Chapter 32
Wilder
My pickup rumbled through the last bend in the dirt road, the ranch finally coming into view.
Asher shifted beside me in the passenger seat, sunglasses perched on his nose while one arm rested out the open window to let the breeze thread through his fingers.
His shoulders were relaxed, posture easy, but I didn’t miss the way he tapped his other hand lightly against his thigh, betraying the nerves I knew were building up the closer we got.
“You ready?” I asked quietly, gaze still on the road ahead.
I felt him glance over at me. “Are you?”
I smiled at that. “I was the second I had you in my arms again.”
He breathed out a laugh. “Oh, I’m liking this cheesy side of you. Remind me to record it on my phone so I have something to fall asleep to when you’re off doing those overnight auctions.”
I pulled my hand away from the wheel long enough to reach over and squeeze it around his thigh.
We pulled into the drive, dust kicking up behind us. My family home stood tall under the blue sky and just beyond it, the bunkhouse, which seemed to sit usually quiet for this time of day.
Everything looked the same and yet, everything felt different all at once.
Asher and I had left and come back to this place as different people, forever changed by what happened and what our futures now held.
I’d be lying to myself if I believed I wasn’t nervous about this—coming out to the entire ranch and hoping like hell none of them treated Asher differently than before.
As we parked, I spotted Sully stepping out onto the front porch of my family home, pausing for a second as he caught the sight of my truck. He slipped the door closed behind him and headed down the steps, an arm coming up to wave at us in greeting.
“Well, he doesn’t look as upset as I thought he’d be,” Asher muttered.
I squeezed his thigh again. “He’s the one who got me to pull my head out of my ass and go get you.”
He whipped his head around to stare at me. “Seriously?”
“Mhm.” Cutting the engine, I tossed the keys up onto the dash. “I’m sure he’s got an apology lined up for you. At least hear him out before you cuss him out.”
Asher laughed. “Okay, deal.”
Patting his leg one last time, I popped open the door to the truck and hopped out of it, swinging it shut behind me.
“Welcome back,” Sully shot us both a smile, a flicker of genuine warmth laced between his words. “How was the flight in?”
“Bumpy,” Asher replied, slamming his door shut. “The first trip was worse, though. But I’m sure you’ve guessed it wasn’t because of the turbulence.”
Bemusement hit me while I watched Sully’s face screw up a bit.
If we were lucky, Asher would only be ragging on us about this for just the rest of the year—maybe a couple of holidays, a birthday or two, and probably every time we lost a game of poker at the bunkhouse.
Still, after everything, I’d take it.
I’d take the teasing, the jokes, the sidelong smirks and snide comments if it meant getting to keep him here, next to him, with the sun warming our backs and the ranch stretching wide around us, right where we both belonged.
Sully sighed, holding his hands up. “All right, fair. I deserved to hear that.”
At that, Asher glanced around the main yard, gaze skimming across the familiar landscape. “Bit quiet around here. Where is everyone?”
“Up at the bunkhouse for lunch,” Sully replied, nodding toward the road that wound up that way. “Come on. They’ll all be happy to see you. I didn’t tell them you were coming. Just in case. Didn’t want to get their hopes up if something happened.”
Lacing Asher’s hand with mine, we started walking up the road, our boots crunching against the dirt while the early afternoon sun continued to cast long shadows across the dusty stretch of ranch behind us.
“I can’t wait to see Pelly,” he murmured, squeezing my fingers. “I missed her.”
“Old girl’s missed you, too,” Sully replied. “She’s been giving Laken a run for his money the past few days.”
Asher laughed, eyes lighting up with a familiar glint. “Oh, I bet.”
As we reached the top of the hill, the bunkhouse came into view.
Long, weathered wood stretching out in a wide arc, the front screen door propped open to let in the cool spring air, a couple of boots kicked off on the porch next to it while the unmistakable scent of cooked meat drifted into the air.
Home.
Lunch was already in full swing by the time we stepped through the front doors. Voices and laughter spilled out from the dining room, bouncing off the high ceilings and echoing through the front entryway the same way they always did when my ranch hands got together for meals.
Noisy, messy and full of energy.
It was a welcomed cacophony to return back to.
Asher slowed beside me just before we reached the corner, his fingers twitching slightly against mine—still laced tight, but like he wasn’t sure whether to hold on tighter or let go altogether before we stepped foot into a room filled with our coworkers.
I immediately stopped walking, letting Sully continue ahead without us, and turned to face him fully. Lifting a hand to the side of his neck, I brushed a finger along his throat, catching the faint thrum of his pulse beneath my fingers.
There was a pinch in his expression, a tight pull at his mouth that made his lips press together into a line.
“Asher,” I said softly, dipping my head a little so he’d meet my gaze.
His eyes flicked up, wide and uncertain.
I leaned in close, just enough from him to hear me murmur, “I’m right here with you.”
He watched me for a beat, then nodded, small and tight. He took a breath, squared his shoulders, and tugged me along. We followed after where Sully had disappeared off to, around the corner into the dining room.
The second we stepped through the doorway, it was like someone hit pause on the entire space. Conversations cut off mid-sentence, forks hovered inches from mouths, heads turned—snapped, actually—in our direction like a ripple of electricity had just rolled through the room.
“You’re back!” Laken shouted, practically throwing his napkin onto his plate as he shoved away from the table and stood, face already splitting into a wide grin. “Holy shit, you’re actually—”
A low whistle cut through the beat of silence.
“Well, well, well,” someone drawled from the far end of the table. “Do I spy, with my little eye, someone holding our boss’s hand?”
Another beat of silence swept through the room again.
Half the table leaned forward in unison, eyes narrowing in exaggerated squints while they took in the spot between Asher and I.
And there it was—my hand, still firmly laced with Asher’s.
Shit.
This was definitely not the way I wanted to announce things. No warning or quiet, private update between a few of them. Just the two of us waltzing into the loudest room on the ranch with our fingers intertwined like it hadn’t taken us weeks of heartache to get here.
The silence barely lasted a breath before Ryder leaned back in his chair with a smug, shit-eating grin. “Fork over the cash, fellas. Time to pay up Daddy.”
The table erupted into a groan loud enough to rival a clap of thunder in the summertime.
“Don’t ever call yourself that again,” Laken muttered, shoving a hand into his pocket and pulling out a well-worn leather wallet.
“Too late,” Ryder sing-songed, already swiping the first bill off the table that was slapped down in front of him, wiggling it in the air.
And then, one by one—including Dusty—they all pulled bills from their wallets and slapped them down in front of Ryder’s plate begrudgingly.
“What the hell is this?” Asher asked.
“Oh, you know,” Ryder replied, swiping the cash up into his hands and fanning out the bills in front of his face. “Just me winning the betting pool.”
“What betting pool,” Sully cut in, voice sharp as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Ryder didn’t even flinch. “Oh, come on. You think we didn’t notice? The looks? The tension? That day Asher tripped over a feed bucket because Wilder walked in wearing that flannel with the sleeves rolled up?”
Asher choked, “What?”
“We’ve been placing bets for weeks,” he said, fanning himself with the bills.
Asher blinked, still clearly trying to process the situation. “You guys seriously put money down on whether or not we’d end up together?”
“Technically, we put money down on when. Laken bet it wouldn’t happen until after the Fourth of July. Dallas thought y’all already were in a secret relationship and were just being dramatic about telling us. Dusty was just happy to be there.”
“Hey!” The teenager huffed.
I shook my head. “Glad you’re all taking this well.”
“We’d rather deal with the two of you being disgustingly happy than watch you both mope around the ranch while pretending nothing was going on,” Dallas sighed.
“Seriously,” Ryder agreed. “My only rule is just don’t start fucking in the tack room. Some of us still have to work around here.”
“Enough,” Sully shot back, though there was no malice behind his tone. He rubbed a hand over his face in exasperation, like he was trying to physically wipe away the circus Ryder had somehow created. “You’re all giving me a damn headache.”
The laughter started to die down, the buzz of noise mellowing into quieter chuckles and shared looks. Someone shoved the bread basket toward Dusty. Silverware clinked against plates again. But the air shifted—subtle, like a cold breeze sneaking in through a cracked window.
That’s when I noticed it.
I glanced around the table, scanning every familiar face... and found one chair empty.
Suspiciously empty.
I frowned. “Where’s Carter?”
Sully looked at me. “Got that toxicology report back. Guess what it came back with?”
Beside me, Asher stilled. His hand tightened around mine, like he already knew the answer but needed to hear it out loud.
“So,” he said quietly, “it was positive?”
Sully nodded, his expression turning grave.
“Yeah. We had the lab double-check it to be sure. Came back with enough traces to explain everything—the horses getting sick, Pelly’s weird vital reports coming back inconclusive.
I suspect he’s tried poisoning the feed more than once but never got the dosage right before then. ”
“Why would he do something like that?” Asher murmured.
“Can’t really say. Some people like to harm animals because they’re vulnerable. It’s a power and control thing.”
“Jesus,” Laken muttered, setting his fork down slowly.
“I fired him late yesterday afternoon,” Sully continued, jaw tight. “Didn’t want to make a scene, but he didn’t make it easy.”
“Oh, no, it was a scene,” Ryder cut in, grinning despite the gravity of what was being discussed. “We had to shove him into a cab while he was kicking, screaming, and calling Sully a fascist overlord with trust issues.”
Dallas snorted from down the table. “What does that even mean?”
“No idea, but I’m pretty sure he tried to quote Macbeth at one point, too,” Ryder added. “Guy’s lucky I didn’t film it. Would’ve made a great viral moment.”
I merely shook my head. “Regardless, whatever new hires we have coming in are going to be under a strict probation period. That means no dealing with the feed or anything the horses can ingest for at least ten weeks. I’m going to need all of you to keep on top of that come this summer when our seasonals get in. ”
The weight returned then. The reminder that, out here, loyalty and trust mattered most. One person slipping up could mean the difference between life or death for our animals and that wasn’t something I was willing to play around with, let alone gamble on.
Asher brushed his thumb over the back of my hand again, a slow, gentle motion that did more to steady me than anything else in that moment.
It was such a small gesture, barely noticeable to anyone else, but it anchored me immediately.
Pulled me back down from the wave of tension that had gripped the room just moments before.
“Well, good riddance, then,” Laken said. “We’ve got a good, steady crew anyway, now that Asher’s finally back from his vacay.”
“Vacay.” Asher huffed with an eye roll. “I wasn’t sunbathing in Cabo, you know.”
“Sabbatical,” Laken shot back with a wink. “Since I know you were probably moping on your couch like a sad, sorority girl who just had her first break-up.”
Asher flipped Laken off in response.
“We do have a good crew,” I agreed. “Stronger than we ever have before.”
The words felt solid in my chest, heavy in the best way, like something had finally clicked back into place.
Asher turned then, his face tilted up toward mine while his eyes caught the light from the sun spilling in from the grand window behind the table.
There was something different in that expression of his, steadier than the broken pieces he’d tried to hold together when we were falling apart. His lips curved into a soft smile, one that tugged at my heartstrings.
It sunk deep into me, curled warm in my body and radiated through me.
Happiness.
Real and uncomplicated.
It wasn’t loud or showy. It wasn’t the kind of joy that came with fanfare or a spectacle that had heads turning and people gasping in surprise.
It was the kind that came when you finally got to breathe easy again. When the person you’d been waiting for finally found their way home to you.
This time we’d found our way back to each other.
I’d never let go again.