“This small town is getting to be too rough, huh?”
“Sure is, sweetie.”
“Any idea where you’d want to go?” she asked and hell if I knew. This small town was all I had ever known and honestly, I thought I’d die here. But to save my heart from breaking every other day, I’d pack up and move to the most remote place.
“Nope. Though, we can have some fun with it,” I offered, jumping out of the seat. “Get some paper, a pen, and a basket.”
She frowned but did as I told her, grabbing the items while I grabbed a small atlas I had.
“What in the world are we doing?” she asked, sitting on the couch next to me.
“I want you to pick ten random locations you’d like to live in, write them down, and then throw them in the basket. That’s how we will decide.”
“So, if I said Hollywood, you’d be okay with that?”
“Sure, Tiff,” I told her, giving her a smile. “I’m serious. I have no idea where to go and this seems like a lot more fun than picking a random spot on the map. We can move somewhere in the southwest where there are deserts, gorgeous sunsets, and horses. Or move to someplace that has far warmer beach weather than we do here. Or we can go to some busy place, like New York.” I frowned as I thought that one over, secretly glad when Tiffany made a face herself and shook her head.
“Okay, let me see this thing,” she said, taking the atlas and thumbing through some pages. “Oh, Montana is one.” She wroteit down, then threw it in the basket. “New Mexico, I think I’d like. Think we could brave the hurricanes in Florida.”
On and on it went, until she had a grand total of ten locations picked. With a smile, she swished them around in the basket, finally making a squeal as she picked one. She tilted her head as she read the name, then handed me the paper.
Of course, I could always veto any place that was picked, but truthfully, if she didn’t have school, I’d be out of here tomorrow, so it really didn’t matter to me.
“Rosewood County, Texas?” I read out loud. How the hell she got that, I wasn’t even sure, but I pulled up my phone, checking out the sweeping vistas, and the beautiful skies. I can’t say I’ve ever been to Texas, but this was about to be a lot of fun.
According to the website, there were some serious dude ranches near the town of Saddlehorn, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to be by the land. Not that I could work it, but there was something serene and peaceful about it.
I took a screen shot and sent it to Lucy, telling her this would be our new home.
As a photographer and a blogger, I could be anywhere, and I had no doubt that I could help out around the ranches if need be. And there seemed to be more than enough activities for Tiffany, if she so chooses.
“Pack your bags, sweetie,” I called out, smiling even more. “We’re going to Texas, far away from the pain of this place and to all the promises this deep land holds.”
I let out a breath, looking over the landscape once more, knowing that even though this was sudden, it was also the right move because I felt more at peace than I thought I would for something so scary.
Chapter 2
Zeb
Iglanced up at the night sky, letting the sounds of the desert soothe my tired bones. The kids were great today, but they seemed far more energized than I wanted, which meant that I was on the go all day.
So, this mental breather was nice. A moment to reset, to chill, to focus on the main part of my job.
A counselor.
Someone who was here to help the kids in ways that others couldn’t, not just someone who was here to watch them.
“You okay?”
I glanced over at the man who pulled up a chair next to me and nodded.
“Yeah, just a long day. You good?”
The cowboy held up a beer and I chuckled.
“I’m golden. The horses are trying though. Makes for long days.”
“So are the kids, currently. But it’s nice. I can’t complain too much, I guess.”
