52
A MONTH LATER
“F ord, please,” Reese pouts over the sound of the game coming from the TV. “I can’t watch anymore baseball.”
I hover behind the back of the couch, beer in hand, eyes on the screen. “But it’s the World Series,” I answer cheerfully.
She tilts her head back to look at me. “The Yankees win. The Yankees always win.”
“Then a nap,” I say smugly, leaning down to scoop her off the couch.
Her face pulls into suspicion. “You’re trying to distract me.”
Damn right I am, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“Takin’ care of you, baby.” I tuck her into bed, kissing away her protest. “I want you to rest, okay?”
She nods, all sweet and sleepy-eyed. Fuck, she’s beautiful.
“Don’t go.” My chest aches as she stretches a slender arm out.
I touch her fingertips. “I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry.” She cuddles the pillow and shuts her eyes.
I stand there a long second, drinking her in, fighting emotion. My beautiful, brave girl. The best thing that’s ever happened to me is safe and warm in my bed. I’m well aware I’ve been acting like some overprotective fool for the last month, but I can’t fucking help it. I almost lost her.
A stab of pain goes through me when I see her scarred arms. When I think about what could have happened—how close I came…
It’ll haunt me for the rest of my life. But when I reach over at night, feeling for her, she’s there. Never leaving my side again.
She’s still healing, still haunted by what happened, and I’ll be protective every step of the way.
One last look and then I force my pathetic ass out of the bedroom and through the apartment. My heart beats a nervous rhythm in my chest as I get busy around the kitchen. I fumble with my phone and put on a playlist I know Reese likes.
Reese was right when she said I was trying to distract her.
I am.
Next week, we fly to Georgia to meet her parents. And then mine.
There’s no damn way she’s not wearing my ring on her finger.
I’m not wasting any more time. No question, I’m ready for this life with Reese.
A scratching at the front door has me hustling over.
“Hey, you little bastard,” I say when I open it.
Mouse meows, winding her way through my legs. I crouch down, running a hand over her silky fur. A new pink collar, complete with a GPS tracker hangs around her neck.
“Can’t escape now, can you?” I tell her, scratching under her chin.
With that, I look out over the ranch. A lilac sunset paints the sky. The brisk October air tells me that winter’s close. The ranch is quiet, but not for long.
Engines cut. Doors open. Someone shouts.
I needle my brow. A day of peace, I’d like just one goddamn day of peace.
More trucks. Charlie, Wyatt, Stede.
“What now?” I mutter.
I don’t want to be more than a foot or two away from Reese, but it looks like I don’t have a choice.
Groaning, I stand and move my boots down the stairs and across the ranch to the lodge parking lot where my family has gathered. “Could y’all shut the fuck up? Reese is sleeping upstairs and if you wake…”
I trail off. Fuck.
Dakota’s crying. She wears a purple apron, streaked with flour. In her right hand, a clenched piece of paper. Davis tries to turn her toward him, but she shakes her head and moves away.
“Let me see it, Cupcake.”
Worry lines his expression, but in a different way than I’ve come to expect from my twin.
I meet Davis’s gaze. “What’s goin’ on? Y’all okay?”
Charlie, Ruby, and Wyatt hurry forward.
Dakota blows out a deep breath mixed with a sob. “Fallon left.”
A gasp from Ruby.
I drag a hand over my face. “You’re serious?”
Dakota’s lip quivers. “Her cottage is all packed up. Her horses are gone. This was in the bakery.” Sniffling, she holds out the letter to me. I take it, blinking a few times as I read.
A hand grips my bicep. “What’s wrong?”
I twist, tucking Reese under my arm. “Fallon’s gone. She ran.”
Charlie and I look toward Wyatt. Our little brother looks like someone punched him in the face.
“Oh no,” Reese breathes. “It’s my fault.”
I shake my head. “Birdie, no.”
Tears fill her eyes as she looks up at me. “I told her—”
“I told her to go.”
All eyes fly to Stede.
“Daddy,” Dakota says, palm pressed against her stomach.
Stetson in hand, he hobbles toward us. “It’s not your fault,” he tells Reese kindly. “I let that girl loose.”
Face solemn, he looks at Dakota. “Fallon was dying in this town, daydreamer. She was stuck here, helping me with my treatment. And after what happened last year…” His voice clogs with emotion, and he turns to face the group. “That girl is the wind,” Stede says. “She’s going to ride the sky, and no one can stop her.”
“Where is she?” Charlie asks.
Wyatt’s blue eyes blaze.
“I’m not sure.” Stede strokes a finger down his mustache. “She didn’t want to share. I didn’t ask. Whether or not she comes home—that’s for her to decide.”
Dakota’s face crumples. A sob rocks her, and we all watch as Davis pulls her into his chest.
A door slams.
Wyatt’s truck spins out in the gravel drive and tears down the road to the highway.
Silence. There’s nothing more to say. Davis takes Dakota’s hand and pulls her toward the truck. Ruby and Charlie follow. Stede takes the note from me and returns to his truck.
“Damn.” I scrub a hand through my hair. “Didn’t expect that today.”
Reese grips my arm. “I’m sorry, Ford.”
I look down at her. “You were right about Fallon.”
“I wish I wasn’t,” she says, dark lashes lowering.
I exhale, regret filling me. “I think we all missed a lot of shit.”
Everyone’s going to have their guilt. Especially Dakota and Wyatt. I feel for my family. My brother. Fallon needs space and time, something she wasn’t getting in Resurrection. After this summer, I got the impression that this town was her shadow. A weight she couldn’t shake. A weight Reese recognized.
Taking her hand, I walk us closer to the lodge, where we sit on a fern-covered log.
“I saw myself in her,” she murmurs. “All that dark.” Her pretty face creases. “Wherever she is, I hope she’s okay.”
“That girl will find her way.” I wrap an arm around her. “And so will we.”
Sighing, Reese rests her head on my shoulder. The sunset is a burst of color. The evening air crisp. The beauty of Runaway Ranch stuns, but it’s nothing compared to my girl next to me.
I point in the direction of Old Mill’s Farm. “That’s where we’ll build our house. We’ll have a gate with our name.”
A happy sigh pops out of her. “Yes.”
“Raise our babies. Take them fishin’. Chase some chickens.”
Reese giggles. “Yes. All the chickens. All the babies.”
I think of the ring in my pocket. It’s not what I had planned, but Reese wasn’t planned. Best surprise of my life.
I swallow, twisting my body to turn into her. “And this is where I ask you to marry me.”
Her eyes widen.
Heart hammering, I slip off the log and kneel at her feet. From my pocket, I pull out the ring. The five-carat emerald cut diamond solitaire glitters in the sunset. My throat’s too tight, but I get the words out.
“You and me, we got good bones, Bluebird. We’re never breaking. Swaying in the wind, maybe, sputtering through the snow, for sure. But busted and broken, never.” I swallow. “I don’t want to waste any more time. You have my heart, even on rainy days. And we’re gonna fight, because it’s in our fucking blood, but you’re the love of my damn life. Will you marry me, Reese? Will you let me give you everything you’ve ever wanted?”
Sniffling, she stares at me. Says nothing.
Now, I’m nervous. “For fuck’s sake, woman. You gonna answer me or make me sweat the rest of my life?”
She arches her brow and breaks into a laugh. She slips off the log, dropping to her knees beside me. “Yes,” she says, cupping my face. Tears shine in her beautiful emerald eyes. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I sweep her up, capturing her mouth against mine, drinking in her sweet kiss. Already planning our future, all the years to come on Runaway Ranch.