West of Forever (Heartstone Ranch #1)(103)

“Oh, I’m pretty sure that will end up being my role too.”

There’s not a chance in hell I trust Deacon or Ryan to take care of my father or mother.

“Can I show Lark my room?” Sadie asks.

Tristan nods, and she pulls me along. We go down a long hallway, and she points out each of her aunt’s rooms and shows me her dad’s, and then we get to hers. It’s so cute. Clearly, her father did not decorate it.

“This used to be Aunt Harper’s room, and she loves pink, so I kept it.”

I walk over to the huge photo on the wall. “Cloud looks handsome here.”

She smiles. “That’s the closest I could get to him for a long time.”

Yeah, I’m not sure how much closer she’s going to get for a bit, but I’m going to work on her father.

She shows me her collection of books, which range from young adult romance to stories about horses to a few mysteries. On the top shelf of her bookcase are little figurines and photos.

The one of Emmy Jo causes my chest to tighten. “May I?” I extend my hand and then stop to ask, not wanting to upset her by touching her things.

Sadie nods.

“You know, I have a photo of your mom, your aunt Mary Lou, and I right before my senior prom. I’d love to show you. I have a few photos, actually, that you may never have seen before.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” I laugh, remembering how much Mary Lou and I would drive Emmy Jo crazy. “One time she was in a bad mood because of something, I can’t remember, so your aunt and I got her Polaroid and took probably fifty photos of her when she wasn’t looking, and we made a photo book out of it. We thought she’d be so mad, but she laughed instead.”

“Dad said that Mom loved to smile.”

“She did,” I agree. “She was so kind to everyone.”

Sadie sits on her bed, listening to each word. “I like that you knew her.”

“Why is that?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. It just makes me feel like she would be okay with me getting to be around you.”

I place Emmy Jo’s photo back on her shelf before I sit next to her on the bed. “I like to think that too.”

“Are you going to marry my dad?”

Well, that escalated quickly. “Right now we’re just dating, but who knows what will happen.”

Sadie stares off for a second and then back to me. “Thanks for being so cool, Lark.”

I grin. “You’re pretty cool yourself.”

There’s a knock at the door, and Tristan is there. “Am I cool?”

Sadie and I look at each other, then turn to him at the same time. “Nope.”

And then we all laugh, and it feels so damn good.









Chapter 42





Tristan




As Sadie, Lark, and I are walking into the kitchen, I can hear my father barking at my sisters, and I pray that, just this once, he can behave. Lark was nervous—hell, I’m nervous—but thankfully things have gone well so far.

Seeing how she and Sadie interact makes my decision to be with Lark feel more and more right. They both get along great and often gang up on me—which is not so great.

“Where is she?” Pop barks.

“Dad, I’m warning you,” Harper’s voice rings out.

I step into the room first, taking Lark’s hand in mine. “There’s no need to warn him, Harper. He knows I’ll put him in a home if he acts up.”

Pop scoffs. “You’d have to catch me first, son.”

I roll my eyes. He thinks he can outrun all of us. In some ways, he does, though he’s mostly just running us in circles.

“Hi, Mr. Stone,” Lark says, dropping my hand. “I’m Lark. You already know my last name, but it’s really nice to meet you.”

Dad steps to her, taking her hands in his. “Sweetheart, you’re the only Gatlin I’d ever let around here.”

Lark smiles broadly. “Really? Why is that?”

“Because one day you can be a Stone.” He winks, and Lark bursts out laughing.

“Well, all right then. You are adorable.”

“You think so?” Pop puffs up his chest. “I was a handsome man in my prime.”

“You’re a handsome man now,” Lark tells him.

Pop grins. “What do you say you dump that loser over there and we can have dinner.”

I come up behind her, my hand resting on her back. “That’s enough from you, old man.”

“Yeah, yeah, you just don’t like that I’m smooth and the ladies adore me.” He bumps Lark with his elbow. “You’re thinking about it, ain’t you?”

“I am. Very seriously, actually,” Lark agrees and then turns to face me. “I mean, he is adorable and clearly has game. Can you top dinner?”

“I built you a tent on the ridge,” I remind her. “With lights and a sink.”

She turns to Pop. “He did do that.”

“And I drove you home in a damn monsoon and stepped in when some asshole was being handsy, and I took you away for a romantic getaway.”

“You took her away? When was this?” Veronica asks with a smirk.