Chapter 18
eighteen
Gage
Last night was exactly how I imagined it would be.
Being with Sloane like that—loving her, showing her how she deserved to be treated—was better than any time before. It felt special, memorable, and dangerously easy to cling to with everything else falling apart.
Seeing her this morning in my shirt was something else.
I didn’t think I’d enjoy seeing a woman wearing my clothes as much as seeing Sloane, but I’m beginning to think anything she does will be a new weakness.
I’ll never admit that out loud because I know she’ll hold it over my head, but she has become my weakness.
We spent the morning making breakfast, and I skipped ranch duties to spend more time with her. I’ve never taken a break for anything or anyone, not even when I was sick. I’m sure the guys won’t mind, considering Hank’s been begging me to get out of his hair since I was seven.
After cleaning up, I sent Bullet outside to do his thing, then headed upstairs to get dressed. Sloane was already upstairs, showering and getting ready for the day. We still had a lot to get done after the break-in.
Sloane has a bunch of calls to make, so she’ll most likely be holed up in the office all day while the guys and I work on repairs and make do with what we’ve got for the time being.
I still can’t believe someone broke into the barn and stripped us of our equipment. Whoever did it wanted damage, not profit—and that points straight to Horizon Group. I understand why they’re pushing.
Whatever they offered Uncle Sam must’ve been enough to make most people fold. He didn’t. He never would have. This land isn’t leverage—it’s blood and history. My family held it. Sloane’s father protected it.
Walking away for money wouldn’t just cost us the ranch—
It would erase everything that made it worth saving.
At times, I’ve wondered if any of it was worth the pain. The money, the risk, the constant strain to keep this place afloat—it hasn’t always paid off. But when Hollis is flourishing, when it’s standing strong, every one of those hardships feels worth enduring.
As I walk down the steps and head outside, I notice Tommy at the gate and head over. He steps out of his marked sheriff’s SUV and tips his hat at me before shaking my hand. I squint under the sunlight.
The heat is grueling today, evident in his brow and the sweat gathering on the upper lip of his mustache.
“Good morning, Gage. Good to see ya,” he says, and I nod at him.
“Tommy, tell me you got some good news for me.” I know he hasn’t finished his investigation into the break-in—it only happened last night—but I can hope that something, anything, will put an end to this developer breathing down our necks.
“I got some good news, yeah,” he says, handing me a paper in an envelope. “It’s a cease-and-desist order against the developer for the illegal piping.”
I shake my head, grateful that at least something was done about these suits. “Anything else they’re doing about them?”
He nods slowly. “Yep. Their plan is to fine them a large sum, and the board wants to send out a contractor to come out here and remove that water main behind the house—said something about replacing the current line with updated equipment since it’s more up to code.”
I nod, holding my hand out to him to shake it again.
“They’re talking temporary shutdown while they inspect,” Tommy adds, quieter now. “Couple weeks, maybe longer, depending on what they find.”
Two weeks without water during peak season isn’t just inconvenient. It’s a chokehold—on livestock, irrigation, and every contract we’re running.
“Thanks for your hard work, Sheriff,” I tell him, and he nods firmly as the door opens and closes behind us. I watch as Sloane walks down the steps, glancing up briefly, smiling softly at me before heading toward the other barn and the office, my eyes never leave her until she disappears inside.
“My, my, my,” he says, and I look at him. He smirks, shaking his head knowingly. Tommy has been the sheriff of Bell River since I was a kid; he’s watched me grow up and even picked me up once or twice when I decided to be rebellious as a teen.
He’s seen me date growing up and seen me with Marlene, but it’s been years since he’s truly seen me outside of ranch obligations like this. I didn’t make it a habit of spending time with the townsfolk because of how miserable I was, so this is fresh for him.
“Don’t say nothing,” I grumble, and he lets out a hearty chuckle.
“All I was gonna say is don’t let this one slip away,” he warns, pointing at me. “She’s a smart one—maybe even a little too smart for you.”
“Yeah, don’t I know it,” I reply, glancing back even though I know she isn’t there—the image of her crossing the ranch still sharp in my mind.
I turn back to Tommy. “All right, let me get out of your hair. See you around, Gage,” he says, tipping his hat one last time before disappearing into his SUV.
As soon as he leaves, I turn and head into the barn.
When I step inside, I spot Sloane on the phone, talking animatedly, though I can’t hear a word she’s saying.
She has a pen between her fingers, twirling it as she speaks, then tapping the tip against her teeth when she’s listening—focused, decisive, entirely in control.
Watching her like this, in her element, is just another reason I’m completely smitten. It’s one thing to know she can handle paperwork, business, even repairs—it’s another thing to see firsthand.
I always assumed that because she was from Austin, she’d be like other women I’d known before. Women who preferred their men to handle the dirty work and hard labor. But Sloane manages to surprise me at every turn.
Would a life with her always be like this? Would I always find something new about her—something I didn’t know yet—and lose myself in her all over again?
She gets off the phone and writes something down, then looks up and gives me the subtle signal I need to step inside. I didn’t want to interrupt, knowing whatever she was handling mattered—but I needed to be sure that cease and desist was filed and locked in.
She looks up and smiles softly. “Hey, is everything okay?” she asks, and I’m guessing she’s referring to Tommy being back here.
“Yeah. Tommy was just stopping by to give us this,” I reply, handing her the envelope.
She takes it from my hand and opens it, scanning the page. I watch her eyes widen, disbelief flickering across her face. “You did it, honey,” I say, leaning against the desk—then immediately realizing what I just called her.
She looks up at me and smirks. “Is it sad that I’m going to miss you calling me little miss?” she asks, teasing.
I chuckle, suddenly aware of how warm the room feels. “I mean, I still can.”
She stands, closing the distance between us, her smile softening. There’s something else there now—quieter, more personal. I’m starting to think the nickname means more to her than she lets on.
“All right,” I murmur, brushing my fingers through her hair and tucking it behind her ear. “Little miss.”
My voice drops. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to thank you for all the work you put into figuring out the piping and the water issue.”
She scrunches her nose. “I don’t know. Last night was a rather good start,” she says, just as my arms slide around her waist and pull her close.
The softness of her body against mine sends my thoughts straight to unholy places. Honestly, everything about this woman does.
“Is that right?” I murmur.
She hums in agreement.
“We can repeat it any time you want,” I reply, kissing her lips and slowly working down her neck, fully prepared to give her an encore of last night in this office, but she places her hands on my chest.
“I’d love that, but I still have so many calls to make if we want to get new equipment delivered,” she says, and I nod, kissing her once more as we pull away.
“I’d better get to work on the barn clean-up as well and fix the door,” I say as she reaches out for my wrist, stopping me before I leave.
I look back. “Don’t hurt yourself again,” she warns, and I lean down, kissing her goodbye.
“Yes, ma’am,” I whisper as I head out the door.
“Feel free to use that as well!” she calls out, leaving me laughing all the way out of the barn.
By nightfall, the cleanup and repairs are fully sorted. Having four extra hands makes all the difference, and we got lucky—real lucky. Whoever broke in seemed more interested in stealing what they could carry than tearing the place apart, and most of the equipment isn’t exactly lightweight.
When I head back toward the barn, I peek inside and find Sloane still buried in paperwork. She’s been holed up here all day, carrying weight I should’ve taken on years ago, so I grab her something to eat before she forgets entirely.
It’s strange how easily we’ve slipped into a rhythm after months of snapping at each other—but I’m not complaining. Even I can admit we’re stronger together than we ever were working against one another.
I tap lightly against the wood. She looks up, smiling tiredly.
“The longer you stare at those pages,” I say, “the more I worry those beautiful eyes of yours might pop right out of their sockets.”
She chuckles, resting her head against her propped arm. “So, you have been checking me out this whole time.”
“You’re hard to miss,” I reply as I step inside and lean against the desk. “Even when you’re a pain in my ass.”
I press a lazy kiss to her lips, realizing just how much I missed the taste of them throughout the day. How I spent months pretending otherwise is beyond me.
She hums, kissing me back. “The feeling’s mutual.” When I pull away, she looks at me like she’s caught in a daze, sucking in her bottom lip.
“I finished the phone calls. Replacement equipment should all be here by the end of the week, so we’ll be back in full operation by Friday at the latest,” she says.