Guided trail rides. Fly fishing at dawn. Farm-to-table dinners, using Grandma’s recipes. And, yes, spa treatments with locally sourced botanicals because who doesn’t like a deep tissue massage after riding all day?
I grin to myself.
I’ve been planning. I’ve even gone so far as to scout the perfect location and had blueprints drawn up.
It will be Wildhaven Storm, just shared thoughtfully.
A knock sounds on my open door.
Matty leans against the frame, one hand on her belly.
“You hiding in here?” she asks.
“No. Just taking a minute.”
“Good, because there is a party waiting for you outside.”
“You guys didn’t have to do all of that, you know,” I say.
“Yes, we did,” she says, and her eyes fill with regret.
She wasn’t able to attend my graduation in Laramie two weeks ago because her doctor thought it was too risky to travel that far. Daddy, Charli, and Shelby came up while Grandma and Grandpa stayed behind just in case the baby decided to come early.
“Charli had you on video call, and you got to see me walk across the stage.”
She sniffles. “It wasn’t the same. I should have been there.”
“Stop it,” I say, standing and walking over to her. “It’s not like you ditched me for no good reason.”
“Right.”
“But there is something you can do to make it up to me,” I say carefully.
Might as well play on her guilt.
She studies me. “You’re not starting on this again, are you?”
“Starting on what?”
“The dude ranch.”
I sigh and flop back on the bed. “It’s not a dude ranch.”
She huffs a laugh. “That’s exactly what someone wanting to build a dude ranch would say.”
“It’s experience-based tourism,” I counter. “It’s sustainable. It’s rooted in authenticity. It would bring wide-ranging revenue streams. And—”
“Harleigh.”
I sit up.
Her eyes soften, but there’s steel underneath. Matty carries the ranch on her shoulders. Has for years. Through droughts.Through financial scares. Through trainers leaving and deals falling apart and everything else I’ve only glimpsed from the safety of my college dorm room.
“We are not a theme park,” she says gently.
“I know.”
“We’re a working ranch.”
