Chapter 30
WYATT
My horse follows Maddie’s as she leads the way through a meadow.
We walked around the ranch buildings before saddling up and riding out to see the acres they own and what they do with each parcel.
Hartlands is so different from Heartlands.
There’s a different energy to the place, like hers was made for relaxing while ours was made for hard work and grit.
And for the first time in forever, I’m starting to think that that might not be a bad thing.
As the hours have passed, I’m more certain that what I did was really fucking shitty.
That land wasn’t just business to her. It meant something, and I took it away.
I should have asked her instead of deciding I hated her enough to take it.
I’ll have to carry that guilt with me every time I see her, which in a small town like Coldwater is damn often.
Maddie glances over her shoulder at me. She’s been doing it every so often as she’s shown me around, like she doesn’t really trust my motives. I can’t blame her; I’d be the same way if the guy who’d been ragging me and my ranch for years showed up and asked for a tour out of the blue.
“Is this where your mom used to bring you?” I ask as we approach a field with cattle grazing in it. Mountains tower in the distance. It’s peaceful out here, with just the familiar chirp of grasshoppers mixing with the occasional low of cows.
With her Stetson sat low over her eyes, I can’t quite get a read on her, and I wonder if she’s going to answer as the silence continues to build.
Back in her office, I could see how much the mention of her mom affected her, but I’m not asking to upset her.
I just want to know what makes Maddie Hart tick.
She relaxes her body, and her horse slows down until she’s riding beside me. “Yeah, I don’t get out here as much as I would like, though.”
“You’re too busy running an empire it seems,” I reply, a hint of admiration in my tone.
Maddie lifts a shoulder. “Someone has to do it, and I don’t really see any of my brothers volunteering to help a loved-up couple plan their perfect day.”
“What about your dad?” I ask.
She tilts her face toward me, a wry smile on her lips. “He’s stepping back. Besides, he won’t be around forever. It’s not like he’s getting any younger.”
I turn my attention to a cow and her calf up ahead as they move away from the herd for a greener patch of grass. “It would be good if they did stick around forever though, right?”
Maddie’s fingers tighten on her reins when I face her. “Yeah, it would,” she murmurs before adding, “Do you miss your dad?”
I twist my mouth to the side. “All the time.” I pause. “Even now, as old as I am, I still wish I could walk into his office and ask him some dumb-as-shit question because he’d always have the answer.”
“I can’t begin to imagine a world without my dad in it,” Maddie replies, her tone so soft I might have made it up. She drops her gaze to the horn of her saddle, hiding her face from me.
There’s a pang in my chest, not from my loss but for the one that Maddie will inevitably face one day. An inherent need to offer her comfort rushes through me, and I flex the fingers on the hand not holding my reins to keep from reaching for her.
“After so many years, it feels harder to remember what the world was like with my dad in it, but luckily for me, I have my brothers, Mom, and Gracie, so there’s no chance of us ever truly forgetting him. He’ll live on in our memories and the ranch.”
We sit in comfortable silence, moving around the edge of the pasture on horseback before I say, “If your brothers aren’t helping out, why not do something else?”
A nostalgic smirk pulls at the corners of Maddie’s mouth when she replies, “Hosting weddings was something my mom started. Daddy added more corporate events and retreats and now hosting is what our ranch is known for. We found our footing in the events side of things, so if you want to take your company on a ranching experience, you come to us. Or, if you want the perfect wedding with backdrops of Montana in every picture, we’ve got you covered. ”
“Would you ever consider stopping them?” I ask, genuinely curious.
She shakes her head, readjusting her grip on her reins as we amble along. “No, I don’t think so. It would be a complete overhaul of everything we have going on now and with no guarantee that it would work. Besides, that would put us in direct competition with you.” She winks at me.
I aim my best panty-melting smile at her and lean in before saying, “Hardly competition, darlin’.”
Her nostrils flare when she sucks in a breath, like maybe she’s not as unaffected by me as she used to be. Fuck, if I don’t want to kiss her. If we weren’t on these damn horses, I might just do it.
Maddie pulls herself together first, moving her horse away and further into the field. I straighten in my saddle, cursing myself for wanting her. She’s as off-limits as I can get.
Even if I forget about what happened with Autumn—how that tourist broke her—there’s too much history between me and Deacon.
Too much shit that’s never been put to bed for Maddie and me to ever be more than those two “mistakes.” Sure, I’ve painted her with the same brush as her brother, and I’m starting to see that I was wrong to do that, but it doesn’t change our history.
And yet, as I watch her, I can’t help but wonder if it would be so bad if we went on a date or became friends.
“It looks like it’s going to rain,” Maddie calls, her head tipped back and one hand on her Stetson as she stares up at the sky and the dark clouds that are forming.
I follow her gaze and the first big fat raindrop hits me on the forehead.
There’s no way we’re going to make it back without getting soaked. Still, we both kick our horses into a gallop and take off across the open fields we’d just trotted through. As if they’re up for trying to outrun the rain, the horses’ feet pound the dirt beneath us.
Adrenaline courses through my body, and I move as one with the animal beneath me. I catch a glimpse of Maddie beside me, a smile on her face that transforms her features. She’s enjoying the thrill of the race as much as I am.
My breath gets lodged in my throat, and for a second, I wish I had a way to capture the way she looks right now. She’s fucking beautiful.
The heavens open above us and the torrential downpour forces me to refocus my attention on the path in front of me or risk having an accident. The ghost of her image, of the carefree smile lighting up her features, chases me all the way back to the ranch.