Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
I nod. “I love my work here. Getting to help people feel beautiful and confident isn’t just a job to me. It’s a calling.”
“I love hearing that. You’re a big part of Allura’s success, Trinity. And if your heart tells you to move to Wyoming, there will still be a role for you here if you want it.”
I warm inside, smiling as big as my cheeks will allow. “I wouldn’t have asked you for that, but it would mean a lot to me to not have to leave completely.”
“I’m thrilled for you. You didn’t just survive the plane crash—you came out of it stronger. And in love.”
I picture Linc sitting across the table from me at the cabin, elbows on the table. His warm gaze on mine. He was a lifeline to me then. A port in a storm of uncertainty and fear. And he still is.
“He loves me exactly as I am, and I want to love him back the same way. Surprise ranch purchase and all.”
Kate stands from her seat. “He’s a keeper. They’re stubborn and sometimes impulsive, but life with a hockey player is never dull. I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
I’m still nervous as hell, but it feels real now. With her words of support, what felt overwhelming and impossible this morning now feels like it’s truly happening.
I guess I need to buy some cowboy boots.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ONE MONTH LATER
Lincoln
“Are you sure about this?” My dad gives me a skeptical look as he takes off his straw hat and wipes sweat from his brow. “This is a lot of lettuce for two people.”
“I invited my whole team to come visit as soon as their season ends. And their wives and kids.”
He arches his brows. “Okay then. You should have some nice salads from this garden.”
“There’s also a garden co-op in Jackson Hole. I can donate anything we won’t be able to use.”
Satisfied, he returns to work. He and my stepmom, Pam, came to the ranch for the first time to visit a few days ago. I planned to stop the projects I had in progress and take them sightseeing and out to some of the many great restaurants in the area, but they both insisted they wanted to help me with the ranch.
“Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes,” Pam says, getting up from the spot where she’s kneeling on the ground, working the soil with a hand tool. “I’d better get cleaned up.”
She’s been making dinner every night, and it’s the first time in ages I’ve had home-cooked meals. Tonight we’re having beef stew and garlic bread, and after working on tilling the new garden plot all afternoon, I’m so fucking hungry I could chew on one of my hands.
“You should go get a shower,” my dad says. “You don’t want to be a mess when your girl gets here.”
I glance at my watch, which has dirt caked around the band. “Oh, shit. I didn’t realize it was so late.”
“We’re going to wait until she gets here to have dinner.”
I stand up and brush dirt off my clothes. Trinity’s finally on her way here. The past month has passed slowly, other than the long weekend I spent with her in Chicago two weeks ago.
We talked a lot and shopped for engagement rings. I’m more sure than ever about us, but I’m nervous about her seeing the ranch.
The setting couldn’t be more beautiful, with mountains in the distance and a small lake surrounded by woods. The view from every window is spectacular.
The interior of the main lodge is under renovation, though, and it’s currently a mess. There’s drywall dust everywhere and plastic sheeting up to keep the dust from covering every surface in the house.
Dad, Pam and I are all staying in the two-bedroom guesthouse for now. It has a kitchen and two bathrooms, so it meets our needs. It’s being renovated after the main house. Trinity’s been helping choose finishes for everything over FaceTime.
The bathroom I use in the guesthouse has forest-green tile and wallpaper with a border that has cowboy hats all over it. It’s still stuck in the year 1991, which is when the lodge and guesthouse were built by a Hollywood producer. He never spent much time here, so the place was frozen in time when I bought it.
It has great potential, though. When I looked at the property for the first time, it reminded me of my relationship with Trin. At first, we saw the green tile and wallpaper in each other. All the red flags and none of the green.
Our time together brought us past that superficial facade. We got to know and appreciate each other on a deeper level. I saw her push back against the anxiety that wanted to put her in a stranglehold. She accepted me as I was, even though I was neurotic about sex because of my own hang-ups.