ELLIE
Ileft Logan downstairs with my parents. I needed a minute.
I needed the quiet of my childhood room, the stillness of the walls that had held me through every version of myself. The young girl. The teenager. The young adult.
I curled onto the wide windowsill, knees tucked close, and let my gaze wander over the pasture stretching out beyond Cassidy Ranch.
Golden evening light draped over the fields, softening every edge, and I found myself thinking of Dottie—how she’d tested me, how she’d known my heart was tangled long before I admitted it.
She’d sensed my fear, my lack of trust in myself, and mirrored it right back at me.
But I was changing. Logan had given me pieces of myself I thought I’d lost. With him beside me, I was lighter, freer. Happy.
I leaned my head against the windowpane, closing my eyes on that thought, when a faint knock broke through.
Boone leaned against the doorframe, muddy and worn from a long day’s work. He didn’t speak at first, just looked around at the traces of my old life—faded pictures, dusty decorations, a stack of forgotten books. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes lingered, taking it all in.
“Mom said you were up here,” he said finally, stepping inside.
“I just needed a minute.” My lips curved into a small smile as I tipped my head back against the trim. “Did you need to talk to me?”
Instead of answering, Boone crossed the room and leaned against the desk, arms folded, one ankle over the other. He studied me in that way only brothers could—seeing past the smile, the bravado, right into the places I tried to hide.
“I just want you to know how proud I am of you.”
My brows furrowed. “Thanks… where is this coming from?”
His jaw worked, the muscles tight before he finally spoke. “Ellie, you’ve been through hell. And you didn’t let it break you. You came home. You faced it. And that takes guts.” His voice roughened with the weight of his emotion. “I don’t say it enough, but I see you. I’ve always seen you.”
The breath I’d been holding escaped in a shaky exhale.
“And,” he added, softer now, “I want you to know you can talk to me about anything. I don’t care how bad it is, how scared you are. I’ll be there with you.”
I knew he was talking about Miles.
I hadn’t spoken to him since everything happened. I planned on having a conversation with him like I did with my mom. But I’m glad he was here now, wanting to talk to me too.
Something inside me cracked. My shoulders sagged as tears burned hot in my eyes.
“I was so scared, Boone,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I can’t even explain what it felt like, being trapped in that moment. I never want to feel that way again.”
He pushed off the desk immediately, closing the space between us in two strides. His arms wrapped around me, strong and grounding, and I sank into him like I had when I was a little girl with scraped knees.
“You won’t,” he murmured into my hair, his tone fierce. “Not with him. And not with me standing beside you. I swear it.”
He pulled back just enough to look down at me, his thumb brushing a tear from my cheek. His eyes were bright, raw with emotion. “I may not be able to fix everything, Ellie, but I’ll damn sure fight to keep you safe. Always.”
A small, watery laugh slipped from me. “Since when did you get so sentimental?”
He smirked, though his own eyes glistened. “Since my little sister finally found a man who loves her enough to fight for her too. Makes my job a little easier.”
I glanced down, toying with a frayed thread on my T-shirt, my heart swelling at the sound of Logan’s voice drifting up from downstairs, mingling with Mom’s laughter. “He does love me,” I admitted softly. “I love him, too.”
Boone’s smile deepened, proud and protective all at once. “Then I know you’re in good hands.” He squeezed my shoulder before pulling me back into his arms. “But don’t forget, you’ve always got mine too.”
And in that moment, wrapped in the warmth of my brother’s embrace, I realized happiness wasn’t just in the man I loved downstairs—it was here, too. In family. In the people who would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me through every storm.
Boone’s arms tightened around me before he finally pulled back, his jaw set hard now, eyes dark with something sharper than emotion.
“But Ellie,” he said, voice low and firm, “I need you to hear me on this. If anyone—anyone—ever puts you in that kind of situation again, they’ll answer to me first. I don’t care who they are. I don’t care what it costs me. I won’t stand by and watch my little sister get torn apart.”
The fire in his tone stole my breath.
I blinked up at him, stunned by the shift, the sheer conviction radiating off him. His protective streak had always been there, but this was different—an oath sealed in stone.
“Boone—”
“No,” he cut me off, shaking his head. His hands came down to grip my shoulders, grounding me.
“You’ve already lost enough. You don’t get to carry that weight alone, and you damn sure don’t get to think I’d ever let it happen again.
” His voice cracked with restrained rage before softening just enough to remind me this was love, not anger.
Tears pooled in my eyes as I watched the way he stood there, unflinching, my anchor and shield all at once.
“I know Logan would fight for you,” Boone went on, his mouth twitching like he wanted to sneer but couldn’t because of the familiarity crowding his words. “Hell, I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you. But I want you to remember, he isn’t the only one.”
I knew he wasn’t. I had a lot of people backing me up, which was a beautiful feeling.
A shaky laugh escaped me, half-sob, half-relief. “You sound like Dad when you say it like that.”
Boone’s mouth tilted in the faintest smile, though the fire in his eyes didn’t dim. “Good. Means I’m doing something right.”
“Just being here… It’s enough.”
He nodded, finally letting out a breath like he’d been holding it for years. Then, softer, his thumb brushing against my cheek: “You’re my baby sister. That’ll never change. I’ll even fight Logan if I have to.”
I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head as Boone shot me a wink.
“Mom also sent me up here to tell you dessert is downstairs and it’s your favorite.”
“Mint chocolate chip ice cream with hot fudge and gummy bears?”
Boone cringed.
“Yeah. I still don’t know how you like that combination.”
I stood, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“Don’t knock it until you try it.”