I paused.
“You might wanna hold off on that part.”
She looked at me, questioning.
“Trust me. Sitting behind bars in Dalmore ain’t exactly a crowd-pleaser.”
Silence.
Then she burst out laughing. Loud, free, unfiltered.
She shook her head. “Honestly? I think I needed this. The air, the space, the freedom to not give a damn. It’s like… I’m remembering who I was before I started trying so hard to be someone else.”
I didn’t say anything. Just watched her. She wasn’t trying now. And she was perfect.
McKenzie snorted ahead of us, still proud of her destruction.
“Well,” Willa said, grinning as we reached the gate, “guess I found my happy place. Who knew it involved a cow, a cowboy, and a whole lot of illegal sidewalk activity.”
I looked at her.
“It just involves you, finally breathing.”
By the time we got McKenzie back where she belonged, Willa was covered in dust and cow hair and looked smug as hell about it.
I wiped my hands on my jeans.
“I’ve got one more surprise for you.”
She turned, narrowed her eyes.
“If this is where you tell me you secretly planned a wedding, I swear—”
“It’s not a wedding.”
I swung up onto Shakespeare. “Come on.”
She climbed on and we rode out slow. No rush. No cow to babysit this time. Just the two of us and the trail.
When we reached Rick’s bar, she tilted her head.
“This is your surprise?”
I didn’t say anything. Just held the door.
She walked in.
And stopped.
There it was. Thebull.
“You said it was on your list.”
“We’re really doing this?”
I nodded. “I figured you deserved a win today.”
She smiled and walked straight to it.
