9. Paige
CHAPTER 9
PAIGE
The morning after the hearing feels like waking up underwater. Everything moves in slow motion. My legs are jelly, my head foggy, but the weight in my chest is finally starting to lift. I won. We won. And yet, it still hasn't fully sunk in. Every now and then, I catch myself waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to step out of the shadows and say it was all a mistake.
Sadie is practically glued to my side, tucked against me on the couch in a cocoon of blankets. Her little hand rests on my stomach as she hums a song under her breath, still half-asleep. Kody keeps stealing glances from the kitchen as he makes breakfast, like he can't quite believe it either. Like he's afraid to breathe in case it disappears. I don't blame him. Part of me feels the same.
A knock at the door breaks the quiet.
Kody answers and we find Ruby standing on the porch, cheeks flushed and eyes shining with something between excitement and mischief. In her hand is a thick file folder.
"Tell me this isn't bad news," I say, voice still scratchy from crying more yesterday than I have in years.
"Not unless you count your life changing in a huge, incredible way as bad," she says, stepping inside.
I raise a brow. "Unless it's about someone burning down the developer's office, I'm not sure I'm ready."
Ruby grins wider, her eyes dancing. "Close. You just got recruited."
I blink. "What?"
She steps farther inside. "Sit down," she says, waving me toward the couch. "This is the kind of news you should be sitting down for."
Slowly, I lower myself onto the cushions as Sadie curls back up at my side. Ruby hands me the folder like it's a gift she's been dying to give.
"You're scaring me."
She just smiles. "You remember I mentioned my friend who helped when Kara's bookstore was being taken over by the developer?"
I nod. "Sort of. He's the one who helped with Miss Ada's case, right?"
"Exactly. Well, he's been quietly buying back properties the developer tried to steal like he did with Mrs. Ada's. There were a few other’s to scared to speak up. And one of those is being renovated into a new high-end spa right here in Mustang Mountain."
I glance down at the folder again. The logo is clean, modern. Professional. My name is printed just below it in a sharp, elegant font.
"You're joking."
Ruby shakes her head. "I told him about how you handled Miss Ada's paperwork as if you were a seasoned attorney, and how you kept fighting when it would've been easier to walk away. He read your resumé and called me the next day. His words exactly were: 'She's sharp, empathetic, and clearly knows her shit. That's who I want running my Spa.'"
My mouth opens. Nothing comes out.
"He wants you," Ruby continues, her voice softening now. "Not just because of your experience. Because of who you are. Because you understand what this town needs. You've lived through it. You care."
I laugh, but it's nervous. "I've never opened a spa from the ground up. I mean, I managed teams, yeah, and I ran scheduling, payroll, supply orders. But this? This is huge."
"You can learn logistics," Ruby says. "What you can't teach is heart. Vision. Community. And you already have that."
I look down at Sadie, now fully awake and tracing shapes on the blanket with her fingers. Her quiet presence grounds me.
"What if I say yes and I screw it all up?"
Ruby sits forward, elbows on her knees. "Then you'll fix it. You'll figure it out. Because you're not that girl who had to ask for help at the clinic anymore, Paige. And it's time the rest of the world saw that too."
Tears sting the back of my eyes, but I don't let them fall. Not yet.
"I'm scared," I whisper.
"Of course you are," Ruby says. "It means it matters."
The folder feels heavier in my hands now. The weight of possibility. Of hope.
A few hours later, I sit at Caitlin's kitchen table with her, Ruby, and Miss Ada. The scent of cinnamon coffee cake fills the room, but I can't taste a thing. Everything's still spinning.
Miss Ada reaches across the table, her weathered fingers covering mine. "You saved my home. Let me tell you who saved mine."
She tells us about Ruby's friend and his legal team, how they helped her file an injunction and exposed the developer's tactics. "He's not just trying to run a spa," she says. "He's trying to stop them from taking over the town, one home at a time."
Caitlin pours more coffee, her voice soft but steady. "And he chose you, Paige. Not just because of your resume. Because you give a damn. Because you fight. Because this place needs someone who understands both grit and grace."
Ruby leans back, arms crossed and smug. "He doesn't just want you managing the spa. He wants you to be the heart of it."
The words sit in my chest like a heartbeat, steady and slow. I've never thought of myself that way: central, essential, needed. But maybe it's time I start.
That night, back at the cabin, Sadie is on the floor building a castle out of blocks while Kody helps her sort by color. I sit on the couch, offer letter open in my lap, and try not to shake.
He looks up. "You okay?"
"I don't know," I say honestly. "What if I mess it up? What if I'm not strong enough?"
Kody gets up and walks over, kneeling in front of me. He takes the folder from my lap and sets it on the table.
"You went toe-to-toe with a billionaire-backed lawyer and made him sweat. You're more than strong enough," he says.
I smile, but it's shaky. "Would you think I was selfish if I took something that's... just for me?"
His expression softens. "No. I'd think it's about damn time."
He sits beside me, brushing his fingers over mine. "You've spent so long putting yourself last. It's time you took something for yourself. Something that makes you feel alive."
I lean into him, our foreheads touching. The warmth in his eyes gives me the courage I didn't know I needed.
The next morning, I meet Levi and Peyton at the future site of the spa. The building is still raw, filled with sawdust and the scent of fresh wood, but I can see it. I can see the reception desk, the treatment rooms, and the quiet places where people will come to breathe again. A space to exhale, to heal.
Levi walks me through the plans and construction timeline, and the realtor, explains the layout and what is expected of me with the building. The owner's requirements are clear. It’s to be wellness focused, community rooted, luxe but accessible. But the rest? That's up to me.
Me.
For the first time in a long time, I feel something warm and fierce bloom in my chest.