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Taya’s head bobs. “We won.”

Dakota launches into Taya; they hug and hold each other.

“Thank you, Taya,” Dakota mumbles.

Luis joins us, and Eli goes to him to show his two horses, now both back in his care. “Look, Luis, I have both the horses. And Ranger is lucky. He helped Taya win the case.”

Luis inspects the horses and agrees that Ranger is indeed lucky.

“Wiley, we’re going to keep the ranch.” Clara walks to Wiley, who’s standing away from all of us, like he’s waiting for permission.

“Yeah, babe, you did.” His voice is hoarse.

Everyone stops and watches them. She takes two steps toward him, he takes three, and then they fall into each other.

“Wow! Finally,” Dakota says with the unimpressed tone of a teenager who has been observing adult behavior with the patience of a scientist and the tolerance of someone who has seen every episode of every romance show ever made. “They’ve been circling around each other for days. It’s been like watching Conrad and Belly—except older and with more livestock.”

“Who are Conrad and Belly?” I muse.

“Duh! It’s from The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Dakota quips, like it’s supposed to mean something to me.

“Right.” I don’t watch anything on TV except ballgames and news at times, so a teenage show goes over my head as it’s supposed to.

I look at the north valley—the pastures green in the summer afternoon, the creek somewhere below, the mountains above doing what they’ve always done.

This is what it was for.

All of it.

This moment, this yard, these women, these children, and this land.

Worth it.

All of it is worth it.

CHAPTER 45

mason

She drives. I’m used to it now—sitting in the passenger seat, watching the land.

The access road from Silverbell winds back toward the highway, the cottonwoods full out on both sides. In the rearview mirror, I see Eli standing in the driveway with both horses held up, watching us go—Ranger and Copper together.

Lucky, Eli said about Ranger.

I look at Taya beside me.

She’s driving with a smile on her face, which starts in her eyes. Her hand rests on the steering wheel, and her turquoise ring catches the afternoon light.

Yeah, I agree with Eli, the luckiest.

“You mind a detour, Mr. Brooks?”

“Not at all, Counselor.” And then, because my heart is full and spilling over, I add, “With you, Taya, I want to take every journey and every detour there is.”

She glances at me—her smile going wider than I thought possible.

I did that, I think with pride.