West of Forever (Heartstone Ranch #1)(107)

While I heard every single syllable laced with sarcasm, I respond the opposite way. “Thank you.”

The host grabs the menus and gestures for us to follow. Tristan places his hand on the small of my back and we go have our dinner. People stare the whole time, but neither of us notices because we’re too busy being focused on each other.





“You and Tristan?” Mary Lou asks. “Tristan Stone. As in my brother-in-law?”

“Yes.”

“Like together?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“Well, I didn’t see that coming,” she says with a laugh. “Are you…like…do you guys love each other?”

We’re sitting at the bar, just the two of us, having the conversation I’ve been terrified of all night. When we arrived, I gave hugs, grabbed her hand, and we’ve been sitting here ever since, each nursing a drink. The rest of the group—Tristan, Suzanne, Jimmy, Harper, and two of her friends—are at the table area or dancing.

Mary Lou and I needed to talk in private. Tristan pretty much demanded he come with me, but I don’t need that. I need my best friend’s blessing or at least understanding.

“We do. I promise, we wouldn’t have told another soul if it wasn’t serious.”

She glances over her shoulder and laughs. “I can see that with the way he’s staring at us, as if he can read lips and he’s ready to come rescue you.”

“Do I need rescuing?” I ask.

Mary Lou places her hand on the bar and turns to me. “You’re my best friend, Lark. You’re like a sister, and while this is a little weird, I just want you to be happy. I think Emmy Jo would want that too. How does Sadie feel?”

“Well, she’s my bestie.”

She laughs a little. “I bet. You’re pretty cool.”

“I also got Tristan to let her ride.”

Mary Lou’s eyes go wide. “You what?”

“Yeah, we’ve been working with Cloud a few days a week, and she’s not ready to ride him. I should clarify: She’s ready, but her father’s not. She’s been riding Olympia.”

Every day we ride five minutes longer than we did the day before. Sadie is a natural rider, and I love watching her come alive when she’s in the saddle. We work on small things like posture and better control of the reins. With each day we’re accident-free, Tristan relaxes a touch when we start, and by the end he almost smiles.

I take that as great progress.

“I feel like I missed so much in the last few months!”

“You should move back to Infinity Ridge.”

Mary Lou scoffs. “Not a chance. I love being away from here. This town, it holds a lot of memories that aren’t the greatest. Anyway”—she lifts her glass—“here’s to you and Tristan. May you both find whatever you were missing and be happy.”

I clink my bottle’s neck to hers. “Thank you for being my best friend.”

She rests her head on my shoulder. “Thanks for being mine.”

We head over to the rest of the group after we finish our talk. Mary Lou jokes with Tristan about clearly being obsessed with her since he keeps being with women closely connected to her.

He laughs.

I roll my eyes.

We dance a lot. Mary Lou and Suzanne are always the life of the dance floor, and they drag me along with them.

Finally, the lights go down and the mood shifts.

I look at Tristan, who is staring back across the bar, a grin on his face. He stalks toward me with purpose and desire.

“Dance with me?” he asks.

“I would love to.”

Hand in hand, we go to the dance floor, where his hands go to my waist and mine around his neck.

“Happy?”

I smile up at him. “Very. You?”

“More than I ever thought possible.”

“Could it be because of me?” I question.

“Could be.”

I laugh. “Oh, well, in that case.”

Tristan leans down and gives me a kiss. “You are the reason I smile every day, Lark. You’re the reason the world spins, the birds sing, the sun rises, and the stars shine. You make me incredibly happy.”

Tears fill my eyes. “That was…so beautiful.”

“It’s true. You’re my now and my forever.”

My fingers brush the hair at the back of his neck. “Forever?”

“Forever.”









Epilogue One


TRISTAN





One Year Later


“Come here,” Harper says with a laugh as she sees me messing with this damn bow tie. “You’re a mess.”

“I’m just…nervous.”

We’re in the back room of the church as I prepare to make Lark my wife. I don’t know why I’m anxious. I love her. She loves me. It’s been great, and we’re happy—nauseatingly so. I’m ready to be her husband, even if that means I run the risk of enduring the possibility of losing her.

Harper smiles, brushing the lapels down. “I would be too. Dad is out there with the Gatlins,” she jokes.

It doesn’t matter that, for the last year, Lark and I have done everything we can to force our families to get along. The best we’ve gotten is a truce.