My pulse quickened as I realized what this was about. “The ranch?”
He nodded once, his usual slow smile climbing his handsome face. I hesitated for half a second before running inside and grabbing my jacket and shoes.
Getting on the back of his bike still made my stomach flutter. I told myself it was nerves, but I wasn’t entirely convinced. I’d only had my cast of for a couple of days, but it was feeling stronger every day.
“You holdin’ on or you plannin’ on flyin’ off when I hit the gas like last time?” he teased.
I rolled my eyes but slid my arms around his waist. “Just ride, cowboy.”
The last time he had put me on the back of his bike, my arm had still been too weak after my injury and I wasn’t sure how to hold onto him properly. But I had been building up strength and now I knew I wasn’t going anywhere.
He chuckled softly as I slid on my helmet, and he pressed on the gas, making the bike roar beneath us, and then we were moving. I pressed myself against his back, loving the feeling of his strength next to me.
I watched the world go by in a blur, my heart feeling full of excitement.
The ride felt shorter than usual and my heart pounded harder the closer we got. When the ranch came into view, I sucked in a breath.
It looked different. Cleaner, for starters. The debris was gone and the burned wreckage had been cleared away, and there—right where the original barn had stood—was my brand new barn. It was bigger than the old one, the roof taller, the base wider.
Men moved around the site, working steadily, machinery humming in the background.
“Oh my god…” I whispered.
Tex shut off the bike and helped me down.
I walked forward slowly, taking it all in. The house stood too, the blackened places had been replaced and new windows put in that had exploded. Scaffolding wrapped around one side but they were being taken down. It felt like the home I had always known.
It felt like the place I had always felt safe again.
“It wasn’t too badly burned,” Tex explained. “Once we cleared out the fire damage. The builders said you could hopefully move back within the week.”
I turned to him, stunned. “That fast?”
He nodded. “We didn’t waste time.”
Emotion bubbled up inside me again. Hope this time. Real hope.
He walked with me across the property, showing me the new fencing, the improved stable layout, and reinforced storage areas. Every step I took, I felt more overwhelmed—by the projects and by him.
“I can’t believe this,” I said quietly. “It’s like waking up from a nightmare, only to find it was a dream.”
He watched me carefully. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. And you know, maybe something good has come out of everything that happened.”
He tilted his head slightly. “What do you mean?”
I hesitated, my excitement building. I had been thinking about the money in the account and what to do with it now that everything had calmed down, and I had finally decided. I’d told Tex about the money I’d found in the account and I’d chipped into to pay for the repairs, but I’d never told him how much there was.
“Well, with all the money I’ve got now, I was thinking I could turn part of the ranch into something more. Maybe a charity. Help underprivileged kids learn to ride and give parents a break. Give kids somewhere safe to go when the world gets noisy and overwhelming. I know that’s what my mom and dad would have wanted. That’s what they had always wanted this place to be for me, so I figured, maybe I can do that for someone else.”
Tex’s expression softened. “That sounds real good, Rowan.”
I smiled, feeling hopeful for the first time in what felt like forever. “I think it could really?—”
He paused suddenly, his forehead scrunching. “How much money was there?”
“Over two million, I said and his eyes went wide.
