We clink the glasses together.
The soft sound echoes across the quiet yard.
I smile. “And she’d love the boys we found too.”
Charli snorts immediately. “Bullshit.”
We all look at her.
She grins crookedly. “We didn’t find them.” Her eyes sparkle. “They found us.”
She lifts her glass again. “Lucky bastards.”
We all laugh then, loud and free, and the sound drifts out over the dark fields of Wildhaven Storm Ranch.
What do you do after weathering the toughest storms in life together?
Relax and savor a glass of wine on the back porch of your childhood home together before going off in search of those lucky bastards. That’s what.
One Year Later
The last thing I take off the wall is the little framed photo of the four of us standing in the pasture behind the ranch house.
Matty has an arm around Shelby’s shoulders. Charli’s hat is tipped back on her head, squinting into the sun. I’m standing in front of them with my hands on my hips like I own the place.
Which, in a way, I guess I do now.
I hold the frame for a beat, running my thumb over the edge before placing it gently into the box with the rest of my things.
Then I straighten and take a slow look around my office.
For a year and a half, this little room has been my world.
The desk, where I learned how to juggle schedules and events and cranky guests. The window that overlooks the courtyard, where I used to sit during lunch breaks.
I smile faintly.
The Belicourt has been good to me.
It gave me independence.
Confidence.
And Porter.
My chest warms at that thought.
But today is the last day.
Matty finally gave me the green light last month after we finished the final plans. The county approved the permits, and in two weeks, we’ll be breaking ground on what will become the Wildfire Guest Ranch on the southern end of Wildhaven Storm.
My ranch.
Our ranch.
The idea still makes my stomach flip with excitement.
Guests will come stay in rustic cabins, ride horses through the valley, and learn a little rodeo if they’re brave enough. Families, couples, tourists from cities who have never seen stars the way you can see them out at Wildhaven.
