Chapter 23
Em
It feels different than I expected. I feel different. Mainly because it’s not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. It doesn’t feel like there’s a piece of me missing anymore, and I have Jude to thank for that.
I would have gotten here without him by my side, but there’s something to be said about having a partner who gets you and fills you with a confidence you didn’t have before.
Nothing has changed about being at the Ranch except for the fact Dad’s not here.
He won’t be calling me sweetheart again.
He won’t be laughing at my stories about the twins annoying me.
But I can still hear his voice every time I think about him.
I carry his presence, his influence, his life lessons, and yes–even his stubborn determination–with me and will do for the rest of my days.
My life was all the better because of my parents, and I’m going to enjoy every single second of whatever the future holds because that’s what they would want me to do.
“You OK?” Jude murmurs by my ear as we walk hand in hand toward our families.
“Are you?” I shoot back sassily, earning the chuckle I was hoping for. I flex my fingers in his. “I’m good, hubby. It feels right, you know?”
“Yeah, Em. It feels right.”
Seconds later, I’m snatched away by my two oldest brothers who swallow me up into a two-way hug.
“Good to have you home, Little Em,” Dare says into my ear.
“Back where you belong,” Ash adds.
“Would be better if I… could… breathe,” I joke.
They let me go and I’m immediately claimed by Jude again, his arm wrapped around my waist pulling me in close.
Will and Birdie are next up. “Welcome home, guys,” Birdie says.
“Yeah, thanks for bringin’ this meathead back. We’ve missed him,” Will teases.
“He brought me back.” I realize then I’m not just talking about the mountain.
Birdie’s eyes track down to my hand. “Wait. You’re still wearin’ it. Does that mean…?”
Jude chuckles and rolls his thumb over my ring, something he does every chance he gets. “I asked Em to marry me again a few weeks ago.”
“And I asked Jude last weekend after getting’ Mary-Lou and Cap’s blessin’,” I tag on at the end.
That causes a chorus of cheers and congratulations to ring out.
“Well, now. That sounds like cause for celebration,” Case announces, slinging his arm over EJ’s shoulder.
I cock my head. “When did you two become besties?”
“When my sister and his brother decided to fake marry then fall in love,” EJ explains. “We knew you two were keepers so we bet each other that whoever won at pool–best of three–would get to house the happy couple.”
Jude barks out a surprised laugh. “You bet on which ranch we’d live on?”
“Oh yeah.” BJ comes up next to Sutton, mimicking our other brothers’ pose. “Then Sutt and I agreed it wasn’t fair if we didn’t get to compete too.”
“That’s when we tried darts,” Sutt explains.
“Except now there’s a fair few more holes in the Lair’s walls than there were before,” EJ states proudly.
I look between them then BJ and Case before I catch Ash’s shrug and Dare’s ‘what can you do’ expression.
“So who won?”
“There was never any doubt,” Wyatt pipes up. “Because it didn’t matter what the result was.”
Now I’m really confused. “What do you mean?” Jude asks.
Dare and Will share a silent conversation, Will nodding at my big brother before both men turn to us.
“Wy’s right. It didn’t matter who won because I promised you I’d take care of it, and I have–”
“We have,” Will amends, causing Dare to roll his eyes and sigh.
“Yes, we all have.”
Jude looks around the group. “Can someone clue us in here?”
Dare smiles. “It’s better to show you.”
Sick of everyone talking around what they’re meaning I throw my spare hand up in the air. “OK, can someone just show us then, rather than talkin’ about it, bettin’ on us, or whatever y’all have been doin’. We don’t want to be the reason for a new rivalry.”
“Hey,” Jude says, his lips twitching as he tilts my face up to his. “Breathe, wifey. We’re all family now.”
“Only because we’re married for real.”
He bounces a shoulder. “I think we were headin’ that way anyway. You and I bein’ called together just sped up the process.” Lowering his mouth to mine, he kisses me softly, our eyes locked the whole time. “I don’t care where we live. Even if it’s a box. Remember?”
Hearing my words repeated back to me warms me from the inside out. Right. Time to get this show on the road so I can see my new home with my One.
“I love you, hubby,” I murmur, kissing him one more time.
“Love you more, wifey.”
“Not possible,” I say, kissing him again.
“Let’s show them so I don’t have to sit here watchin’ them canoodle and whatever,” Ash grumbles.
“Don’t worry, Ash. Your turn will come,” Wyatt says, shoulder bumping my brother like they’re besties too.
I look around the group. “Are y’all friends now or somethin’?”
Dare and Will share another knowing look, this time there’s only respect there. “Or somethin’,” Will replies.
“This is so weird,” I mutter. “OK. Let’s go. Show me this surprise that everyone but us knows about.”
In the end, it’s Dare and Will who lead us away from the group, EJ and BJ excitedly telling the rest of them about the donkey breeding program they want to start and something about ‘eco-tourism.’
I wait to ask about it until we’re out of earshot and walking towards the woods where I believed fairies lived when I was younger. “What were the twins talkin’ about?”
Dare looks at Will. “What part?”
“The eco-tourism thing.”
“That was on the list of things to talk to y’all about once you were back and settled,” Dare replies.
“You mean, if I came back and decided to stay?”
Will laughs and shoulder bumps Dare. “Told you.”
“OK, I get you two are big burly mountain men who just happen to be our older brothers and the leaders of our respective ranches, but can you please–I beg of you–just say it straight?” I look over at Jude who nods approvingly.
“We’re not kids any more, we all own part of the mountain, and we should all get a say in what happens to it. ”
My brother stops walking and turns around to face me, pride and respect written all over his face.
“First things first. I never doubted you’d come back because you belong here just as much as the rest of us.
Yeah?” I nod, my throat threatening to close up again.
“Secondly, the twins have got big mouths and we had planned on talkin’ to you in the next few days after you were settled. ”
My hands go to my hips. “What are these plans, Dare?” Jude chuckles but holds his hands up in surrender the minute I narrow my eyes his way.
“OK, Little Em. We–as in, Will and I–have been talkin’ about how we can all work together without givin’ up our respective ranches. The rivalry may be done for, but we’re all proud of our family land and have no plans to combine or merge any of it. You with me so far?” he explains.
“However,” Will says. “Now that we’re family and we all have a vested interest in the future of the land and the mountain, it makes sense to work together.”
“Which is why we were waitin’ for your votes in order to move forward with the next step,” Dare continues.
“Votes for what?” Jude asks, tucking me close into his side.
Dare nods for Will to tell. “We want to buy the land on the other side of the mountain, from the river to the lake and everythin’ in between.”
Jude’s arm stills on my back as my eyes bug out of my head. “That’s…” he starts to say.
“A lot,” I finish for him.
“Jeez, you two are even talkin’ the same. This is scary,” Will says, shaking his head.
“I love you, Will, but you just lobbed some huge plans on us,” Jude replies.
“Which is why we weren’t goin’ to do it today.” Dare shoots me a pointed look. “But someone hates surprises.”
It’s then that it clicks. “You want to start an eco-tourism venture next to the mountain. Not on it. That will protect it and keep it for the family and future generations while also unitin’ us in a joint business we can all work on and develop together.”
“Bingo, Little Em.”
Will nods to Jude. “And you’d be a big part of that, little brother. We want to preserve the environment and make as little impact as possible, while also showin’ visitors the beauty we get to call home every single day.”
“And make money,” Jude remarks.
“To put back into the land,” Dare adds.
I look over to find Jude watching me. Now it’s our turn to have a silent conversation. “I’d have to see the environmental impact reports or do one myself before agreein’ to anythin’.”
“We’ve already had one done,” he says. “But if there’s anythin’ missin’, we know you’ll pick it up before we move forward.”
“And speakin’ for myself, Em’s still workin’ for the USGS, just in more of a remote capacity, so any work required for us to pull our weight, I’ll be doin’ it,” Jude adds, making my heart swell.
“Hubby…” I say quietly.
He turns to look at me. “You’re a rockstar and I’ll do anythin’ to support you stayin’ that way, wifey. You moved here and away from the life you’d built back in Palmer, and I’m not goin’ to do anythin’ to make you regret it.”
I shake my head. “I could never regret it, not with you.”
Both Will and Dare sigh, but when I glance their way, they’re smilin’.
“Hate sayin’ it, but Sully definitely knew what he was doin’,” Will says.
Dare nods. “Dad had many faults, but he was rarely wrong when it came to matters of the heart.”
“Right, now that we’ve cleared that up, can you please tell us where you’re takin’ us? Or just take us there already?” I beg, shooting my big brother pleading eyes.
“Sure thing, Little Em. This is somethin’ I know you’ll like.”
A few minutes later, on the other side of the woods, and close to the boundary between the two ranches, we come to a clearing where a small, rebuilt cottage appears, seemingly out of nowhere.
That’s when it dawns on me. “Wait! Didn’t this used to be stone ruins that we’d play in when we were kids?” I ask Dare.
Will nods. “Yep. It’s where Henley and Marion lived after they were married, before they took over Cooper Ranch from Henley’s parents.
It was far enough away from the main ranch house to give them privacy but close enough to the boundary that Henley could still visit his family through the old gate. ”
Jude frowns. “There’s no gate there now. We would know about somethin’ like that.”
“Marion’s father removed it after Henley’s death and all the drama that came after that. Marion didn’t want to live in this house again after losin’ Henley so she lived with her parents and her sons in the main house.”
I think back to the love Marion expressed for her husband in the letters Jude and I have read over the past few months.
Henley was her soulmate, her One. I can’t imagine living without Jude for a single second now, and here’s a woman who lost the love of her life and couldn’t bear sharing his ranch or their newlywed home after he was gone.
I know from the Wilson family tree that Marion Cooper never remarried. I doubt she ever even looked at another man after the death of her husband.
Looking at the house standing in front of us, I worry about how all of my stuff will possibly fit.
As if reading my thoughts, Will’s mouth quirks up.
“We’ve done as much as we can to give you a place to sleep for the night.
Tomorrow, we can play Tetris with your belongin’s.
There are plans already drawn up and materials waitin’ in the barn at Cooper Ranch so we can extend the back of the house to make more room.
Think of this as your starter home,” he explains.
There’s no way… “Did you know about this?” I ask my husband, who looks as surprised as I am.
“Nope. I’ve never even been to this part of your land. I did wonder what was back here though.”
“And now you know,” Dare muses.
“We’ve also installed a gate again so you two can come and go between the ranches.” Will pins Jude with a stare. “Can’t have you thinkin’ you can get out of any early starts and blamin’ Timber Falls traffic.”
Jude snorts. “The most traffic the town gets is when one of the old timers take their tractor to the mechanic and block the main road. I think I’m good.” His expression turns serious as he looks between our big brothers. “Thank you for this. It’s unexpected but appreciated.”
Dare smirks. “Even if it means you’re livin’ on Wilson land?”
“Even then.” He turns me so we’re chest to chest. I slide my hands up so my palms are resting over his steady heart. “Besides, I’m a Wilson now too. Right? Just like Em is a Cooper.” I nod. “When you think of it that way, it seems kind of fittin’, doesn’t it?”
Jude dips down to kiss me gently before leaning his forehead to mine. “Unitin’ the mountain. Joinin’ our families.”
“Just like Dad wanted,” I whisper