Chapter Thirty-Eight
Jackie
Six months later
Betty’s Hens Saloon hadn’t changed one bit. Walking through the door was like being thrown back in time. Jackie crossed the floor to the bar, twisting her hands in front of her. Nostalgia washed over her, her lips forming the widest smile when she spotted Betty behind the bar.
The last time she’d been here was three years ago, with Albert and Gilbert. When she came to say goodbye to Ricochet, she didn’t have it in her to celebrate anything.
“Well, well. You still look as fabulous as ever, Betty.” Jackie beamed at the bar owner.
Betty looked up, her brown eyes crinkling as they landed on her. “Well, I’ll be damned. Jacks!” A few years older—Jackie had never discovered Betty’s age, and she didn’t want to ask—Betty jumped up with glee, hanging over the bar with her arms outstretched. “Missed ya.”
Jackie chuckled, leaning in to hug her. “So good to see you.”
Betty laughed into her chest, squeezing her waist. “Back at ya.” She let go of Jackie and stepped back, dabbing her eyes with a sniff. “Are you just droppin’ by, visitin’ the old spots, or are you back in Texas?”
Jackie hopped on the bar stool and laced her fingers on top of the sticky surface, a grin stretching her cheeks. “I’m not sure. I’d love to stay, but that depends on some things—or rather, someone.”
Betty’s brow shot up. “I think I know who that someone is.”
Jackie swiveled round, her heart in her throat.
She wasn’t sure if Mitch would turn up. Yes, they’d agreed they would meet here on this day, around this time. She worried he would run or decide it wasn’t a good idea. That despite everything they’d shared right up until he left Mexican Jewel, he’d change his mind.
After she told him everything, they talked, and talked some more.
Taking sunset strolls on the beach, horseback riding through the jungle—courtesy of Estrella and Bruno’s horses—dining, laughing, and smiling.
They also had lots of great sex, but that wasn’t surprising.
Apparently, when they were together, they reverted back to their younger selves and couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
He said goodbye to her, like they were never going to see each other again. He sang her the entire “In Case You Didn’t Know” by Brett Young, humming whenever he forgot the lyrics. It sounded almost as bad as Ben Affleck’s goodbye scene in Armageddon.
The hotel’s shuttle-bus driver had to personally come to remind Mitch he would be late for his flight if he didn’t get on the bus immediately.
Jackie joked that the sooner he left, the sooner they’d meet. She put on a happy facade, a grin so wide it hurt her cheeks, but deep down, she was terrified that those two weeks had been a beautiful dream.
Mitch went home six months ago.
And now they were both here.
His eyes focused on her and her heart strained against her chest.
Jackie smiled, the light in her eyes engulfing the entire bar. She jumped off her stool, swallowing hard. Her lips parted; a breath she’d been holding for the past six months was finally released from the shackles of uncertainty.
Mitch strode forward, ignoring everyone else in the bar, looking only at her.
Her pulse skyrocketed. She didn’t know if Betty was watching them. Neither did she know if anyone noticed her universe shimming back into its axis. In this very second, she must’ve surely been the happiest woman in the world.
He stopped in front of her, his gorgeous green eyes glistening underneath the mirror ball. Without waiting for a signal, he slid his hand around Jackie’s waist, pulling her close and closing his hand over hers. “Hi.”
Instead of replying, she grabbed his neck and yanked him to her, kissing him hard.
Someone whistled and they laughed, foreheads resting against each other.
“Hi there, cowboy.” Jackie smiled, her eyelashes fluttering. She ignored tears rolling down freely. “You came,” she whispered, her voice quivering with broken longing.
Mitch cupped both of her cheeks. “Did you think I wouldn’t? If you didn’t know it yet, I’m absolutely and madly in love with you.”
“In Case You Didn’t Know” by Brett Young came on, and several couples spilled onto the dance floor, swaying to the heartfelt tune.
“Perfect timing.” He grinned, his nose brushing the tip of hers. “Dance with me.”
Jackie exhaled, happiness and lightness enveloping her into its embrace. She was floating on cloud nine. “You sang it to me before you left Mexico.”
Mitch kissed her again. She felt his smile on her lips before he pulled away. “Very badly.”
“I loved it.”
He nodded, tugging her onto the dance floor. “I gave that kid by the jukebox a twenty to put it on after we kissed. Wasn’t sure he would remember, seemed a bit worse for wear already.”
Jackie glanced in the direction Mitch nodded to and chortled.
The “kid”, as Mitch referred to him, looked so young, she wondered if he’d flashed a fake ID to get in. His eyes glazed over under a new-looking cowboy hat. His boots bore no scuff marks.
“Maybe he’s your kindred spirit,” she teased.
“What do you mean?”
She bit back a smirk. “A fellow wannabe cowboy who came here for college, crashing into bars with a fake ID.” The moment she said it, a curly-haired girl stumbled right onto the “kid’s” lap.
Mitch’s eyes widened. “I’ll be damned. Good for him.”
Jackie snorted a laugh. “And they lived happily ever after.”
They swayed to the music, so achingly slowly that Jackie thought the time might start moving backward. She wouldn’t care, she decided. As long as she was in Mitch’s arms, time and fate, and every other thing out of her control didn’t matter.
“Is that how our story goes?” Mitch whispered in her ear.
Electricity shot up her spine and she curled her fingers into his shirt. “I don’t know. Are you sure you want this, us?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I’ll love you until my dying breath,” he rasped.
Her cheeks heated. “That’s good, because I don’t think I can live another day without you.”
She tightened her hold, nuzzling his neck. He smelled good, of cedar, pine, and … hay? That was unexpected. He’d only ever smelled of hay during summers at the ranch.
His palm flattened against the small of her back. “I hope you don’t mind, but I bought land with a rundown ranch about a twenty-minute drive from Brooke’s Plains. I’ve already knocked the old house down and started building the one I drew for you.”
That’d explain the hay. Her eyes brimmed with tears. It was one of the many things she’d left behind in his apartment. “You … kept that drawing, all these years?”
“Of course. It was your dream home.”
She didn’t expect him to move to Texas. They talked about it on his last day in Mexico, but it was like a loose idea, something she thought he’d said in the spur of the moment. She didn’t think he’d buy land, start building a house … all before they’d even reunited.
Jackie buried her face in his shoulder. “Thank you, for loving me so completely.”
“You’re very welcome.” Mitch chuckled. “Though, I hope you don’t mind two barns full of retired rodeo horses. When my friend, Hunter, moved to Scotland, I promised to take care of them. They’re called The Retirement Yeehaw Crew.”
She cupped his face, looking deep into his eyes. “Sounds perfect. Can we build some cabins there too and set up a wedding venue?”
He laughed. “You enjoyed working at your parents’ hotels, then?”
“I did. But I’ll enjoy it even more if it’s our venture.”
“You know I’m in for whatever life brings. We can figure it out, one day at a time.”
“Mitch from Portland, the sweetest talker in Texas.”
And then she kissed him, again, just as “Amazed” by Lonestar came on, which, in Jackie’s humble opinion, was the best track to have playing during the start of their forever.