EPILOGUE 1
Katrina
The Texas sun hung low over the rolling fields, bathing the ranch in warm amber light.
Katrina had never seen anything quite like it.
The grass stretched toward the horizon in every direction, broken only by clusters of live oaks and the occasional pond reflecting the evening sky.
It felt impossibly open after a lifetime of cliffs, forests, and ocean.
She shifted uncertainly in the saddle and laughed as her horse ignored her attempt to guide him.
"Ryan," she called, "I think this thing has its own opinion."
Ryan glanced over from his own horse and smiled.
"He does."
He rode over with the easy confidence of someone who had spent half his childhood in a saddle.
It was strangely attractive watching him here.
On the beach, Ryan always looked a little out of place, still learning where to put his feet and how to read the waves.
Out here, every movement seemed effortless.
He reached for her reins and steadied her horse with one hand. "Sit back a little more," he said. "You're leaning forward."
"I'm trying not to fall off."
"You won't."
"You sound awfully confident."
"I am."
He adjusted one of her stirrups before stepping back. "There. Better."
Katrina gave him a suspicious look. "You just don't want me embarrassing you in front of your family."
Ryan laughed. "I gave up worrying about that yesterday."
She grinned. "Good."
Then, just to make him roll his eyes, she raised one hand dramatically. "Yeehaw!"
Her horse flicked an ear and broke into an awkward little trot.
Ryan burst out laughing. "Okay, maybe a little less yeehaw."
"I've watched westerns."
"I can tell."
"They always yell yeehaw."
"Only the Hollywood ones. Real cowboys spend more time working than yelling."
"That's not what the movies say."
He shook his head, still smiling. "I've created a monster."
Behind them, Marina guided her horse around a stand of mesquite with quiet concentration.
Unlike Katrina, she wasn't trying to impress anyone.
She simply listened to Ryan's instructions and adjusted naturally.
Her seat was steady, her posture relaxed, and before long she looked as though she'd been riding for years.
Katrina watched her sister with open admiration. "Show-off."
Marina laughed. "I haven't done anything."
"Exactly. That's the annoying part."
Ryan looked from one sister to the other. "I honestly thought you'd be the natural rider."
"So did I."
Katrina shrugged. "I guess balancing on a surfboard isn't the same thing."
"Not quite."
Ryan tipped his hat back and looked across the pasture. "Cows are generally less cooperative than waves."
She laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."
They continued at an easy walk, their horses picking their way through the dry grass while a light breeze carried the scent of sun-warmed cedar and fresh hay across the ranch.
Katrina found herself watching Ryan more than the scenery. Everything about him seemed different here.
He greeted passing ranch hands by name. He pointed out the old windmill where he'd played as a boy, the creek where he'd caught turtles with his brother, and the weathered oak that still bore the carved initials he and Mike had scratched into its trunk as children.
She had always known Texas had shaped him. Seeing it made her understand him. No wonder he had loved Cliff Harbor so quickly.
He belonged to open places. He belonged to the smell of salt or cut grass, to hard work that left dirt under his fingernails, to people who waved from tractors and stopped to ask about your day.
She could finally picture him growing up instead of simply arriving in Cliff Harbor with a laptop and a burned-out smile.
"You know what?" she said. Ryan looked over.
"I finally understand why you kept trying to put me on a horse."
"Oh?"
She nodded solemnly. "You wanted revenge."
"For what?"
"For making you surf."
Ryan laughed so hard his horse stopped walking altogether. "I'll admit..." He wiped at his eyes. "...the thought crossed my mind."
Katrina reached over and gave his shoulder a playful shove. "I knew it."
The three of them rode on beneath the golden Texas sky, their laughter carrying across the open pasture.
For a little while, Katrina forgot she was hundreds of miles from the Pacific. Home, she realized, wasn't always a place. Sometimes it was simply the people riding beside you.
They rode toward the ranch at an easy walk. As the house came into view beyond a stand of live oaks, the peaceful quiet of the pasture gradually gave way to the familiar sounds of family. Children's laughter drifted across the yard, followed by Skylla's excited barking.
Katrina was the first to notice John standing on the porch, one arm raised in greeting.
"Earth to Ryan." She waved a hand in front of Ryan, who seemed to be lost in thoughts. "Your dad's calling us."
Ryan blinked, as though he'd been somewhere else entirely, then followed her gaze toward the house.
The yard was alive with activity. Jimmy and Lisa chased Skylla through the grass while the dog bounded happily ahead of them, somehow managing to outrun two energetic children despite looking as though she'd rather be napping.
Sarah crossed the yard carrying a covered casserole dish, and Molly hurried after her wobbly toddler before he could make another determined escape toward the barn.
Katrina smiled.
She had almost forgotten how much noise children could make.
"They're probably starving," Ryan said, turning his horse toward the stable. "We should get these guys settled."
The ranch house greeted them with the familiar sounds of another family dinner already underway. Children's laughter drifted through the open windows, mingling with clattering dishes and overlapping conversations from the kitchen.
By now, it already felt strangely familiar.
John met them at the front door.
“Hope these two didn't work you too hard,” he said, clapping Ryan on the shoulder. “Dinner's about ready.”
“I survived,” Ryan replied. “Though I think Katrina's convinced she's going to join the rodeo.”
“I would dominate the rodeo,” Katrina declared.
John chuckled. “That's exactly the kind of confidence that gets people thrown off horses.”
Before anyone could answer, Jimmy came running down the hallway. “Marina!”
He barely acknowledged anyone else as he hurried straight to her side. “You said you live on a boat. Have you ever seen a whale?”
“Sometimes,” Marina said, pulling out a chair and gesturing for him to sit beside her. “Mostly when we go farther out from shore.”
“I want to see a whale,” Jimmy declared, climbing into the chair. “Dad says we might go to California next summer.”
“Maybe you could come visit us,” Marina suggested
Jimmy beamed. “I’ll ask Dad.”
Katrina smiled to herself. For reasons none of them quite understood, Jimmy had decided Marina was the most fascinating person he'd ever met.
Across the table, Sarah waved Katrina toward the empty chair beside her.
“Come rescue me,” Sarah said with an exaggerated sigh. “I've been listening to Mike and John argue about whether it's finally time to replace the tractor.”
“We’re not arguing,” Mike protested. “Dad's just stubborn.”
John looked up. “I'm not stubborn. That tractor still runs perfectly fine.”
Within seconds, everyone was talking at once.
Bowls passed from hand to hand. Someone asked Ryan whether he'd survived Katrina's riding lesson. Lisa insisted Skylla deserved her own plate because she'd been “very good today.” Molly quietly intercepted the request before the dog ended up with half a biscuit and a slice of brisket.
Katrina laughed so hard she nearly dropped her fork.
She couldn't remember the last time dinner had been this noisy.
Growing up, meals had usually been just the four of them. After their parents died, they had become quieter still. Just Marina and her at first. And later, she had dinner alone most of the time.
She hadn't realized how much she'd missed this. Not the food. The people, and the overlapping conversations.
Children interrupted adults because whatever they had to say simply couldn't wait another ten seconds. Nobody seemed bothered by the chaos. In fact, everyone seemed to enjoy it.
After a while, Katrina found herself watching Ryan more than anyone else.
He teased his brother without hesitation, rolled his eyes at his father's stories, and took every joke at his expense with the same easy grin he'd worn all week. He wasn't trying to impress anyone. He was simply home.
Across the table, Marina cut Jimmy's brisket into smaller pieces while patiently answering another impossible question about whales. Ryan caught her eye for just a second. Neither of them said a word. They simply smiled at each other, and warmth spread through Katrina's chest.
She'd always worried Marina had sacrificed too much after their parents died. Watching her now, laughing with Jimmy as though she'd known him forever, Katrina couldn't help wondering if life was finally beginning to return some of what it had taken away.