Epilogue
February
“If you’ve got a moment to sign the guest book, we’d appreciate it,” Andrea said, smiling at the young couple who’d just paid for their one-night stay, a brief stop on their way from Bozeman to visit the woman’s parents in Stanley, North Dakota, before she was too far along in her pregnancy to make the trip.
“Of course.” The woman smiled, rubbing her stomach and grabbing the pen from beside the book.
“We’ll be back for sure. This is right at the halfway point for us.
And something tells me that next time we make the trip, this baby girl won’t be up for making the full nine-hour journey to see her grandparents. I mean—if you allow children.”
“Of course,” said Andrea. “I hope we see you again.”
“For sure,” said the man, picking up his carry-on luggage in one hand, and his wife’s bag in the other. “Thanks for the hospitality. If anything, we’ll be back for another plate of those warm pretzel bites.”
“I’m glad you liked them,” Andrea said.
She waited until the couple disappeared through the entrance to read what the woman had written in the book.
We loved our stay in your heavenly ranch, the woman’s scrawling cursive wrote. The last bit of peace and quiet for us for a while!
Andrea smiled to herself. Her first guests.
She’d opened the booking page on her website only a week earlier and had taken out some ads on social media and in the surrounding local newspapers, but she hadn’t expected to get a booking so quickly, especially in the dead of winter.
But only a day later, the automatic email notifying her of the one-night reservation for a king room had appeared in her inbox, and Andrea experienced the thrill of anticipation, ready to host her first guests.
And what a perfect couple to start with. Gracious, low-maintenance, just looking for a comfortable place to lay their heads.
The last few months of completing the remainder of the renovations and then decorating all the guest rooms and shared spaces had been busy but gratifying.
And Seth had been right at her side, pitching in whenever he could between working at the ranch and with the town council on exploratory work for the dino park.
When Andrea needed a break, they drove into Bronco for a date night, or into town for a drink at the Tenacity Social Club or Castillo’s.
She couldn’t have been happier with how their relationship had progressed. Seth was committed, attentive and reliable, but gave her enough space that she still felt independent and self-sufficient.
And even though they’d been dating for over four months, she still experienced the same rush every time Seth’s vehicle pulled up the long driveway from Five Point Road, which he was doing in this very moment.
Setting the guest book aside, Andrea moved to stand in the doorway, unable to stop the smile crossing her lips.
“I didn’t think you’d be dropping by today,” she called as he stepped out of his SUV.
With a grocery bag in hand, Seth bounded up the steps, his grin as wide as ever. Without hesitation, he swept her into his arms and lifted her up like he always did, like he hadn’t seen her in months and couldn’t hold her close enough. He kissed her deeply, the warmth of it stealing her breath.
“I had to come by,” he murmured against her lips, his voice low and sincere. “I wanted to hear all about your first checkout. Congratulations, baby.”
“Thank you,” Andrea whispered in his ear. “It went great.”
“I just saw Mike and Daniel in town. They’re still talking about what a great time they had at the party.”
Andrea grinned. Just a week earlier, she and Seth had hosted a party at the ranch for Daniel and Mike, who’d gotten engaged shortly after Christmas.
The place had been buzzing with all their friends from Tenacity, the Cooper family, and every last member of the Taylor clan, including Thaddeus, who, to all of their surprise, had proposed a toast part-way through the evening.
Maybe it was the warm glow of the candlelight flickering through the space, or maybe it was something in the spiced rum punch Andrea had made, but the man had seemed uncharacteristically sentimental, and had held up his glass, asking everyone to join him in a cheers to the happy couple who were helping to complete, in his words, “a family I couldn’t be more damn proud of. ”
He’d been looking at Daniel and Mike, but as the partygoers cheered and clinked glasses, Thaddeus’s gaze had then landed on Seth, and the light nod of his head seemed to have softened the relationship between him and his father as of late.
No words had been exchanged, but, as Seth had admitted to Andrea while cleaning up after the party, Thaddeus will be Thaddeus, and the subtle acknowledgment had been enough for him.
Seth dropped the grocery bag by the desk, then pulled something wrapped in tissue from his pocket. “Here,” he said. “I wanted to give it to you before your first guest, but couldn’t get it on time, with how quickly you were booked. But here.”
Andrea accepted the small package with curiosity, then moved the pale blue tissue paper aside to reveal a gleaming gold horseshoe.
Her eyes caught on the elegant inscription engraved on it.
Horseshoe Ranch. “I love it,” she said, warming at his thoughtfulness.
“Where should I put it? On the front door?”
She turned and held it up from a few different angles, imagining it in different spaces. “How about right here?” she asked, holding it up on the wall behind the front desk. “I want it to be the first thing I see every time I come home.”
Home, she thought. No other place in the world had ever felt so completely like home. But still, even with how much time Seth was spending there, it was still missing something.
“Where’d you go?” Seth said, approaching her from behind, his voice steady yet softer than usual. He kissed her neck softly, trailing his fingers across her hand that was holding the horseshoe up to the wall.
She turned to face him, placing the horseshoe on the desk and taking both his hands in hers. “These past few months have been the best of my life. You’ve helped me turn this ranch into something incredible. And I want to build a life with you here.”
“Are you proposing to me?” Seth asked, a teasing glint in his eye.
“I’m proposing that it might be time for you to be here… full time,” she said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Seth said.
“You don’t think it’ll be too hard with your life in Bronco? The ranch? Your family’s business?” she said.
“Buck and I have been working out a plan together,” Seth said. “I’ll still be there when I need to be.” His gaze was unwavering. “But my heart? That’s here. Wherever you are, Andrea, that’s where I want to be.”
It was a lot to take in. The most perfect man in the world was making it clear that he was willing to change his life to adapt to her work, her goals and the space that now felt more like home to her than anywhere ever had.
“You sure?” Seth asked.
“Yes,” she said softly, her voice steady despite the whirlwind of emotions filling her chest. “Yes,” she whispered again, then smiled. “Looks like the Taylor boys are taking over Tenacity.”
Seth chuckled lightly. “Nah,” he said, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “We’ve just happened to fall in love with two of its finest residents.”
Andrea’s eye caught on the shopping bag that Seth had brought in. “What’s in there?” she asked.
Seth’s grin was sheepish but undeniably pleased with himself as he pulled a bottle of champagne from the bag. “Well, I thought we might have to mark the occasion tonight, with you hosting your first guests and all,” he said. “Turns out we have a lot more to celebrate.”
“The first of many milestones,” Andrea said. She had no hesitation in saying the words out loud. Seth coming to live at the ranch was just the first step in what she knew was going to be a long and happy life together.
Seth laced his fingers through hers, then held up her hand, brushing his lips against it softly. “I couldn’t agree more.”