“I look forward to it,” I say as I rub my thumb against her palm.
“Sadist.”
“Only for you.”
Lark laughs, and then the waiter arrives with our food. We spend the next hour talking about anything and everything—Sadie, the horse sale I had today, the new horse she’s training, and our families.
“I didn’t know your dad was struggling. I guess I just assumed you took over the ranch because it made more sense to settle in,” Lark says between bites.
“Pop thinks it’s the second part, but it was really because we kept finding him doing things that didn’t make sense.”
“Like what?”
“For one, he put the goats out in the horse pasture and told us he moved the horses. When we asked him why he brought the goats out, he said he didn’t. Then he painted half the barn, out of nowhere. The barn had just been repainted less than a year ago. He wanted to buy this insanely expensive stud, for no real reason. That was when he sort of realized things were slipping for him. He also liked the idea of getting to spend time with Sadie, so it wasn’t a big fight. Was it that way with your brother?”
I know a few years ago, Ryan became the full owner of the farm.
“Kind of.” She places her fork down. “My dad is still completely fine—it was more that he wanted Ryan to have some stake in the ranch.”
“Did your brother not want it?” I ask.
I never really understood the dynamic of her family. Not that I know all that much about it beyond what Mary Lou said in passing.
“I think he wanted it, but he never felt like he deserved it. Deacon really loves the ranch, not that Ryan doesn’t, but it’s a different kind of love. Deacon views the land as a living thing, something he wants to work with. Ryan saw it as potential and a way to make money by using its assets,” Lark explains and then looks away. “I don’t know, it’s been a rough road for the Gatlin boys, and I’m pretty much just along for the ride.”
“Did you want it?”
Her big green eyes look up at me, wonder shining in them. “I did. I do, but it’s not for me.”
“Why the hell not?”
She laughs almost as though it’s obvious. “I’m a girl.”
“That’s horseshit.”
I don’t know much about her brothers and their intelligence, but I know something about Lark. She’s driven, she’s smart, and she sees the land the same way Deacon does. She knows the horses and is more than capable of running a ranch if she wanted.
“Maybe, but it’s reality too. Do you think your dad would’ve left the farm to your sisters over you?” she asks.
My knee-jerk reaction is to say yes, that he would, but…I don’t know it’s the truth. I lean back in my seat, hating that I can’t tell her he would without pause.
“I don’t know,” I admit.
She smiles and takes a sip of her wine. “I appreciate that you answered honestly. The truth is, I’m the youngest, and I’m a girl. Carter wouldn’t want it, so that was an easy one to hop over. Mav, my other brother, wouldn’t get it over me, which is two, but the other two do want it. Maybe not for the same reasons I do, but they have them, and they’re boys and older.” She shrugs. “That’s just the way it is. I’m just a girl.”
“You’re not just anything, Lark Gatlin. You’re a hell of a lot more and we both know it. You would run circles around your brothers if you owned the ranch.”
“Well, we’ll never know if that’s true, but…” Her eyes warm as they look at me. “For you saying that, Ireallywant to kiss you.”
I stand, coming around the table and squatting down so we’re face-to-face. “I’m right here.”
She grins and takes my face in her hands and kisses me, and I swear my heart expands ten times.
Chapter 26
Lark
We’re standing in the bathroom, doing all the normal couple things before bed, and I can’t stop grinning.
