Page 124 of Never Left You

“Oh, I know. Just know I’m putting the man to work.”

“Not if it goes the way I want it. But…I’ll need to talk to the new owner first.”

I could basically hear his eyeroll. “See you tonight, Abi.”

“Bye, Lach.” I grinned to myself, the blush rushing to my cheeks.

Thirty-Eight

Cash

Wemadeitbackto Alpine Ridge in record time, but well after the sun had set. We called and said goodnight to Stetson, giving in to letting him sleep in the main house, promising him breakfast in the morning, and then the cab of the truck finally sat in silence. Throughout the seven-hour drive, we never once stopped planning our future together. The plan was simple: I would spend the night here and then in the morning, leave for Bozeman. I’d put my place up for sale and hurry back to Hartwell Hills. Home. Abi would talk to her brothers, Lachlan, and her dad, and the steps to make the ranch Rhett’s would take effect.

“We’ll have to hire someone,” she mentioned at one point. “I handled all the finances. I’ll need to teach someone how to do that. Wyatt and Rhett are both useless there.”

“Lachlan?” I suggested.

“No, he’s on the land. He doesn’t have time to look at numbers. We may have the extra wiggle room to hire someone.”

I could practically hear the gears in her head turning, trying to come up with all the plans, but once that goodnight phone call was made, her mind cleared. She laid her head back on the seat and looked at me, a sweet smile on her lips. There was a different kind of calm to her that I hadn’t seen before. The past ten weeks, all I had seen was stress and sadness in her eyes, the happiness only breaking through when she was around her family and, most recently, with me. But this look, this time, all I saw was contentment.

“What are you going to do with all your free time?” I asked her as we pulled onto the dirt road leading to Hartwell Hills.

“Ha, free time. What’s that?” she joked, her head rolling to look out the window. “My task list won’t change too much.”

“Well, since you won’t be working the books anymore, and you’ll delegate other tasks to ranch hands and new employees—”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” She inhaled. “Maybe I’ll read.”

“Read?”

“Yeah, a few weeks ago I was in the kitchen just thinking if I didn’t have to do this…I could read. I haven’t finished reading a book in…well, since before Sylas died.” Her eyes widened at the realization. “I would read.”

I reached out and threaded my fingers through hers, bringing her knuckles to my lips. “We can make one of the rooms in the house a library, fill it with all the books you could ever want.”

She chuckled. “Ha…I don’t need a library. Just a bookshelf.”

“I’ll make that happen.”

I pulled up to the house, the porch lights the only indication there was life. Darkness took over the ranch, everything was so peaceful and quiet and…

“It’s perfect,” I said aloud.

Abi leaned forward, her body completely shifting in the seat until her lips met mine. Last time we were parked in this spot, she climbed in my lap and kissed me until all thought left my brain. Tonight, this kiss was pure and simple, a promise of something more.

“Let’s go inside.”

Our hands met again once we were out of the car. We left our bags in the bed of the truck. The house was dark as she unlocked the door, locking it behind her once inside. She led me up the stairs, opening the door quietly to peek at a sleeping Stetson before leading me to her room.

She turned on the bedside lamp, giving a soft glow to her bedroom. A blue quilt sat on the queen bed, pillows lining the white barn-style headboard. A salt lamp lit the corner, and a perfect soft glow illuminated the photos she had hanging on the walls. There were photos of Stetson, her horses, Luna and Sylas…and their wedding photo.

He held her from behind, his face nuzzled into her hair, his smile still visible even though his attention was full on her. Sylas wore his dark hat and a dark suit with a blue flower popping out of the chest pocket. Abi’s hair was down, wavy over her shoulders, her head turned to face him. Her eyes were closed, complete serenity settled on her expression. Her dress was stunning, elegant against the fall backdrop. They were perfect, in love and happy. I lifted my fingers to touch the frame, taking in Sylas. It had been far too long since I had seen a photo of him. Even now, I was grateful it was here.

“It wouldn’t be weird if I kept that…right?” She whispered, her arms wrapping around my waist from behind, her chin resting on my shoulder.

“It would be weird if you got rid of it.” I lightly touched the gold frame, taking in Sylas’s wide smile. “I miss him. A lot.”

She spun until she faced me, nuzzling her head in my chest. “Me too, but…” She rested her chin on my chest. “I’m so happy he brought me you.”

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