Page 54 of Here With You

“Since I like my ears the way they are, let's clean up and get over to the ranch.” He wanted to ask if Darryl was coming but didn't want to ruin his day with thoughts of having to share dinner with the crotchety old cuss. He chuckled at the thought of Darryl being old since he was only two years older than Miles.

Once the brushes and rollers were cleaned, Cormac left him to shower and get Emmaline.

* * *

Emmaline satbeside him in his truck—not on her side next to the door but right beside him like they had in the old days. She wore a sweet pink sundress that skimmed the top of her knees and the bejeweled sandals that Ollie loved so much. His heart beat so fast that he had to slow it down with calm, even breaths.

“I always loved your mother's cornbread casserole,” she said. “It's like magic in a pan.”

“I think it's the cast-iron skillet. The thing hasn't been washed in a hundred years. That pan was my grandma's and hers before that. Mom wipes it out and slathers more oil on it.”

She shuddered beside him. “I don't want to think about it, but I want to gobble an entire pan of it up.”

“I'll fight you for the last piece.”

She leaned against him. “Haven't we fought enough? Let's make love, not war.”

“Shall I take you home and upstairs to your wonderfully soft bed?” He gripped the steering wheel, trying to control all the feelings welling up inside him—the first being desire. The second was a sense of nostalgia that raced through him like one too many brandies on a winter's night, making him feel love drunk.

“And miss the cornbread casserole?”

He let go of the wheel with one hand and took her hand in his. “I can't believe my lovemaking comes in second to food.”

She turned, and he caught a glimpse of her smile. “I need the food to keep up with your lovemaking.”

They wound their way to the ranch, and while it seemed inland, there was a thin strip of land that met a craggy cliff. He and Emmaline used to sit at the edge and watch the sunset.

“Does it feel weird to enter the ranch after all these years?” she asked.

“It takes me back a time. When I drove here the last time, I was shocked to see how run-down it had all become. The land is overgrown because there are no cattle to speak of. Darryl has a few heads but nothing that would tame the land.”

They turned into the drive and moved under the McClintock Ranch sign. It was old and worn, with the wood cracking and peeling.

“Why doesn't he mow it down? It's a fire hazard growing this tall.”

Miles pointed to the large mower off to the side of the road. One tire was bent at an odd angle. “Looks like he didn't maintain the machinery.” In truth, it didn't look like his brother had done much since their father died five years ago.

“It's a shame because this land has so much to offer.”

He smiled at all the memories. Mostly sad, but there were a few that would stay with him forever, like the first time he made love to Emmaline on a blanket at the cliff's edge. His family's land held some of his worst memories, but it also had the absolute best.

“I think it would make an amazing dude ranch.”

“What do you think will happen to it after your mother passes?”

He'd been thinking about that, but Emmaline halted his dreams of owning a ranch when she said she wouldn't leave the resort.

“I imagine Darryl will sell it.” Hopefully, he'll take care of Cormac, but Miles imagined his brother had the same philosophy as his father. Anything Cormac had, he'd have to earn until Darryl's death, and then he'd get whatever was left. Knowing Darryl, it wouldn't be much. Maybe he'd buy it for Cormac and set his nephew up to have something more than unfulfilled dreams and regrets.

As they approached the house, he heard Emmaline gasp. “My goodness. It's so much older than I remembered. Has no one done anything in thirty years?”

This is where his guilt came in. Because he'd uncovered the truth, everyone and everything suffered.

“I caused this.” He parked the truck next to a car he didn't recognize and stared at the shutter hanging off-balance from the window. He took in the once-blue paint that had faded to gray.

She cupped the side of his face and made him turn toward her. “No. They did this. It's not your fault.” She tilted her head and smiled. “I've had time to think about all of this. I'd rather marry an honest man than a rich man. Integrity is a form of wealth that many people will never acquire.”

He kissed her before he exited the truck, wondering,what if I could give you both?

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