Page 104 of Bailey

Luke’s matte brown SUV turned slowly into the driveway, which could house three trucks front to back, and he eased along the vehicles parked on the other side.

“Applause hands!” Sterling yelled. Every man, woman, and child who’d lined up along the edge of the driveway, the curved sidewalk, and the porch railing lifted their hands in sign language applause. Bailey couldn’t help the huge smile that curled her lips as she did the same with her hands. Momma did too, and Luke hadn’t even made it up to the garage yet before Reeves turned his black truck into the driveway too.

Bailey’s heart leapt to the back of her throat, and she wanted nothing more than to vault the railing and rush to him, run her fingers over every inch of his skin to make sure he was okay, kiss him, and tell him she never wanted him to go camping again so she wouldn’t have to get another text like the one she’d gotten.

You’re in love with him. The words filled her mind, but Bailey had no idea if they were true or not.

Then Luke parked, and all four doors on the oversized SUV seemed to open at the same time. He dropped out and lifted both hands above his head, yelling, “One night in the mountains!”

Bailey had no idea what that meant, nor did she know she needed to scream back, “One night in the mountains!” the way the rest of the Youngs did. Luke laughed, and so did a whole bunch of other people.

Sterling swarmed toward her husband, while Otis grabbed onto OJ, who had emerged from the SUV on the driver’s side behind Luke. Morris and Mav went around to the other side and collected their sons, while Corrine joined Luke and Sterling in a three-way hug.

Bailey regretted her spot on the porch, because she should’ve been down on the side of the driveway to greet Reeves. Now he wouldn’t have anyone to pull him into a hug and tell him how glad they were that he’d returned safely.

Bailey actually considered going over the railing, though she’d had to climb six or seven steps just to get to this porch. Restlessness built beneath her breastbone, then pure foolishness filled her as Reeves’s door opened and no less than five cowboys crowded around him.

“He can’t even take a step,” Momma yelled above the chaos, but Bailey had become very still.

She watched from a distance as Tex, Trace, Gabe, Jem, and Blaze crowded around Reeves, all of them leaning in to hug him. They all seemed to be talking over one another, even Trace and Blaze, who Bailey knew to be two of the quieter cowboys in the Young family.

Reeves smiled and shook hands. He laughed, and he talked back with them as if he’d been in their brotherhood for decades. He glowed with something Bailey had never seen before, and her heart filled over and over with love for him and love for those who’d welcomed him into their fold. Tears filled her eyes, and she couldn’t contain them before they spilled down her face.

She had no idea when Bryce had left her side, but she watched him embrace Reeves and pound him on the back, and she turned toward Codi when she handed her a tissue. “You better go kiss him before my husband does.”

Bailey looked at her. Then Codi’s face crumpled too. She pulled Bailey into a hug and held on. “Why are you crying?” she asked quietly. “He’s okay.”

Bailey had no idea why her emotions had chosen to betray her in such a way. She didn’t want to be crying in front of all these people, because, yes, while parts of yesterday had been tense and filled with desperate worry, she’d known for hours that Reeves was okay.

She’d had photo evidence that everyone with him was okay. She knew their campsite was safe and dry, and that they were warm and had plenty to eat.

No, she wasn’t crying because Reeves had returned to her healthy and whole after a minor incident. She was crying because she got to see him be part of a good family who loved him, and she alone knew he’d never had that before.

She quickly wiped her eyes and looked back toward Reeves. He was still surrounded by Youngs, as the wives had made it over to him now, and even the kids seemed to be pressing in around him. She caught him searching the crowd, though, and she beamed at Codi and said, “Thank you,” before she pressed past her and hurried through the crowd.

Eric’s mother had just hugged him and stepped back, wiping her eyes, when Bailey’s gaze met his. The world narrowed to only him, and Bailey pushed past the last couple of people in her way and threw herself into Reeves’s arms.

He grunted and held on. “There you are, my wildflower.”

“You’re home,” she whispered, not realizing the weight of those words until she’d spoken them.

She’d been away from home for so long, but this small town had called to her heart, whispering promises of love and comfort and belonging, if only she would come home. She’d gotten all of that too, in her family and with the Youngs, with her employees at her clinic, and the animals she loved so much.

The quiet longing of home had never left her, and she wanted nothing more than for Reeves to feel that and know he had come home too—to Coral Canyon, sure. To the Youngs, all right.

But inevitably and irrevocably to her—always to her.

She pulled back and held his face in her hands. She searched his eyes, but she couldn’t find the right words to say.

Reeves smiled at her. “I wish you didn’t look so nervous.”

Bailey breathed in, and then pushed her breath out, trying to relax. “I’m just so glad you’re back.”

“We were okay,” he said.

“I know.” A smile graced her own face. “But I’m always glad when you come home to me.”

Reeves leaned down and kissed her, and Bailey didn’t care that there were several dozen people who could be watching. She simply wanted Reeves to know that she would be his safe place to return to, where he could be himself and she wouldn’t judge him no matter what.