Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“Do you think Dad did it on purpose? Brought me back to the ranch because he knew I’d end up staying?”
Goody thinks on this for a minute, chewing, before she answers. “He remembered you loving the animals when you were little. He told me so many stories about how quickly you learned to ride. He was sad you didn’t keep it up.”
“He knew I’d never come back on my own.” I’m ashamed to admit that, but no use hiding it now. “So he forced me to.”
“He did.” Goody wipes her mouth on her napkin. “I didn’t always agree with Garrett, but he was ultimately a good man with a good heart. What he did came from a place of decency. He loved the land so much, Mollie. I think he didn’t want you to miss out on that.”
My throat feels tight as I finish my wine. A little liquid courage never hurt anyone, right? “Not gonna lie, I hated him at first for forcing me to come here.”
“And now?” Goody glances at Cash, who’s busy chatting up Wheeler.
I smile. “I don’t hate him anymore.”
I think I’ll always have complicated feelings about my relationship with Dad. I’m sad I missed out on so much. I’m angry he let me. Yes, I had a part in that, but he was ultimately the adult in the room.
I’m angry at myself for adopting my mother’s assumptions and prejudices as my own.
But all that anger—all the sadness and regret and pain—it makes this moment so much sweeter. I can appreciate life now in a way I never could before I came to the ranch.
I came this close to losing out on all of this, but I didn’t.
I came this close to washing my hands of the will and Dad and Cash, but I didn’t.
Now here I am, about to propose joining forces with Cash.
I hope Dad would be proud. It’s a huge risk, but I’ve learned those are the kind of risks you absolutely have to take if you want to create any kind of magic in your life.
What I have with Cash is magic.
Clearing my throat, I stand up. “Hey, y’all, if I could have your attention for a second, that’d be great.”
Wyatt glances at me, his lips curling into a knowing smile. “I like the sound of this.”
“What’s up, honey?” Cash asks.
He’s so shameless about calling me that in front of everyone these days. Even now, weeks after he started doing it, I feel myself smiling.
Wheeler holds up a fist. You got this.
I dig my laptop out of its protective sleeve. Opening it, I cradle it in the crook of my bent arm. “I’ve been working on a little something that I wanted to run by y’all. Well, specifically, I wanted to get Cash’s opinion on it, but the rest of you are welcome to chime in, too, since it involves everyone.”
“She’s starting a cult, isn’t she?” Ryder asks Sawyer. “I’ve always wanted to be in one of those.”
Sawyer nods. “She’d make a great leader. Very charismatic.”
“Y’all, hush,” Cash says.
I’m still smiling, but now I also feel like I’m going to cry. “As much as I appreciate the compliments, I’m not starting a cult. Yet. Instead, I’m starting a new ranch. Or would it be creating one? Combining one? Setting a new ranch up? I, um, didn’t think that verbiage through.”
Cash’s eyes flicker. “Don’t have to be perfect, Mollie.”
“It just has to be with you,” I blurt, then turn the laptop around so that he can see the horseshoe logo I designed on the screen. The ends of the horseshoe are pointed down, so the words Lucky Rivers Ranch are wrapped around the horseshoe’s curve at the top. “You helped make plans for Bellamy Brooks. I want to help make plans for Rivers Ranch. Run it with me—your ranch and mine. Not as my foreman, but as my partner. Total equals. We’ll put everything together, pool our resources, and turn our ranch into the one you’ve always dreamed about.”
The room goes dead quiet. Cash stares at the screen, his blue eyes wide as he looks, and looks, and looks.
My heart works its way up my throat. Oh boy. Maybe I misjudged this one. It’s ballsy of me to suggest joining forces when Cash never expressed interest in any kind of partnership. I’ve way overstepped. Jesus, what was I—
“Lucky Rivers Ranch,” Cash says at last.
I nod, sweat breaking out along my scalp as I bend my neck to look at the screen. “That’s what I thought we’d call it. I’m not married to any of it, though.”
“Good,” Duke says. “Because the horseshoe—”
“Don’t,” Cash cuts him off.
I start to panic. “Don’t what?”
Goody clears her throat.
“Someone tell me, please,” I beg.
Wyatt glances at Cash. “That horseshoe, with the ends facing down, it can, uh, sometimes be a symbol of bad luck. Like the horseshoe was full of good luck, but now you’re letting it all out by putting it that way.”