42
“D on’t look,” Ford orders.
I giggle as he guides me, eyes closed, up a step and through a door. All I hear is country music and familiar whispers.
“Wyatt, you drop that cake, and I will murder you.”
A grumble. “Didn’t realize I was here with the party police.”
“Everyone shut up.” Davis’s voice rings with authority.
A giggle from Ruby.
“Okay,” Ford says, stopping. “Open your eyes.”
“Oh my God,” I breathe. A smile stretches across my face.
It’s Nowhere, but Nowhere transformed into something special. Streamers hang from the ceiling, and a high-top table in the corner has a reserved sign. Bags of Combos and gummy bears sit next to a beautiful cake on top of the bar. Behind it, Beef raises a pitcher of beer. Locals lift their glasses, then turn back to their own business.
Ruby squeaks and grips the table as a rowdy bunch of rednecks slam into it. “I’m not sure this is the best place for a party.”
Ford scrubs the back of his head. “We couldn’t rent it out, but—”
“No. It’s the perfect place.” Full circle.
I blink back the tears that threaten to fall. I’ve never had an actual birthday party. But it’s more than a birthday party. It’s a Reese-is-almost-free party.
In two days, I’ll be twenty-seven. Two days until I’m free of Gavin.
Not even his texts, his threats, can chase away this bright ray of hope. Of happy.
I grip Ford’s shirt and kiss him hard. “Thank you. I love it.”
“Happy birthday, baby.” The apple of this throat works. “You deserve it.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. “You ready to chase me around the bar again, Country Boy?”
His eyes darken. “I ain’t gonna tell you what to do, Birdie. Just know that if you dance on a bar top, I’ll get into a fight tonight.”
I flush as his heated gaze drinks me up. I have my best dress on. Slinky and golden.
“He’s kidding,” Davis tells the group.
Ford gives his twin a look. “I’m not kidding.”
“Fuck yeah, here we go,” Wyatt drawls, rubbing his hands together in glee.
Davis rolls his eyes. “No fights.”
Fallon scoffs and slinks around their massive frames. “These Neanderthals don’t have a chance.” She glances at Dakota. “Let’s light this fucker.”
Wyatt whips out a lighter.
I can’t take my eyes off the glittering candles of the birthday cake.
“Make a wish, Reese,” Ruby says, sitting on Charlie’s lap.
I lean in but pause. If you would’ve told me last year that this would be my life now, surrounded by friends and family, I would have laughed. Dreams do come true.
“No wishes,” I tell the table. Slowly, I puff out each candle. “We should play a game.”
Davis looks uneasy. “We don’t do so well with games.”
“It’s your typical bloodshed sport,” Charlie offers.
“A game?” I wonder.
Ford says, “Stick with us, you’ll see it all.”
“Here we go,” Fallon mutters, then glares at Wyatt.
“Shut up and eat your cake,” Dakota instructs. She hands out plates with fat slabs of red velvet. Then passes more around the bar for everyone to have.
I laugh. “Everyone tell me something happy and good. Something real.” At that, Fallon gives me a proud nod. “That’s what tonight is for.”
Ford gives me a wink. “Good things, huh?”
I kiss the tip of his nose. “Good things.”
“Let’s start with that drink,” Fallon says, smugly gazing at her sister. Dakota instantly avoids eye contact. Davis too. “You don’t expect me to believe that’s vodka soda.”
“Fallon!” Koty squeals, but the pink tinge on her cheeks says everything.
Wyatt grins. “Holy shit.”
Ford nods at his twin. “Congrats.”
Davis grins and scruffs a hand over his dark hair. “We weren’t really trying, but…”
A chuckle from Ford. “Next thing you knew…”
“Yeah.” Grin fading, Davis scans the table. His and Dakota’s eyes move apologetically to Ruby and Charlie. “We wanted to wait to say something…”
Charlie holds up a hand. “We’re happy for you.”
“We are. So happy.” Ruby inhales a deep breath. For a second, I think she’s going to burst into tears, but then she smiles and her hands go to her heart. “We’re going to have a baby, too.”
Beside me, Ford hitches a breath.
Charlie laughs and strokes his wife’s shoulder. “We’re going to use a surrogate.” A mischievous expression crosses his face. “That’s why we’ve been going to Bozeman every weekend. We’ve been doin’ all the tests and everything to get us there.”
“It might be a while,” Ruby says resolutely. Bravely. “But it’ll happen.” She’s not crying, but there are tears in her voice. In Charlie’s eyes.
“Damn right it will,” Ford murmurs, his voice cracking.
Wyatt and Davis lift their beers. “Congrats,” they say in louder than normal voices, as if to mask any emotion chipping away at their tough cowboy facades.
Dakota wipes her eyes while Fallon stares out the window with that stubborn strength of hers.
“And you? What about you?” I ask Ford.
He fights a smile. “What about me?”
“Don’t you want to tell your brothers something?”
Davis eyes his twin with suspicion. “Tell me you didn’t elope.”
Ford barks a laugh. “Not yet.”
His words go straight to my core. My heart hammers.
His face turns serious as he takes a fortifying breath and says, “That land at Old Mill’s Farm…I bought it.”
The table falls into stunned silence.
“I turned down the offer from Donovan. I’m going to put a baseball diamond on the land and start a camp for kids. A baseball youth training center.” He grins at his brothers. “And if you assholes are lucky, maybe I’ll let you use some of the land, too.”
A laugh goes up around the table.
“Bastard. Stole it right out from under me,” Charlie grumbles, but he’s grinning. They’re all grinning. They’re happy Ford is staying, their rugged faces relieved and full of joy.
Ford reaches for my hand and settles it in his lap. “Maybe have a couple of babies—do that picket fence shit y’all seem to enjoy.” Ford’s gaze flickers to me and locks. My heart pounds. In a room of so many, it feels like there’s only me and Ford. I stare at him, knowing he’s everything I ever wanted. A protector, a hero, my backup. But most importantly, my freedom.
Anything I ask for, he’ll give it.
But all I want is him.
“Grow old and happy?” Dakota says.
“Something like that.”
“Aw, Ford,” Ruby croons. “I always knew you were a romantic.”
Ford grins. “You know, Fairy Tale, I think you might be right.”
With the cake finished and the happy thoughts proclaimed, it’s time to hit the dance floor. Davis and Dakota are the first ones on it, while Charlie heads to the bar for another pitcher of beer. I sign two autographs before slipping back to rejoin Ford and Ruby at our high-top.
“Having fun?” Ford murmurs.
“So much fun.” I kiss him, then pull back. “I’m not sure about those two.”
He follows my line of sight and sighs.
Across the room, in a darkened corner, Fallon and Wyatt are deep in conversation—or maybe it’s an argument. Either way, it’s like love, hate, and everything in between is exchanged during their heated looks.
Fallon storms for the exit, but Wyatt follows, catching her wrist. She whirls around and hits him with a look that would scare a fully grown man. But Wyatt doesn’t back down. They stand inches apart, eyes blazing.
Ford leans in, flipping his baseball cap backward. “Fallon chooses violence, and Wyatt says, Please, may I have another? ”
“Everyone, hush, my show is on,” Ruby says, waving a hand, her eyes glued to Fallon and Wyatt.
Charlie settles beside us. “Ah, Christ, not this again.”
“You’re all very invested in this,” I say, slurping a bright pink concoction Ruby recommended. The furnace in my stomach tells me it’s working.
“We have to be,” Ruby says solemnly. “They want to kiss each other.”
“Or knuckle box,” Charlie says wryly. Then he growls, running a hand down Ruby’s ass. She squeaks and practically dives into his broad chest. “C’mon, Sunflower. Let’s dance.”
Ford holds out a hand to me. “Want to show ’em how it’s done, Birdie Girl?”
“I do.” I bite my lip, watching as Fallon slams out the front door. “One second, though.”
“Don’t go far,” he says, always worried.
“I won’t.” I give him a smile. “Pick us a song.”
His face softens. “I can do that.”
Outside, I find Fallon kicking gravel in the parking lot. A cigarette dangles from her lips. Wind tears at us, and a rumble comes from the sky.
“You know,” she says as I approach, “I’d like to lightly pummel someone or destroy something or gnash my teeth until I feel like someone real and deserving again.”
“Are you okay?”
She takes a drag on her cigarette. Looks toward the window where our group dances inside. “Everyone’s too goddamn cute. Too goddamn happy.”
“And what are you?”
“Me?” She considers the question. “I feel like I’m a constant, screaming panic attack.”
“You don’t care if you live or die, do you?” I ask, thinking of her on that bull and wondering if anyone else has put it together.
Fallon goes still. So still, I’m uncertain if she heard me. Then, in a low voice, she rasps, “No. I don’t.”
“Fallon—”
“I fucked my sister’s abusive ex-boyfriend.” Her face twists in disgust. “Who does that?” She spits the words. “That asshole took everything from me. My head hurts all the time. I lost a year riding bulls. I lost—” Her gaze flicks to the window where Wyatt scowls in a corner.
“It isn’t your fault,” I say quietly.
“I can’t get him out of my head. It’s like…like a spot.” Fallon points at a place beneath her chest. “Right here. Sharp and painful and it doesn’t go away. Even when I sleep. Riding reckless is the only way to get it out.”
“Mine was there.” I point above my head. “Like a hole.”
Fallon inclines her head. “Is it still there?”
“Yes,” I say softly. “But it’s smaller now.”
There’s no cure for that black hole—not love, not the ranch. Maybe my depression will be less here, or maybe it won’t. But Ford will be there with me every step of the way, reminding me I can save myself, like I’ve done this entire summer.
“Have you talked to anyone?” I nod at the window where Dakota dances with Davis. “Your sister?”
Fallon shakes her head, her eyes glazed. “No. I don’t want to bring her down with my bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit. They’re your family. They love you.”
A hesitant smile curves her lips, as if believing it hurts too much.
She turns to look at me. In the inky darkness, her face is a shadow. “Did leaving your life behind work out for you?”
I recall her question from our first meeting. Now, I finally have an answer.
“Best thing I ever did.”
She bites the inside of her cheek, considering me. “Leaving, huh?”
I inhale. Exhale. “It’s okay to go. To move when you need to run.” I smile. “It’s okay to stay, too. Maybe talk to the people who love you a lot.”
She lets out a small laugh, a little shakier than usual.
We both jump when there’s a bang on the window.
Ford.
He gestures for me to come inside, a goofy smile on his face. Then he breathes on the window and draws a heart in the fog.
Fallon chuckles softly. “Another Montgomery man pathetically in love.” She sounds both amused and disgusted. “Nice going, Reese.”
We laugh.
Thunder rumbles overhead.
Fallon ashes her smoke and stamps it out beneath her boot. A wicked smile tilts her lips. “So do we get drunk and commit even more feral acts tonight?”
A sunrise lifting in my heart, I link my arm through hers. “Most definitely, yes.”