Salt & Sea Ranch #2
I look up at Brayden and smile, tears blurring my vision again. “Thank you.”
He returns the smile and gently squeezes my shoulder as we turn to walk down to Nina and Ashton.
Lottie is so tuckered out, we put her to bed in our cabin not long after we arrive. Nina thought of everything—including a baby monitor—so Ashton and I could enjoy some BBQ and a beer by the bonfire while Lottie slept peacefully in the cabin, and June dozed in Brayden’s arms.
The bonfire crackles as we sit in its glow, accompanied by the sound of cicadas off in the distance.
Nina and I talk into the night, quickly forgetting about our men as we fall into conversation like no time has passed.
The distance between us over the past year has mostly been my fault, but she doesn’t hold it against me.
It feels easy again—natural—as we laugh about our ridiculous mothers and swap stories about her life on the ranch and mine in New York.
At one point, Nina leans in, her voice dipping slightly. “So, get this … my mom actually sent me a full Jillian Michaels DVD set just weeks after I gave birth.”
I wince. “Oof. Seriously?”
She nods, her expression darkening. “It’s like she can’t get over the fact that I’ll always have curves, like the only acceptable version of me is the one who’s trying to be thinner.”
“Or one who hates bread,” I say, lifting my roll in solidarity, then taking a dramatic bite.
Nina bursts out laughing. “And here I thought I was going to be the only descendant of Nanna Dot who still believes in the magic of carbs.”
“A few weeks ago, you would have been right,” I say with a grin. “But then this guy introduced me to his irresistible pancakes and crepes and every cereal you could ever want.”
I glance over at Ashton, who’s deep in conversation with Brayden, his hands gesturing animatedly about something—probably farming or cattle, or whatever these ranch men bond over.
It strikes me how normal all of this feels.
The fire crackling, my cousin beside me, my ex across from me, and Ashton …
just fitting into it all like he’s always been here.
In this moment, I know. I don’t want to lose him. Not now. Not ever. No matter what comes next, I’m all in.
Nina must’ve noticed the look on my face, because she nudges me with her elbow. “So, a cowboy, huh?”
I duck my head, then give her a shy smile.
“What can I say,” I laugh, then glance at both our cowboys, then back at her. “Obviously I have a type.”
She quirks her head, giving me a curious look. “But do you?”
She stops there, but I know what she means. When I was with Brayden, I hated farm life. He was always out in the field fixing something, sweating up a storm, and coming back in the house dirty as sin.
And those damn horse conventions … he’d drag me along as if it were some exotic vacation, but it was just boring seminars filled with guys who couldn’t talk about anything but horses and ranching.
It’s not like Ashton is a different kind of rancher. He loves the farm. It’s his whole entire life.
Except this time, I want to be a part of it. I’ve loved our time together at the ranch. I love visiting the animals, the smell of hay, the way everything is homegrown. Even that Lahoma Aroma has grown on me.
The way Ashton smells when he comes in from the field? I can’t get enough of it.
“What’s different?” Nina prompts.
My eyes land on Ashton. He’s deep in conversation, but he must feel my eyes on him because he glances at me.
His eyes crinkle in the corners, and he gets that ridiculously charming crease in his cheek before offering me a wink.
I feel warm all over, and I bite my lip, trying to hold back my grin and failing.
“Everything,” I murmur.
She whistles low, and I turn to her, fully grinning now. “I mean, come on,” I say, “he’s fricking gorgeous and does all the right things.” I raise an eyebrow, and she laughs.
“Well, that’s a relief,” she teases. Then she looks at our men too. “I’d say we both found our perfect match.”
I laugh, shaking my head as I take another sip of my beer.
It feels good to be around her again. She knows my history—even the messy, braided parts.
Nina has always been the kind of person who doesn’t have to ask how I’m doing, she just knows.
Sitting here with her now, I remember exactly why we’ve always been so close, and why I ache for this kind of closeness again.
“And what about this Alexander guy? Any more news on him?” Nina asks.
“Not really,” I say, then take another pull of my beer. “Bob brought in his cousin Clyve, a lawyer, to dig up what he can and try to get us out of contract. That was how we left it this morning, and that’s all we know.”
“God, I remember you telling me about this guy way back when. You know, when you went on that date with him.”
“Oh yeah,” Ashton pipes in, leaving his conversation with Brayden for ours. “Tell us about it. How did Jordy decide to go out with a tool like that?”
I smack him and he ducks, laughing as he guards his beer to keep it from spilling.
“I have no idea,” Nina says. “Thankfully it was a one and done. Remember when he was bragging to you about hacking people’s emails, and how weird that was?”
I look at her curiously. “No, I don’t remember that.”
“How could you forget? That was like your biggest red flag. He bragged about how he knew this guy who hacked into the emails of several large banks, and he’d alert him whenever he discovered someone in obvious financial trouble.”
Slowly, the conversation starts to come back to me.
“I can’t believe I forgot that! I must have mentally blocked that out.”
“Well, he offered you the job of a lifetime,” Nina says. “It was kind of the answer to all your dreams. He made a lot of promises, and sometimes you get a little blinded when you’re on a mission.”
“What? I do not.”
Nina quirks her head at me. “Uh, the time you redecorated my entire house without checking with me first. Or the time you were planning your own…” She glances at Ashton, then at Brayden, “Uh, never mind.”
“My wedding?” I laugh. I’d pretty much planned everything without even checking with Brayden at all, which kind of proves Nina’s point.
“Okay fine, that’s fair. But this is actually some serious information.
” I look at Ashton. “This is something I learned before I signed that NDA, which means it’s fair game. ”
“You’re still looking into all the sale contracts too. Can I ask Mac to help, as well?”
Mac Dermot is Sunset Bay’s best and hottest real estate broker, who’s also married to Nina’s best friend and former roommate, Maren Huerta—a big shot musician. Seriously. You can’t turn on the radio without hearing her.
And you can’t pass through Sunset Bay without seeing Mac’s sexy face on the billboards.
“It couldn’t hurt,” I say. “We could use everyone and everything we can to take Lahoma Springs out of Alexander’s hands.”
That night, Ashton and I settle into bed together, exhausted but thoroughly happy.
I haven’t felt this complete in ages, and being here makes me realize that California never stopped feeling like home to me.
Maybe I just needed a break from it to come to my senses.
New York will always be special to me. It’s the place where I finished my healing, and where I found myself after something cracked my joy.
But now, I feel full, like the circle is complete.
It makes me think that this could be a chance for something new in my life.
Maybe losing my career is the opportunity I need to find my life.
We fall asleep in each other’s arms and when we wake, I’m still against him, his arm wrapped around me and my legs entwined with his.
Lottie’s awake, and we bring her to bed with us, cuddling with each other as if we’re a family.
It feels like a family. I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life, being with Ashton and watching Lottie grew older.
This is what it feels like to be a complete unit. Nothing feels more important than this.