Page 69 of Live, Ranch, Love

“Sure,” I say, chuckling afterwards. I swear Wyatt’s lips soften into a momentary smile at the sound too. “Anyway…” I nod to him, as opposed to pulling him down for a long, hot make out session like I’d really prefer to do. “Have a good day, Mr Hensley. Thanks for the tour.”

“You too, Miss Jones.” Wyatt nods back, but then quickly grabs my wrist when I turn to walk away. When I pivot to meet his stare, his midnight eyes flick between mine as he worries his lip. Damn, I really wish I could be kissing that mouth right now. A few beats of silence play out before he finally says, “I know you want to keep things professional, but… just remember that I’ll be thinking of you. All day. You’re gonna smash this retreat, Princess.”

He lets me go and tips his cowboy hat in goodbye, giving a wave to the group as he walks off, the encompassing lands of Sunset Ranch a backdrop to this cowboy who might be the end of me. And honestly, even if he is, I think I’d enjoy every second of my demise.

twenty-eight

Wyatt

Idon’t think I’ve ever been so in awe of a person before. She hasn’t noticed me yet, but I’ve been eavesdropping on the current workshop Aurora’s leading for the last ten minutes. My plan was to just drop in when I saw the backdoor wide open, mostly because I wanted to see her sunny face, to get a shot of her warmth when I’ve had to spend the first half of the day without it. Especially since me and the guys have been baling hay since the early hours of the morning, keeping our fingers crossed that if the weather stays good, we might get another cut this year.

But as soon as I heard Aurora talking, I was captivated and haven’t moved since. It was the exact same on Tuesday and Wednesday this week when she hosted her workshops on defining success and harnessing your inner strength. Even yesterday, when I popped by the vision board making workshop she was holding in the main house, I couldn’t pull myself away from listening to her talk about manifestation and the power of visualisation.

It felt odd to think about the future, though. Almost traitorous. Since I took over on the ranch, I’ve been living life only focusing on the short-term. When you think about the future too much, you start making promises to yourself about what you’ll do, putting your faith in something that might never happen. Especially when you’re expecting multiple things to be in that future—like assuming that your job and relationship would always work together, as opposed to being mutually exclusive.

And when it doesn’t happen, you’re just disappointed. Bitter. Angry. At yourself, really, for getting too excited over something you had no proof would work out. So, the only thing I’ve allowed myself to consider long-term has been working on the ranch, and even that got disrupted when Grace passed.

Yet the way Aurora spoke of the power we hold inside ourselves to decide our own future with such conviction, such intense belief, made me question my ways.

It wouldn’t be the first time she’s done that either.

I don’t like change, but there’s parts of me Aurora’s somehow managed to start opening up and letting in a little more light than usual.

I’ll never admit this to anyone, not even Aurora, but I might have cut out some pictures from some old magazines later that day while waiting for her to finish the evening meditation session with the group. Ones that symbolised the life on the ranch I want to keep. Deep down inside of me, wherever I’d pushed the ability to get excited about the future, something began to flicker. I’d be lying too if I said imagining a beautiful redhead by my side when choosing those pictures hadn’t helped to spark that flame.

Still, I didn’t let myself dwell on it too much—I was getting too ahead of myself. If I pretend like whatever has happened between Aurora and I is forever, I’m only going to put too much pressure on it and set it up for failure. Besides, she’s only going to stay as long as she’s happy with the retreat.

I feel guilty though for not having realised how compelling Aurora could be when she talks about the wellness things she’s into. I’ve prowled through her Instagram more times than I’d like to admit, yet never really paid that much attention to the videos of her talking. I didn’t think I was interested in learning about how to tap into my inner child or how to balance my masculine and feminine energy, whatever that even means, so I’d just glossed over them. Her speech when she was trying to convince me to agree to the retreat was incredibly persuasive, yes, but watching her right now, speaking about facing fear, I’m completely enchanted.

Maybe it’s because the heat of her passion ignites every word she says, her copper waves a dance of bouncing flames from her enthusiasm. Maybe it’s because she’s practically glowing as she speaks, brightening up the whole room and the eyes of each guest as they watch her, just as engrossed as me. Or maybe it’s because I can feel the confidence radiating from her, the energy in the room lifting in response, as if her own words are building back up the layers of self-belief she once had.

I’ve been trying hard this week to remind her of how much I believe in her and the retreat whenever she gets slightly anxious, but I’m not sure she even needs me to. Each time she seems to be able to come out of her worries quicker and quicker. It’s a wonder to watch Aurora flourish more each day, spreading her wings wider. Like she’s finally climbing out of the cocoon of self-doubt she’d been trapped in, not so afraid to let herself fly.

“Everything you want will always be on the other side of fear. It sucks, I know,” Aurora laughs, the group’s chuckles ringing in response. “But it’s because your dreams are on the next level of your current life. In order to achieve them, you have to level up yourself, you have to evolve and become the person who is capable of winning that next level—”

Aurora cuts herself off when she finally notices me. A rosy flush paints the apple of her cheeks as she tucks her hair behind her ears several times. She does that when she’s nervous, I’ve noticed. It’s cute.

But I don’t want her to be nervous, not because of me, when I’m literally here cheering her on mentally. The six guests twist subtly, following where Aurora’s eyes are locked on me, and all give me a quick smile before turning back.

You’re doing great, I mouth, nodding to encourage her on.

Her shoulders drop from where I hadn’t realised they had tensed up. Toning down the beam my words had elicited, Aurora rolls her strawberry lips together, taking a deep breath.

“Sorry, I got distracted by a wild rancher.” She bites her lip when she gives me one last glance, a mischievous one this time, the kind that says I’ll make you pay for this later, and has me thinking, I sure hope so. “So, you need to become the person who is capable of winning that next level. That means you have to evolve and develop parts of yourself for the good, and that’s actually where a lot of the fear comes in. It’s scary to change who we’ve become so comfortable being…”

I tune out from Aurora’s speech, readying myself to leave. As much as I would love to stay there and listen, I want her to feel comfortable and as confident as she seemed before she noticed me.

Just as I head to the back door, I spy something on the kitchen counter. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, I shuffle over, hoping not to disrupt the session any further. Aurora’s motivational words about not letting the fear of what could happen make nothing happen echo through the open-plan house. My skin prickles when I finally behold the vision board covered with photos of mountainous landscapes and vast pastures, bonfires outside of cabins and horse riding, candlelit picnics by lakes, and best seller book listings.

It’s everything I could’ve ever imagined in my own future, including for Aurora with her books.

It’s everything we already have.

This is all she wants?

I was expecting to see pictures related to the ranch and retreat, but alongside plenty of other things too—a London townhouse maybe, or holidays in some trendy place like Bali, or new brands she’d like to work with through her influencing.

But this… I can give her this.

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