Chapter 32
thirty-two
Tessa
“You don’t have to go,” Killian says as I’m packing up my things.
“I do though.”
He comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle. “Hmm, I think you should stay. I bet I could find a way to convince you.”
Oh, I know he can. In fact, he’s done it about sixteen times since he got home eight days ago.
I laugh and place my hands on his. “I have to go back to New York. I need to figure out what the plan is with my job, and you need to do the things we’ve put in place for yours.”
Yesterday, I laid out a detailed list of things that I think Ivy Thorn Ranch needs to do. An action plan that he can follow to get things back on track.
By some miracle, Killian’s name has largely stayed out of the story that broke. He was mentioned, being Travis’s boss, but it mostly laid out the arrests of the key players of a money laundering scheme that the trainer was simply involved in.
It was a major win for Killian.
His first task is actually to find another trainer to help rebuild the program that he did start and grow into a success.
Regardless of who was buying the horses, they were still winners.
“I think you should go over the plan once again,” he says as he kisses my neck.
I sigh. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m in love.”
“You’re ridiculous while being that,” I tell him.
Although, I don’t say it with all that much censure because it always makes me giddy when I hear him say it. I love this man and he loves me.
We have a lot of things to figure out, most importantly my job, but I have to believe we can do it.
My hope is that I’ll be able to continue to work for Anchor Light but stay in Ember Falls where I can be close to my clients, all three of them, since Hazel signed on with me yesterday to work with her on Prose & Perk.
Which is going to be my big push.
Plus, I’ve already told Killian, that once Brynlee returns back, I will no longer be his publicist, so, our relationship won’t be a conflict of interest—technically.
“What is your plan when you get back to New York?” he asks, letting me go and moving to lean against the dresser.
I sigh. “First, I’m going to meet with Brynlee and Thea and discuss working out of Ember Falls.
Then, I’m going to talk to my roommate and see if she’s cool with me subletting my room, if she doesn’t just want to take it for herself, but that’s only if I can keep my job and move down here.
Otherwise, we’re going to have to do long distance for a while. ”
“What if I have another option?”
My eyes move to his. “What?”
“What if, no matter what, you come back to Ember Falls?”
“I’m not giving up my job.”
He lifts his hands. “I’m not asking you to. But I was thinking of using some of the land here for a new venture, and I think you’d be the right person to run it.”
I raise one brow. In all the time I’ve been here, he’s never mentioned wanting to do something with the land. “What’s that?”
“I want to open a camp. There’s a great spot in the back of the property. We could have a place where kids come, where they have time with the horses, and we can provide them with a sanctuary. We could set it up to be exactly like your old camp—and what you’ve dreamed of.”
I drop the shirt that I was folding, staring at him. “I don’t understand.”
He walks up to me, taking my hands in his. “I got an offer on the real estate business today. I’m going to take it.”
I blink. He mentioned that he was having meetings today, but I’ve been so busy with Hazel’s proposal that I didn’t ask and he didn’t mention it.
“Okay…what was the offer?”
“A lot. They want the entire thing. I’m going to sell all of my shares and whatever Nathaniel does isn’t my concern. I’m out of it and I’ll be able to invest all of that money back into the ranch.”
“That’s great!” I say, so happy for him. “I know this is where your heart is.”
He grins. “Yes, it is, but I want this to be where your heart is too.”
He’s so damn sweet. “You’re where my heart is,” I tell him.
“Then I want this ranch to be something for you too. I’m not asking you to give up your job. I want you to be able to work for Brynlee, but I just want this place to also have something for you—besides me.”
I don’t even know what to say. “You don’t have to do that.”
He brings his hand to my face, gently brushing my hair back.
“In my entire life, I’ve never felt this way.
You’re who I want, Tessa. I don’t just want to build my life here.
I want to build our life. I heard the way you spoke about that camp, how you wanted to create something like that, to give back, and I want to create that with you.
I won’t have the time to run a whole camp, Buck Wild, and this new freaking rodeo thing you’ve apparently implemented. ”
I laugh. “It’s a lot. You’re not that savvy with the marketing.”
Killian ignores that jab. “I’m saying that, no matter what happens with Anchor Light, I want us to do something good with the money and provide something for kids who need it.”
I lift my arms, wrapping them around his neck. “I love you, Killian Thorn.”
“Not nearly as much as I love you, Tessa Rivers. Now, go to New York and get your ass back home to me.”
“You really did a great job while you were away,” Brynlee says as we sit in the observatory of the most insane apartment I’ve ever seen.
Her husband is a billionaire and owns a luxury penthouse on billionaire row, overlooking Central Park, and I am in awe.
She’s holding her son, Jameson, who is completely passed out.
“I appreciate that.”
She smiles. “And you signed two new accounts. I’m…so impressed. Truly.”
“I really wanted both of them. I know Aarabelle brought Penelope to the table, but thankfully she signed. With Hazel, it’s a totally different project and I can see so much potential with Prose & Perk. Hazel wants to expand, and I think we’re really going to be able to help her with that.”
Jameson shifts and we both go silent, afraid to wake him up, until he settles.
“I had a call with Killian this morning.”
That takes me by surprise. “Oh?”
Brynlee is quiet for a second. “He told me that you were vital in saving the ranch and he didn’t think he could’ve survived the arrest and subsequent release if it weren’t for you.”
The tone in her voice makes me wonder if she knows there’s more. I came here with the intention of being completely honest with her. I don’t want to hide what happened, who we are to each other, and why I want to return to Ember Falls.
The opening sort of wrote itself. “Brynlee, I’d like to be honest.”
“Okay.”
“Killian and I…well, we became very close. The night before you told me anything about him, I met him at the bar. I had no idea who he was and he didn’t know who I was. He was expecting Aarabelle. Anyway, we…spent the night together before we both learned who the other was.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh. Well, that’s definitely not what I was expecting.”
“I know the company’s policy on sleeping with clients, and I want to assure you that I didn’t know at the time.”
“Did it happen again?”
I could lie. I probably should lie for the sake of my job, but I respect my boss and I owe her the truth.
“It did, and I’m sorry. I never meant to betray you or the company.
I also want to say that I did everything within my power to keep things separate and help restore the image of his business in the most professional way, but my heart and my head didn’t align. ”
Brynlee lets out a long sigh and pats Jameson’s back softly.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what exactly the right thing to do is here.
We do have rules for a reason. The first time isn’t really the issue—it’s the subsequent times you admit you were together.
That said, you did your job, and you did it very well.
You kept Killian’s company from going under and his arrest from becoming a major news story, so all of that shows your ability to be a publicist. Plus, you signed two more companies in the time you were in Ember Falls. ”
“That said,” I say, clasping my hands in front of me. “I know I was wrong.”
“I do appreciate your honesty.”
Before I can respond, Brynlee’s husband knocks softly and then opens the door. “Sorry, I didn’t know you had company,” he says.
“Crew, come meet Tessa. She’s the publicist I was telling you about.”
He enters fully and walks toward me, hand extended. “Tessa, hello. I’m Carson Knight, however everyone calls me Crew.”
“It’s great to meet you.”
Crew turns to his wife. “Everything okay? I thought you were going to take months off for the baby?”
She grins up at him. “Yes, well, Tessa just got back and we were catching up. Think of it as girl talk instead of work.”
He chuckles. “Sure, love, I’ll just call it that. I need to make a few calls to my employees in other locations, we’ll call it the same.”
Brynlee rolls her eyes. “You own how many businesses? Of course they’re in other locations.”
“That’s the thing, I believe that good people are worth more than a location, no matter what company they work for me under.” He looks back at me. “I apologize for interrupting. Anyway, it’s great to meet you.”
“You too.”
He turns to his wife. “I’ll take him so you can work.”
Brynlee grins. “Uh-huh. I’ll bet that’s why you’re taking him.”
Crew shrugs and lifts Jameson into his arms. “Daddy’s got you, buddy,” he says as he walks out.
Brynlee watches him with a wide smile. “There’s something about a man and a baby.
” I laugh softly, and then she turns back to me.
“You know, something Crew just said really hit me. He’s right, it’s about good people.
While I don’t like that you broke the company policy regarding relationships with clients, I also know what it’s like to have feelings for someone you shouldn’t.
Are you hoping to still have a relationship with Killian? ”
My heartbeat picks up, and I nod. “Yes. I know I don’t have any right to ask this, but…
I’d like to ask to work remotely, from Ember Falls.
It’s not just because of Killian—I want to make that clear now.
All of my clients are in Ember Falls and there is going to be a lot of travel back and forth.
It would be best for the clients and for the company. ”
“I was afraid you’d say that,” she says with a laugh. “I’d like to talk to Thea about this first and see how she feels. I don’t want to lose a competent employee, and I understand your reasoning in being closer to your clients. It’s just something we need to discuss.”
That’s really all I can ask for.