“So you already had it written?”
He sighs. “Well, you know how Sam is. He prepares for the best outcome and expects the worst, but I think he’ll be proud to know that this is how things turned out,” hesays as he places the revision in front of me, all the legal documentation laid out neatly—with Sloane’s name on it.
I sign it right away, not needing to wait any longer or read it over. I'm certain nothing horrible would be written in it if Uncle Sam and Monty created the thing together.
As I sit back, staring at my signature on the line, I’m in disbelief that I actually did that. I just signed a deal to make Sloane a permanent co-owner of Hollis Ranch.
The only thing left to do now is tell her.
“I’ll have it notarized now and get you a copy,” Monty says, getting up and walking out the door.
Left alone in his office, I start thinking about what I’ll say or do when I see her next. She’s going to come back, but will she even want to see me? Will she hear me out anymore?
I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t—but it’s going to come down to making her listen.
I haven’t been great at communicating, but I want to try. I’ll probably always think that Sloane deserves more than me, but I also know those thoughts are what got me into this mess of doubt in the first place.
I can’t keep putting myself down just because I think I earned it. It won’t do either of us any good. Things have to change if I want Sloane to stick around.
Monty steps back inside and hands me two copies.
“One for your records and one for Miss Carter’s,” he clarifies. I smirk briefly before standing up and shaking his hand—partly to thank him for putting up with all my shit, and mostly for getting things done so quickly.
I won’t need my copy, though. I’m going to be doing whatever it takes to keep that woman at my side. We’ll only ever need one copy.
As I step out of the office and onto the curb, I hop across the street to the feed store and take in all the random memos, business cards, and flyers. I pull a tack off the board and pin my copy up there with the rest of them.
Now everyone in Bell River will know that Sloane Carter made it through this stone-cold heart—and that Hollis Ranch will be making some changes.
I take a deep breath and feel lighter as I stare at the revision document. It’s final, and everything can finally fall into place. Now all I need to do is head back and wait for her.
I drive back home and do a couple of small chores around the ranch to keep my mind busy while I wait. She’s been gone a long time, and of course she hasn’t called or texted—which I shouldn’t expect.
My guess is she needed to get away—on top of talking about the possible deal—not that she can openly sell it now without my consent.
But I don’t think she will.
My mind keeps returning to her words, to the way she said she isn’t vindictive. And everything she’s done has backed that up. She didn’t open talks with Horizon out of spite or greed—she did it to protect herself, to make sure she’d never be trapped without options.
I get that, especially since I left those acres in her hands if she ever needed them.
Even so, I still don’t believe she’d sell. Her heart is too big for that—especially knowing it would hand the ranch to the very people who tried to steal from us at every turn.
That much, I’m confident in.
As the sun begins to set and she’s still not back, I start to wonder if she’s coming back at all tonight. I exhale slowly and turn to the guys still working.
“All that can wait until tomorrow. Get some rest—or enjoy yourselves tonight,” I tell them, tossing my gloves into a bucket as I walk away.
I step inside the house and plop down on the couch, resting my hand along the back of it. I glance to the side, and memories of that first night come racing in. All the pent-up rage is something I’ve tried to forget, but the kiss—those kisses—I can’t get them out of my head.
I can’t lose her. I justcan’t.
I close my eyes tightly, but all it does is replay the memories we’ve built—the good and the bad. My mind feels like a movie theater, playing reruns of the same film, and I’m stuck as the star of it.
I wish I could turn it off, but it doesn’t stop, and it probably won’t until I finally say what I need to say.
I open my eyes just as headlights pull up to the gate. I stand and watch as she pulls in. She gets out of the car in a rush, moves up the steps, and comes inside.
