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She covered her mouth with one hand. Bewilderment, wonder, horror, sorrow, confusion—every possible emotion flashed across her face.

My pulse raced with uncertainty. I’d been looking for the right time, and there was no turning back now.

“Do you want to come over this morning?” I asked. “I have something I need to show you.”

“Um, in an hour or so?” she said hesitantly. “After I feed the horses?”

“I’ll see you then.” I turned and left. The fence was finished for now. If I lingered here for too long, I’d lose control and take her into my arms. I needed her to see the rest of what I’d spent months working on.

I returned to the main barn as dozens of men tended to the stream of construction projects all over the grounds. Merrick Stables was no more, but the new property had a long way to go before it would match my vision.

Lucky approached me with a perplexed look. “You all right, boss? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I ran into her on the fence line.” I took off my gloves and shoved them into my pockets. “She’s coming by soon.”

Lucky elbowed me in the ribs. “Don’t mess it up this time, Captain.”

I punched him in the arm but knew his words held merit.

It wasn’t in my hands anymore. I’d worked for two months to prepare for every contingency, but there were no certainties ahead.

An hour later, Eva pulled up in her truck and stepped from the cab, looking around at the activity with her mouth ajar. EP and Junior ran to her, and she gave them a long hug. I could see her asking them how they were doing and probably asking how their extended families were back at home.

I walked toward her after a few minutes. Her gaze landed on me, and my nerves coiled like a rattler.

“What is all this?” She motioned to the construction.

“An overhaul,” I said. “Shedding the past.” I pointed to the manor, which didn’t suit our needs anymore. “That’s becoming a boardinghouse, and we’re adding a few small ranch houses in the flat meadow behind it. No one person needs a house that ghastly.”

“Boardinghouse?”

“For veterans who need work.” I shrugged. “I want to replicate what we had at Birkstrom. Bring in the horses that need the most help, pair them with former soldiers who need the same.”

She pressed her fingertips to her lips again as if she were going to cry, turning her body to absorb the sheer volume of the work. This property eclipsed Birkstrom several times. We’d be able to house more than thirty soldiers and up to a hundred horses.

Mason appeared carrying several wooden beams, nodding at us as he walked by. Eva gasped and laughed in amazement.

“You’ve been busy,” she said to me.

“We’ve gone to the local auction a few times and are in need of a trainer for some of those we rescued.”

“Oh, really?”

“Step into my office.” I motioned to the barn, where my half-finished office sat next to the few horses that we’d moved in last week.

Two horses, their heads hanging over the half doors, turned as we entered.

Eva gasped. “Mira!” She ran to the gray mare and looked her over, petting her cheeks and putting her own face to the mare’s.

The weight of the past two months, the moments when I missed her so much it hurt, the dead ends in searching for Mira, the long travel days of campaigning for Kenneth—it all lifted. The future was still uncertain, but the joy in her face was the most treasured sight I had ever beheld.

She looked over with wide eyes and a huge smile, which thrilled me to the core. “Where did you find her?”

“A tiny farm in Oklahoma. Her name had been mislabeled as Mirror.”

“How did you even . . . ?”

“I put Reid on it, and Adia tracked down some records from Kötzting.” I’d made the farmer an offer of five times what he’d paid for her, and he handed her over without hesitation.