West of Forever (Heartstone Ranch #1)(106)

I watch as Tristan helps his daughter into the saddle. She smiles down at him, and he returns the gesture.

“Thank you, Daddy,” Sadie says, and I can tell this is for so much more than just the help.

“I love you, Sadie Jo. I’m proud of you.”

“I love you, too, and I think we’re all proud of you,” she says back.

“I know I am,” I add on.

As Sadie settles into the saddle, he walks away and comes to me. “Thank you, sweetheart. For giving me the hell I needed to let her do this.”

“I’m happy to give you hell anytime, cowboy. Now we have a lesson. Go back over there and watch your daughter ride.”

Tristan gives me a sweet kiss, which causes Sadie to make a gagging noise. The two of us laugh, and then Sadie rides for the first time since her accident. Tristan looks like he might puke, but he doesn’t say a word and endures his discomfort for his daughter.





“You don’t think it’s strange that since we’ve officially gotten together, the random acts of vandalism on my farm have stopped?” I ask Tristan as we’re parking the truck.

Tonight we’re going on a date—publicly.

In town.

And I’m sure the gossip mill is going to be working overtime, but it’s clear we’re in love and happy, and we’re tired of clandestine meetings at the ridge.

So we’ll have dinner, and then we’re going country line dancing at the Beast, where Suzanne and Mary Lou are meeting us.

She arrived back in town, and I’m a ball of nerves about telling her the news about me and Tristan.

“I honestly haven’t thought about it,” he says as he puts the truck in park and turns to look at me. “It makes sense since I got arrested for it. At this point, they probably want me to take the fall, and if they did anything, it would be obvious it wasn’t me. However, I don’t know if I told you, but the charges were dropped. Out of nowhere.”

“Yeah, I told Ryan to drop the charges, or I was going to poison his food.”

“You’re truly scary some days.”

“I know, right?” I say with a smile. “Anyway, if it wasn’t you, how do you explain this phenomenon?”

Truly, I never thought it was him. He’s made it clear it wasn’t, but then…it’s stopped. That random person on the recording has never been back. We still check the cameras, hoping that maybe their face will suddenly be clearly identifiable, but there’s been nothing in weeks.

“I can’t because I have no idea who it is, why they were doing it to begin with, or why they’ve stopped.”

“Hmm, maybe we should let Jimmy keep the case open,” I joke. “I know Daddy would love an answer as to who he can shift his hate to, since he no longer despises you.”

“We should. Maybe he’ll finally solve a crime.”

I snort. “You’re such a dick to your bestie.”

He laughs. “Are you kidding? Sarcasm and cruelty are a sign of love and friendship between most men.”

Don’t I know that. The way my brothers treat each other, you’d think they were preparing for war. After Carter’s visit, the three of them sort of bonded. I don’t know if it was because of my accident, but they came to an agreement to at least try. Carter even promised to come back for Christmas, which prompted my mother to burst into tears.

Almost all her family will be together this year.

All except one.

“Well, whatever the reason you’re all mean to each other, it’s lame. I never want to hear any of you say that women have issues,” I scoff.

Tristan grins and hops out of the truck, then comes around to open my door. He extends his hand and helps me down before closing it. As I go to move, he pushes me against the door, arms caging me in on both sides.

“Before we make our grand debut, I wanted to say this. I love you. No matter what people say or think. No matter whether they agree or disagree, I don’t give two fucks. I care about you. I care about us. I care about the life we’re building.”

I nod and smile. “Good, let’s give them something to talk about then.”

We share a sweet kiss, and then I place my hand in his as we walk into the restaurant.

It’s like one of those dramatic moments on television. People’s forks freeze, midway to their mouths, conversations stop, and all eyes are on us.

The town is all very aware of the bad blood between our families, and I get it. This is a shock, but it’s not that dramatic.

Or maybe it is, since they’re all staring.

Tristan lets out a low sound from his chest. “Lark and I are together, and I love her. This is a date, so continue on with your meals.”

I slap his chest with my free hand. “Tristan, that’s not how you tell them.”

He stares down at me. “How do you want me to do it? Look at them.”

“You could have some finesse. Like…” I turn to face the crowd of onlookers. “Hey, everyone, how ya doing? We’re good. This might be a little bit of a shock, but you know, we’re together on our first date in public. Our families are aware and thank you for being so wonderful.”

I finish my little speech and turn to him.

He snorts. “Yes, that was better, sweetheart.”