It had been a year since I'd come back to this place, to Ray's land—my land—and decided to stop running. A year of early mornings and late nights, of learning how to balance the ranch work with my shifts at the clinic, of figuring out what it meant to build a life that was entirely mine while letting someone else be part of it.
The house had changed. Small things, mostly. New curtains in the living room. A repaired porch railing. The garden plots I started as a kid now yield everything I’d need to get through the winter again. Dad’s things were still here—his books, his tools, the photographs I'd finally been brave enough to hang on the walls—but they shared space with mine now. With ours.
Wyatt's truck keys on the hook by the door. His boots by mine. His coffee mug in the dish rack.
He didn't live here. Not officially. He had his place, and his ranch to run, the brewery in town that had become more popular as the days passed. But most nights, he was here. And the nights he wasn't, I drove to his place and fell asleep in his bed.
We'd found our rhythm. Independent but intertwined. Strong on our own, stronger together.
I heard his footsteps on the porch before the screen door opened.
"Hey," Wyatt said, kicking off his boots. "You got a minute?"
I looked up from the supply order and immediately clocked the tension in his shoulders. "What's wrong?"
He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture I learned meant he was working through something complicated. "Just got off the phone with Maddy."
My stomach tightened. "Is she okay?" I asked.
"Yeah. She's—" Wyatt pulled out the chair across from me and sat heavily. "Her mom wants her to move here. With me. Permanently."
I blinked. "What?"
His jaw tightened. "Apparently, her priorities have changed. She wants to focus on her marriage, travel with her husband. Having a teenager around doesn't fit the lifestyle she's after."
The bitterness in his voice was sharp enough to cut.
"Jesus," I said quietly.
"Yeah." Wyatt leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "So Maddy's moving here. At the end of the month. She'll start school here in the fall."
My mind raced. Maddy here permanently.
"How does Maddy feel about it?" I asked carefully.
Wyatt's laugh was hollow. "She's trying to be tough about it. Says she's fine, that she likes it here better anyway. But I can hear it in her voice—she feels like her mom's choosing her husband over her."
"Because that's exactly what Rena is doing," I said bluntly.
"Yeah." Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his face. "Maddy asked if you were okay with it. With her being here full-time."
My chest tightened. "What did you tell her?"
"That you'd be thrilled. Because you will be, right?" He looked at me, and I saw the vulnerability there. "I know it changes things. We've had it good this past year. This will be different."
I reached across the table and covered his hand with mine. "Maddy's family. She's always been welcome here. This is just making it official."
"She's going to need you," Wyatt said quietly. "More than she has before. She's going to be hurting, even if she won't show it. And I'm going to be figuring out how to be a full-time parent instead of the fun weekend dad."
"We'll figure it out together," I said firmly. "All three of us."
My phone buzzed on the table. I glanced at the screen and felt a smile tug at my lips.
Maddy: Is it weird that I'm kind of excited? I mean, my mom sucks right now, but at least I get to live with you and Dad full-time. And the horses.
I showed Wyatt the text. Some of the tension left his shoulders as he read it.
"She's going to be okay," I said softly. "She's tougher than you think. Wonder where she gets that from."
