45. Nash
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Nash
“To Nash!” Boone yells above the crowd. “And Tessa too!”
“To the Dude Ranch,” Dallas joins in, ignoring my insistence that it’s a Guest Ranch. I don’t know if he’ll ever drop the word ‘Dude’.
“To the future!” Rose adds, as Wyatt wails on her hip.
The clink of glasses fills the air as the rest of the McCoys raise their drinks in a chorus of cheers, some louder than others, but all of them filled with meaning.
The barn is a blur of warmth and laughter, the kind of bedlam that only comes with big family or town celebrations. Every inch of space is filled. No one’s missing this moment. Not when the future’s finally starting to feel real.
I stand beside Tessa, her hand tucked into mine, and I feel all of it. This is the beginning of everything. Something big. And I’m not just talking about the ranch, or the deal we made. Hell, I’m talking about the rest of my life.
The idea of this, of us, of the town. coming together in this way, it’s everything I never thought could happen. And yet here we are, in this barn, with all of Buckhorn and every McCoy in the room, celebrating because it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to us.
“Think they’re ready for us?” I ask Tessa, leaning down a little so only she can hear me.
She looks up at me, her eyes soft but filled with that familiar determination. “They’ve been waiting for us, Nash. But I don’t think they’re ever going to be fully ready. We’re doing this whether they like it or not.”
I chuckle at that, squeezing her hand a little tighter. There’s that fire in her again. The one that tells me she’s not going to back down. Not when it matters.
“We’ll just have to make sure they catch up,” I say with a grin.
Tessa rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. She knows what I mean. We’ve done the hard work. The paperwork’s being done. The deal’s been struck. Now it’s time for the town to see that this isn’t just about the McCoys and the Longs anymore. It’s about more. It’s about the future we’re building.
The party’s in full swing now.
The long wooden tables are piled with food.
Pies, fried chicken, roast beef, everything the McCoys do best. There’s music playing, laughter ringing out, and everywhere I look, I see faces of people who’ve been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
The kind of people who’ve been stuck in the middle of this mess, just waiting for it to break wide open.
And now? Now it feels it has.
I look over at my family. Boone’s cracking jokes with Rose and Nell, while Dallas, as always, stands off to the side, keeping a watchful eye on everything.
Faith’s got Lila in her lap, and Ellie’s playing with the dogs underfoot, her giggles cutting through the noise of the party.
Rusty’s trying to sneak some food off the table, looking guilty the second he’s caught.
It’s mad, but it’s ours.
“Are you okay?” Tessa’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. She’s studying me with that look she gets when she knows there’s something on my mind.
I give her a half smile. “Yeah, just… taking it all in.”
She laughs softly. “I can see that. Just don’t stand there looking all broody. It’s our party.”
“I’m not brooding,” I argue, but I can feel the grin tug at my lips. “Just thinking about everything that led us here.”
“I know the feeling,” she says. “It’s like we’re standing on the edge of something that matters. And I don’t want to screw it up.”
I pull her closer, my hand still wrapped around hers. “You’re not going to screw it up, Tessa. We’re doing this together. And together? We’re unstoppable.”
Her eyes meet mine, and the noise around us fades. It’s just me and her, and the way everything feels right. Real. We’ve finally found our footing.
Tessa leans in, her lips brushing against my ear as she speaks softly. “I think we’ve already started.”
I pull back just enough to see her face, that smile of hers spreading. “Yeah. I think we have.”
The crowd around us is cheering again, celebrating the win we didn’t know we’d get. But this time, it’s different. This isn’t just about the ranch. This isn’t just about the land. This is about the life we’re building. Together.
Maybe it took a little longer than expected. Maybe it took a few rounds of heartache and a whole lot of messy history. But we’re here now, and this, us, is worth celebrating.
Later, as the night winds down and the guests begin to trickle out, Tessa and I sneak away from the crowd, finding a quiet corner on the porch.
The lights from the barn throw soft shadows, and there’s a stillness to the night air.
The whole world’s holding its breath, waiting for us to take the next step.
“Crazy, huh?” I say, my hands in my pockets, looking out at the ranch. “All this. The land. The families. The drama. And here we are.”
Tessa leans against the porch railing beside me, her hair catching the light, a gentle breeze pushing it across her face.
“Yeah, crazy,” she says with a half-smile. “But in a good way.”
I glance over at her, seeing that little glint in her eyes, the one that’s always there when she’s about to do something she believes in. My chest tightens at the thought.
“You know,” I start, “I never thought I’d be here. Not like this. I mean, I’ve made a lot of decisions that didn’t turn out the way I wanted, but this… this is different.”
She looks up at me then. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I didn’t know what I was doing, Tessa.
I didn’t know what I was really looking for when I started this whole project.
” I suck in a sharp breath. “But then you came into the picture, and suddenly, everything started to make sense. This whole damn town, this place, the way everything’s been…
suddenly, it wasn’t a life I had to fix or outrun.
It was something I could actually be a part of.
” I pause, taking a step closer, feeling the words weigh heavy on my tongue.
“And that’s when I realized… this is it.
This is what I’ve been wanting. What I’ve been waiting for. ”
She doesn’t say anything at first, just stands there, watching me. She’s reading me, seeing through every layer of doubt I’ve spent years wrapping around myself.
“And what if I say I’ve been wanting it too?” she says finally.
When I look at her, it’s there. Genuine, soft, and sincere.
I take her hand in mine, threading my fingers through hers, and it feels like we’ve reached some kind of quiet understanding—the world has stopped long enough for us to finally just be.
“I’ve never been good at this,” I admit. “The commitment. The words. Hell, I can’t even keep a shirt on my back most days.”
Tessa lets out a soft laugh, the kind that makes my chest ache in a good way. “You’re not so bad at it.”
I turn toward her then, really look at her. The way the night falls around us, how everything seems quieter when she’s close.
“I’m serious, Tessa,” I say, stepping in closer.
“This isn’t some quick decision. This isn’t me trying to make it all look perfect.
This is me, telling you that I’m not letting go of this.
Of you. I don’t know what the future looks like, but I know that I want to share it with you.
That I need to. And I know I sort of proposed before, but that was an arrangement.
That wasn’t real.” I catch her gaze. “This is.”
Her eyes soften, and in that moment, I know she gets it. She sees it.“What are you saying, Nash?”
I take a deep breath, my heart pounding harder now, feeling every word I’m about to say.
“I’m saying,” I begin, “I want this. I want you. Not just the ranch, not just the land, not just some half-baked arrangement that was meant to fix things. I want a real future with you, Tessa. I’ve never been sure of a damn thing in my life, but right now, standing here with you, I know I’m not walking away from this. From us.”
Her breath catches, and I can see the way her walls shift, ever so slightly.
She’s allowing herself to believe it, to hear it.
She steps in closer to me, so close now that I can feel the heat radiating off her, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
But there’s a glimmer in her eyes, something daring, and just a little too mischievous for me to handle without feeling a spark of nervous energy.
“I’m saying… will you marry me, Tessa Long?”
I’m not asking out of some rushed need, but because it’s what’s right. It’s what’s always been right.
Her eyes widen, that fire in them softening and becoming more tender. The seconds stretch, and for a heartbeat, I wonder if she’s going to turn me down. If I’ve messed this all up. But then I see it in her eyes, the same thing I feel. The truth.
And finally, she whispers, “Yes, Nash. Yes, of course I will.”
And right then, with the stars above us, I lean in until our lips meet.
Her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer, and I can’t resist the way she wraps herself around me because she’s meant to be here.
I deepen the kiss, my hands finding her waist, pulling her against me so there’s nothing between us, no space left to hide in.
She lets out a soft sigh, the kind that makes my heart race, and I know in that moment there’s no turning back.
When we pull apart, I smile at her, my heart pounding in my chest. “Guess this means you’re stuck with me now.”
She smirks, a playful glint in her eyes. “You think I’m complaining?”
I laugh, pulling her close again. “Not even a little.”