Page 36 of Want You Back (Second Chance Ranch #1)

Chapter 36

Maverick

“I feel bad your visit hasn’t been more exciting,” I told Adler as we sipped our coffee on the back porch. He’d been here a week now, but most of it had been a blur with Faith’s accident, hospital trips, and logistics. We’d barely gotten a chance to talk, and he was due to leave in the next few days.

“Don’t apologize.” Adler waved my concern away. Today’s outfit was iridescent jeans and a blue heavy metal band T-shirt. “You’ve had a lot going on.”

“I have.” I grimaced because my to-do list kept growing, not shrinking. Soon, I would need a whiteboard like Colt to track my various responsibilities. Seeing Faith in the hospital, getting Hannah ready for the first day of school, trying to keep the ranch afloat. It was a lot.

“Besides, I love it here.” Adler grinned wide. He did seem much more smiley here than the last time I’d seen him in LA. “This is the clearest my head has felt in years. I’ve continued going to meetings in town, but sobriety feels different out here. You should start charging our other friends for the privilege of coming here to reset?—”

Boom. An idea smacked into me, lighting up my brain like the comet in Colt’s tattoo. “Say that again.”

“I love it?—”

“Not that part. Charging. What if that’s the answer to the cash flow issues and our needing more hands?” I stood from my deck chair, loving this idea more and more. “Like offering a dude ranch experience on a real, working ranch to folks looking for a reset, like you said. Get them helping with basic chores, maybe put them on some of the tamer horses…”

“I’m down.” Adler was somewhere between laughter and wonder. “Maybe I can be your first visitor once you give the ranch its makeover.”

“It does need a fresh start.” I was spurred on by Adler’s enthusiasm. Finally, a chance to use all my hospitality industry skills right here on the ranch, a colliding of my two worlds, a fresh start for all of us. “Wait. We can’t have people coming to visit Lovelorn Ranch. That sounds too depressing.”

“Nah. It’s fine.” Chuckling, Adler gave a vague shrug. “Tell a few ghost stories about your pioneer ancestors.”

“Not a terrible idea, but what if we renamed the ranch?” I gestured widely. Adler was so right that the ranch also needed a makeover. That’s what I’d been doing all summer without quite realizing it.

“What are you going to call it?” Adler asked right as Colt’s truck pulled up into the driveway.

“Second Chance Ranch.” I was distracted by my big idea, but my pulse gave its usual gallop at the sight of Colt.

“I love it.” Adler stood from his chair as well to clap me on the shoulder. “Let’s brainstorm more later. I’ll let you have a few minutes alone with Sheriff Sexy.”

“He’ll hate that nickname.” I laughed.

“Which is why I use it.” Adler gave a mischievous grin. “Same as Foreman Foxy.”

Shaking my head, I whistled low at the audacity. “Grayson might roast you over a campfire if he heard you say that.”

“I’d take the risk.” Adler glided back into the house as Colt and Willow exited the truck. It was a gorgeous late August morning, clear with wide-open vistas for days, warm but not stifling due to the hint of a breeze.

“I’ll get Hannah!” Willow sped past Colt, bounding up the porch steps and into the house as easily as if she lived there. I hoped one day she would, a thought that made me smile that much more warmly at Colt.

“Thanks again for doing school supply shopping.” The plan was for him to take Willow, Hannah, and their school supply lists to the store while I visited Faith in the hospital again. Hannah had visited her mother a few times now, but school started Monday. The distraction of getting ready was good for Hannah and Willow.

“You’ve had enough on your plate.” Colt threw an easy arm around my shoulders. “I’m happy to help.”

“Teamwork.” I leaned into his embrace. He smelled exactly like he always did, which was amazing, and I inhaled deeply, drawing strength from his familiarity. “I’m headed to the hospital soon, but first, I have to tell you about the brainstorm I just had with Adler.”

“Should I be afraid?” He tilted his head.

“Possibly.” I took on a cagey tone. “I want to rename the ranch.”

“A hundred and fifty-plus years of Lovelorns are rolling in their graves right now.” Colt stepped back to peer into my eyes like he thought I was playing a joke.

“Let them.” I, on the other hand, was deadly serious. No joke. “I’m giving this place a second chance. Just like us. A second chance to get things right. New hope. And I want to share that experience with others. I want to call it Second Chance Ranch.”

“You want to do what now?” Grayson came up to the porch. In my excitement, I’d missed his approach.

“Hey! I’m glad you’re here.” I waved for him to join us on the porch. I couldn’t hold back from sharing my plan all at once. “I want to rename the ranch and open it to select visitors. Visitors who could also help with chores.”

Grayson did a slow blink. Then another. He reached down and pinched his wrist hard enough he winced. “Okay, I’m awake. You want to turn this place into a dude ranch?”

“It would be another stream of income.” I used the same tone that had won over hotel boardrooms up and down the West Coast. “We’d still be a working ranch. But this would give us some additional help and income and also give others like Adler a fresh start.”

“Adler’s sticking around?” Grayson’s eyes widened with what looked to be genuine alarm.

“Problem?” Maybe Adler was being a bit too obvious with his crush. I hoped not. I offered Grayson an encouraging smile. “I’m hoping to convince him to stay. I need him to help with this idea. He’s a hospitality wizard.”

“Oh, he’s something,” Grayson mumbled under his breath before straightening his shoulders and taking on an almost too professional tone. “No problem, boss. You’re right on cash flow, but I’m not sure about a bunch of green city slickers running around.”

“Leave it to me.” I threw my arms wide, trying to inspire confidence. “I’ll come up with a plan so any guests aren’t too much underfoot. You’ll see.”

“Mm-hmm.” Grayson gave a slow nod. Next to him, Colt looked equally skeptical, but that was okay. I’d show all of us.

“I can’t wait to tell Faith this idea.”

“How is she?” Grayson asked, voice guarded.

“In a regular room, finally. Starting physical and occupational therapy. They’ve had her up and walking with a walker some.”

“That’s good.” Grayson used measured tones when discussing Faith. Same as we all did these days. We were glad she was making progress, but celebration felt wrong. Low-key optimism was the mood all around.

“She’s going to rehab after she’s discharged. Met with a lawyer yesterday, and she’s working out a plea deal for diversion. Fine plus lengthy probation plus rehab. She needs a second chance too.”

“Yep.” Grayson was only too quick to agree. “Hannah gonna stay here with you?”

“Yeah. The lawyer is drawing up temporary guardianship papers.”

“It will be good for Maverick and Hannah,” Colt added. “Peace of mind.”

The girls came rushing out to get to the truck, each holding a paper list as they climbed up into the backseat of the truck. “We’re ready.”

“Guess I should be going to the hospital soon.” I shot Colt a look, trying to convey how much I wanted to touch him but exercising some restraint in front of Grayson. “Good luck with the shopping.”

Grayson snorted. “I’ll mosey on so you can kiss the sheriff instead of looking like a sad goat.”

We all laughed at that, and I kissed Colt fast. Easy. I’d been wondering exactly how to tell Grayson that Colt and I were a thing and whether I should leave the telling to Colt, but apparently, Grayson already knew.

Once at the hospital, I went straight to the sunny room on the general floor where Faith had been moved after the ICU. And, of course, I immediately told her about my idea for the ranch.

“So, the name change would be like a reboot for the ranch, a fresh purpose,” I summed up my pitch.

“Hmmm.” Faith’s face was a mess of fading bruises, but her eyes turned thoughtful as she nodded. “I suppose I might know some folks in Houston who wouldn’t mind shelling out for a dude ranch experience once you get the details worked out.”

“That would be awesome.” I grinned. I hadn’t expected her to be at all enthusiastic, so her support took my already good mood that much higher. “And the changes would be for you too. You deserve a second chance as well.”

“Not so sure about that.” Grimacing, she shifted in the hospital bed. “My bad choices finally caught up to me.”

Her leg was now in a walking cast, and I’d bought her some easy-wear pajamas. However, Faith continued to radiate the same vulnerability she had after the accident, a fragility that made me want to wrap her up in soft blankets and protect her, even from herself.

“You can make better ones,” I said firmly. I might not be able to save her from the legal ramifications, but I could be the biggest cheerleader on her road back. “I believe in you, Faith.”

“You’d be the first.” Her expression went from pained to more distant.

“No. Hannah believes in you too. And Mom did as well.” I was taking a chance, bringing up our mother, but I was newly determined to tackle the past, and that meant being willing to acknowledge the big losses we’d both suffered.

Faith quirked her lips. “Glad she’s not here to see this.”

“I like to think she’d be proud of you for addressing the problem. She always was a fan of personal responsibility. Everyone falls down. The key is?—”

“Getting back on the horse,” Faith finished for me in a weary voice. “I remember.” She swallowed hard. “Maybe she would have liked your dude ranch idea. I think she was more than a little lonely as a rancher’s wife.”

“Yeah.” Now, I was the one with the thick voice, so I forced a lighter tone. “Dad would hate this, but hey, we’re not selling.”

“Fuck him.” Faith tried to gesture with her hand before wincing and returning it to lay on the white hospital blanket. “And yes, not selling.”

“You good with that?” I scooted my chair closer to the bed. If she wanted to try to force a sale, she could be a major thorn in my plans, so her support was crucial.

“Prove me wrong, Maverick.” She gave a little nod, sounding more like her usual regal self. “Make this work. Do it for Hannah.”

“I’m doing it for all of us.”

“You sure you’re not just staying for Colt?” Her voice came out as a tease, but her eyes stayed more serious.

“I’m staying for me.” I reached for her hand. “I love him, Faith.”

“I know. You always have.” She squeezed my fingers. “You two are almost enough to make a person believe in soulmates or something equally stupid.”

“I believe.” I grinned. And I did. When Colt and I made love, when he was inside me, I had zero doubts he was my person. I thanked fate every day for putting him in my path. “And you never know. Yours might still be out there.”

“Ha. Not looking like this.” She dropped her gaze to the blankets and various machines near the bed.

“Focus on your recovery. You never know what the future might bring.” I tried to project all the optimism I could in her direction.

“A second chance,” she mused softly before nodding. “Okay, yeah, the name is growing on me.”

“Good.” I beamed. “I’ll order a sign.”

“The ancestors are gonna haunt you when you take the old one down.” She let out a weak laugh.

“I’ll take the risk.” This whole idea was a risk—changing the ranch name, adopting a new direction for the ranch and myself, giving Colt my whole heart and future, but I was utterly convinced all the risks would be worth it.