrist. Harper’s already dozing in the front seat, a cowboy hat tilted over her eyes.
I glance back once more at the town square, at the lights still glowing, the laughter still echoing in corners. At the life I never planned on but can’t imagine letting go of now.
“I’m staying,” I whisper aloud, almost to myself. “For good.”
Cash squeezes my hand. “Good. Because I wasn’t gonna let you go without a fight.”
I laugh softly, brushing a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t worry, cowboy. You’ve already won.”
We load up and head back toward the ranch, the tires crunching softly over gravel roads that now feel like paths home instead of escape routes. Emmy sleepscurled beside me, her ribbon still clutched like a trophy, and the stars keep watch through the window.
But just as the porch light comes into view, my phone buzzes in my pocket.
Unknown number.
I hesitate, pulse kicking just a little faster.
I answer. “Hello?”
There’s a pause. Then a voice I haven’t heard in years, Mason Reynolds, my father’s old attorney and the keeper of more than a few family secrets.
“Avery? It’s Mason. We need to talk, about your dad.”
Chapter seventeen
Construction Cuddles & Confessions
Cash
The ranch is quiet in the early light, just the way I like it. Dew clings to the tall grass, and the air carries that earthy scent of promise. Like the land knows we’re rebuilding something more than just fences. Hammering will start in an hour.
Billy Mac’s already got a list of materials long enough to wrap the barn twice, and Cody swore he’d wrangle a crew before breakfast. But for now, it’s just me, a mug of black coffee, and the soft sound of horses nickering from the stables.
Or it was, until the screen door creaks open behind me.
Avery steps out, hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands, hair a mess of waves from sleep. She looks like she belongs here, and not just in the porch light. She pads across the boards barefoot and settles into the rocker beside me.
“Morning,” I say, handing her the second mug I brought out just in case.
Her smile is faint, distracted. “Morning.” She rubs at the corner of her eye, then tucks her feet under herself in the chair without really settling. Her gaze flicks toward the road, then back down to her coffee like she’s afraid of what the morning might bring.
Something’s off. I see it in the way she bites the inside of her cheek. In the way she clutches that phone like it might whisper more than just words.
“You didn’t sleep,” I say.
