Page 9

Ellie was still asleep when the morning sun peeked through the curtains, casting a golden glow over the room. Pressed against each other, our bodies had molded together in the night—my arm draped over her waist, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

We fit effortlessly, like two puzzle pieces clicking into place, her warmth seeping into my skin.

A part of me wanted to stay, to let the world outside wait a little longer. This moment was like something from my dreams.

But that was just it… They were only dreams.

Slowly, I lifted my body away from hers, slipping out of the bedroom without waking her.

I was tired as shit, but I had already slept in and burned more time than I had to waste. I’d have to wait until lunchtime for a warm cup of black coffee and a hot shower.

My first stop of the day would be to the stables to check on Bessy.

Every time I said her name, I laughed. Leave it to Ellie to be the first person to name a calf on this ranch.

My no-fuss grandfather was probably rolling over in his grave.

Horses, cows, bulls—they were not pets, they were your livelihood. I could hear him saying it now.

As I approached the stall that Bessy was in, I could see her mom’s head above the half-door. Jace had placed them together in hopes that the calf would nurse naturally now that she’d gotten a hang of the bottle.

I peeked over the half-door, watching as Bessy nursed on her mom as if she’d been doing it since the moment she was born. Heavy footsteps approached from behind.

“You look like shit,” Jace said as he leaned against the stall door next to me. “Are those the same clothes you had on yesterday? Did you even sleep last night?”

“Gee, good morning to you too,” I muttered, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

His grin widened as he looked me over.

“This have anything to do with why I saw your truck parked at the guesthouse last night? And how it was still parked in the exact same spot when I drove down here this morning?” he teased.

“No, it doesn’t. Don’t get any wild ideas.”

“She’s not even been here a full week, and you’re already trying to sleep with her?” he joked.

“I am not sleeping with Ellie.”

Not in the way he thinks, at least.

Jace smirked. “I always knew you had a thing for Ellie. It’s written all over your face.”

I stiffened. “I do not have a thing for Ellie. I stayed there last night because she fell off of Sunflower yesterday, and I wanted to make sure she was okay. End of discussion.”

Jace’s expression flickered for a second before he shrugged.

“Okay, then you won’t care when I tell you that Dusty, one of the new ranch hands Dad hired, was talking this morning at breakfast about asking her out on a date. He said he saw her spending time with ole Bessy here the other day and wants to make a real woman out of her.”

Jealousy flared across my face instantly.

“I think they’d make a cute couple, don’t you?” Jace asked, pushing my buttons like only a brother could.

“Fuck off,” I muttered, my stomach churning as I walked away.

I headed towards the front of the barn, grabbing some barbed wire and fence posts I would need later.

A lightning storm had taken down a tree last week, crushing part of a fence. I needed to fix it today before Jace moved the cattle back into that pasture.

As I loaded all the supplies into my truck, Jace watched me from the barn door. “Damn, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say my brother’s down bad for Ellie Brooks,” he said, smirking.

I slammed my truck bed closed, wanting to be anywhere but here.

“I am not down bad for Ellie. Shut the hell up and get back to work before I fire you.”

“You can’t fire me. My last name is McKinley too.”

“Okay, maybe I can’t fire you, but I can tell Dad about the time you burned half the barn down trying to smoke cigarettes for the first time when you were sixteen. Dad spent a whole summer rebuilding that barn. Smoking them next to hay was a genius move.”

Jace moved back, both hands in the air accepting defeat. “Hey, Dad believed my the-old-fireworks-must-have-just-gotten-hot-and-gone-off story.”

“Did he?” I asked, raising a skeptical brow. Dad was a teenager once too, after all. He probably knew the truth.

I hopped into my truck and headed down to the pastures, leaving Jace at the stables to conjure up his own version of last night’s events between Ellie and me.

As I walked the broken fence line, my thoughts drifted back to Jace’s words from this morning and Molly’s from the day before.

Clearly, I wasn’t good at hiding my feelings for Ellie. Everyone could see them, I guess.

Everyone except Ellie.

As I organized the new fence posts and barbed wire on the ground, my mind returned to the day Ellie left two years ago.

After her parents died, she had fallen into a deep depression. She had checked out completely—but who could blame her?

At first, I gave her space, letting her work through her emotions as she got used to her new normal.

But after a few months, I tried to convince her to do things that she used to love, hoping it would help her depression.

Going down to the lake, riding horses—nothing worked .

She wasn’t the same Ellie. She was a ghost of herself.

One day, I went to her room to check on her, but she was already gone for the day.

As I walked out the bedroom door, a paper on her desk caught my eye.

A plane ticket to Dallas, Texas. One way.

In that moment, I knew—if I didn’t tell Ellie how I really felt, I would never get the chance.

I ran to the stables, grabbing a piece of paper and pen on my way out of the house.

When I got there, I hid in the small office space in the corner, closing the door behind me.

On that sheet of paper, I wrote everything down I had ever wanted to tell Ellie—every feeling, every memory—I didn’t hold back.

I folded up the letter and stuffed it in my pocket, ready to give it to her.

But when I got back to the house, she stepped out of her room—her bags and a plane ticket in hand.

“Are you really leaving?” My voice was flat, unreadable.

She gripped the straps of her bags tighter, looking away. “Yes, Colt. I am. There’s nothing left for me in this town.”

That stung more than I expected.

“Are you coming back?” I asked, my voice breaking slightly.

She hesitated before answering.

“I just… feel like there’s more out there for me. Something bigger than this old town. It holds too many hard memories for me now.”

Pain washed over me. “You can’t leave, Ellie. ”

“Why, Colt? Why shouldn’t I leave? Give me one good reason.”

Because I love you.

The words caught in my throat.

I wanted to tell her. Wanted to give her the letter.

But I didn’t.

Instead, like all the times before, I told her what I knew she needed to hear.

“Just go, Ellie,” I whispered. “Go spread your wings.”

As she drove away, I stood there, motionless, engulfed in her dust cloud.

Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps brought me back to the present.

I turned around and saw my mom walking up with a glass of water.

“I figured you’d need this soon. This heat is getting unbearable.”

I took it from her with a nod. “Thanks, Mom, I really appreciate it.”

She lingered, her eyes studying me as if debating whether to say something.

Finally, she broke the silence.

“So, where were you last night? I noticed your truck was missing from the driveway,” she said, her lips quirking into a knowing smile as she winked.

Did anyone in this family mind their damn business?

“I’m surprised Jace hasn’t already told you everything.”

“Oh, he has,” she admitted, tilting her head. “But I wanted to hear it straight from the source.”

Of course, she did .

“Perfect,” I said dryly. “Then you should already know I stayed with her because she was injured and not for whatever ridiculous reason Jace probably fed you.”

Mom hummed in response, as if considering my words. Then, with a small smile, she said, “I love the idea, you know, of you and Ellie.”

I exhaled sharply and shook my head. “Well, don’t get your hopes up, Mom. Ellie doesn’t feel that way about me.”

“I’m not so sure of that,” she said.

“What does that mean?” I asked, turning my head, my interest piqued.

“I don’t do much of the hands-on work on this ranch but keeping up with the finances and making sure you kids are fed gives me plenty of quiet time. Time to listen.”

She went on.

“One night, many years ago, while I was getting dinner ready in the kitchen and you boys were out working with your father, I heard Molly and Ellie giggling on the porch. They were gossiping like all teenage girls do. But on that particular night, I may have overheard Ellie telling your sister how perfect you were. Molly was, of course, disgusted, but Ellie kept going on about how sometimes she wished you guys were more .”

Mom crossed her arms, tilting her head as she studied me. “What do you think she meant by that, Colt?”

I stared off into the distance. I didn’t have an answer .

Without another word, Mom turned and walked off, leaving me to overthink everything she had just revealed.