Chapter Seven
The drive back to Wildhaven Storm Ranch is a relief.
All day, I’ve been inside polished hallways, trying my best to memorize names and faces while listening to a choir of voices echoing in the high ceilings. The moment my tires leave the paved county road and turn onto the familiar gravel drive, my entire body relaxes.
The mountains stretch wide in the distance, the late afternoon sun turning the peaks orange and purple. Wind moves through the tall grass, and the ranch spreads out across the valley, welcoming me home.
My shoulders drop.
No marble. No chandeliers. No people judging what I’m wearing.
Just Wildhaven.
I pull my old Kia beside the main barn and shut off the engine. For a second, I sit there, gripping the steering wheel.
The dashboard rattles softly as the motor settles.
“You did good today,” I mutter to the car.
It’s probably ridiculous to talk to a car, but this one and I have history.
Four years of driving back and forth between Wildhaven and Laramie. Snowstorms. Late-night drives home for long weekends and holidays. Flat tires. Check Engine light. Coffee spills.
It deserves respect.
I grab my messenger bag from the passenger seat, shove the door open with my hip, and step into the familiar smell of hay, leather, and horses.
God, I love that smell.
Charli is in the round pen with a rider atop a beautiful black stallion. Workers in hard hats and yellow vests are still buzzing around the construction zone by the new rodeo arena. Voices drift from the direction of Matty’s office in the barn.
I make my way toward the sound and push open the barn door.
Dust floats through golden beams of sunlight peeking through the loft windows. Somewhere, a horse stomps in its stall, and Cabe and one of the ranch hands laugh about something as I pass by the tack room.
I head down the aisle toward the office, my footsteps echoing against the concrete.
The office door is open.
Matty sits behind her desk, papers scattered everywhere, as usual. Shelby is in one of the chairs across from her, rocking slightly, and my heart nearly bursts when I see the tuft of dark hair cradled in the crook of her arm.
“AJ!”
My messenger bag slides off my shoulder and hits the floor with a dull thud as I thrust my hands out.
“Give him to me.”
Shelby jerks back. “Hey!” she protests, curling protectively around the baby. “Not a chance. I just got him.”
I scowl at her. “You’ve had him all day.”
“I have not.”
“You have too.”
She tightens her hold on him like a dog guarding its favorite bone. “No. I’ve been busy training all day. My last client left about ten minutes ago.”
“I’ll give him right back,” I say.
“That’s a lie.”
AJ blinks up at me with wide gray-blue eyes and immediately kicks his legs like he recognizes my voice.
I lean closer, making grabby hands. “See? He wants me.”
Shelby angles her shoulder away. “Nope.”
I frown. “You’re the worst sister ever.”
“But I’m the best auntie,” she sings cheerfully.
Matty watches the two of us with tired amusement from behind her desk.
“Hello? What am I, chopped liver?” she says.
I drop into the chair across from her with a dramatic huff. “Hey, sissy.”
My gaze flicks right back to the baby.
Shelby rocks him smugly.
“So,” I say, crossing my arms, “how was your first day back at the ranch?”
Matty leans back in her chair and rubs a hand down her face. “Half day.”
Shelby snorts. “More like a quarter day.”
Matty shoots her a look. “It still counts.”
“What happened?” I ask.
Matty sighs, exhaustion softening her features. “Well … your nephew here”—she gestures toward AJ—“still isn’t sleeping through the night, and he wants to stay latched on to my boob like I’m an all-night buffet.”
Shelby bounces him lightly. “He’s a growing boy.”
“He’s a nocturnal menace,” Matty mutters.
I laugh.
Matty continues, “Caison and I were up half the night with him, and apparently, sometime around five this morning, we both fell back asleep.”
“Oh no,” I say.
“Oh, yes. And we slept straight through the alarm.”
Shelby looks down at AJ. “Did you hear your mommy blaming you for her tardiness?”
AJ makes a noise that sounds like a cross between a laugh and a coo.
Matty points accusingly at him. “You’re not funny, mister,” she says, and he starts kicking his little legs again.
Matty rolls her eyes, but her lips curve faintly.
“So, I got here late, took care of a few things, and then took an hour-and-a-half nap in Daddy’s recliner while Grandma bathed AJ in the kitchen sink after he had a diaper blowout.”
“Sounds like your day was about as productive as mine,” I say.
Matty sighs, and despite the exhaustion written all over her face, there’s a softness beneath. A quiet happiness that wasn’t there a year ago.
Being back at work. Having AJ. Having Caison.
Then she straightens, and her eyes come to me. “How was your first day at the Belicourt?”
I shrug. “It was okay.”
Matty’s brow furrows. “Just okay?”
Shelby glances over, too, curiosity lighting her face. “Uh-oh.”
I lean back in the chair and let out a long breath. “Well … I might have kind of gotten off on the wrong foot.”
Matty sighs. “Harleigh.”
“What?” I protest. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Shelby grins. “I bet it was your fault.”
I ignore her. “I wore the wrong thing.”
Matty blinks as she looks down at my outfit. “What do you mean, wrong thing?”
“They have this … signature Belicourt blazer.”
Shelby snorts. “Of course they do.”
“And apparently, it’s mandatory,” I say.
Matty nods slowly. “Okay …”
“So, when I got there this morning, they handed me one. And it wouldn’t fit over my sweater.”
Shelby bursts out laughing.
Matty presses her lips together, trying not to laugh.
“It was embarrassing,” I say defensively.
“Really?” Shelby asks. “Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal.”
“Yeah. Well, I guess it is to Diana, the front-end manager, and Mr. Porter Garrison wasn’t too pleased either.”
She shrugs. “Next time, just take off your sweater and put the blazer on.”
Matty frowns at her.
“I bet Mr. Garrison would have forgiven you then,” Shelby says, wagging her eyebrows.
Matty pinches the bridge of her nose. “Oh, my God.”
Shelby wipes tears from her eyes.
“What else?” Matty asks.
“I had to spend the entire day with Diana, who didn’t seem impressed with me.”
Matty sobers a little. “She didn’t?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think she likes me very much.”
“Why?” Shelby asks.
I shrug. “She kept mentioning my age.”
Matty frowns. “How?”
“Oh, you know … little comments.” I mimic politely. “You’re very young for this role. We usually hire people with more experience.”
Shelby makes a face. “Rude.”
“Right?”
Matty tilts her head thoughtfully. “She might just be testing you.”
“Testing me for what?”
“To see if you take the job seriously.”
Shelby bounces AJ gently. “Did you like anything about it?”
“Yeah, actually.” I perk up a little. “My office is tiny, but it’s nice. And the other employees seemed really friendly.”
Matty nods. “That’s good.”
“And the best part?”
They both look at me.
“We get to eat at the restaurants for free.”
Shelby’s eyes widen. “Oh, they’re gonna regret that.”
“Right?”
Matty smiles. “Now, that’s a perk.”
“I’m basically getting paid double in steak and pasta.”
Shelby laughs. “Sounds like a dream job to me.”
I sigh again. “Except …”
Matty’s eyes narrow. “What?”
“My car wouldn’t start when I left.”
Shelby groans. “Oh no.”
“Yeah.”
I sink lower in the chair. “One of the valets had to jump-start it.”
Shelby winces. “That’s embarrassing.”
“Extremely.”
Matty leans forward, resting her elbows on the desk. “That car has been on its last legs for a while.”
I immediately sit up. “Hey.”
Matty lifts a brow. “What?”
“I love that car. It’s the first thing I ever bought with my own money,” I say defensively.
I worked for Imma Jean at the café all summer, then on weekends and holidays, from the day I turned sixteen until I graduated high school, saving every penny.
Matty softens slightly. “I know. You worked your ass off for two years. And I was really proud of you. But I think you’ve definitely got your money’s worth out of that used Kia.”
I sigh. “She got me through college.”
“Exactly,” Matty says. “Four years of driving back and forth to Laramie.”
Shelby nods. “That thing deserves a medal.”
Matty folds her hands on the desk. “But it’s time to retire it.”
My chest tightens.
“I’m serious, Har.” Matty gives me the look. The one that says she’s the oldest sister and therefore automatically wise—and right. “You can use one of the ranch work trucks to get back and forth to the hotel for now,” she says.
I stick out my bottom lip like a two-year-old.
“It’s just temporary until you can figure something else out. The last thing I need is you stranded on a dark mountain road with no phone reception, especially in the snow that’ll be here before you know it.”
That sobers me a little. Because she’s not wrong. The Kia was not built to navigate the Tetons in winter.
“Can I have Blue Bessie?”
“That rust bucket? It’s a hundred years old,” Matty says.
“More like seventy-five. And you know Grandpa has taken good care of her.”
Matty sighs. “She probably has fewer miles on her than that car.”
I perk up. “So, yes?!”
“Fine. I’ll have Daddy take a look at her and make sure she’s in good shape.”
“Yes! Thank you.”
Shelby smirks.
“Wait until those fancy-pants folks see you roll up in that clunker.”
I cut my eyes at her. “There’s nothing wrong with driving a work truck. Who cares what they think?”
AJ lets out a tiny squeak.
Shelby looks down at him.
“Oh. I don’t know. Maybe the girl who was embarrassed about a blazer.”
Ugh. I hate that she’s right. I’m not the woman who cares about appearance or what other people think. I guess I just really wanted to make a good first impression.
Shelby shifts AJ slightly and then, with reluctance, finally holds him out toward me. “Here.”
My entire face lights up. “Finally.”
I scoop him into my arms. “Hi, handsome,” I whisper.
He blinks up at me, and his little face scrunches up, turning a deep red.
Shelby stretches her arms dramatically. “I was getting tired anyway.”
“She’s such a liar,” I tell him just before he lets out an angry screech.
Matty shakes her head as she reaches for the diaper bag on the credenza behind her.
Shelby heads for the door. She glances back over her shoulder. “Oh, before I forget.”
Matty raises a brow. “What?”
“Grandma sent me to ask if you were staying for dinner. Then I got distracted by baby snuggles.”
Matty checks the clock on the wall. “No. Caison’s supposed to pick us up in about half an hour. And Marcia will probably have supper ready when we get home.”
Shelby nods. “Gotcha. That sounds nice.”
I bounce AJ gently, trying to calm him while Matty gathers a few papers from her desk and sets them aside before spreading a clean baby blanket across the surface and reaching for AJ.
“It will be.”
I stay with Matty and AJ until Caison arrives. I carry the diaper bag out for them.
Caison takes the baby and secures him in the car seat while I walk Matty to the passenger side.
“I hope you get a good night’s sleep tonight.”
“Me too. And I hope your second day goes better,” she says, pulling me into a hug, then resting her forehead against mine. “Just be yourself. Harleigh Storm is a wildfire, remember? And she burns bright. Even in a stuffy blazer.”
Wildfire.
It’s what our mother called me.
I was born on April 1. She went into labor four weeks early, making me an Aries, which is a fire sign, and she said I came into the world in a blaze of glory.
My sisters came home from school to find Grandma waiting for them. When she told them that Mom and Daddy were at the hospital because their baby sister was coming, they all thought it was an April Fools’ prank. They refused to believe it until she took them to meet me the next afternoon.
I stand and watch until their truck disappears down the drive before heading inside.
After an awkward first day at the Belicourt, I can’t wait for Grandma’s fried chicken and a long, hot bath.