West of Forever (Heartstone Ranch #1)(74)

I shudder. “I bet not.”

“Yes, well, this is the camp you chose for me. I promise, I will have my payback.”

“I don’t doubt that,” I tell her, with all the confidence that she will absolutely do that. “What are you up to now?”

“Just hanging out. We have a campfire soon, and they told us to call home because we probably won’t have service when we go camping.”

“However will you survive?”

“I won’t, and it’ll be your fault,” Sadie says without pause.

A teenager without their phone means imminent death or boredom that will lead to destruction. I have no doubt about that. I don’t envy the camp counselors who are going to be dealing with the kids.

I grin. “I’ll live with the guilt.”

“When I get back, can we please do something fun?” Sadie asks.

The fact that she still likes being around me makes me happy. I’m pretty sure by this age, the absolute last thing I wanted to do was be around my parents. Not that my dad was half as cool as I am, but still.

“I’d love that. Any ideas?”

“Yes, I’d love a ride out on the ridge.”

My chest tightens as I think of what the ridge has become. What I do there. Who I see. The way I feel when I know I’m heading there. Like I am as soon as I’m off this call.

I don’t know how I feel about any of it. The horse again, the ridge, the entire thing. I also know she’s putting me on the spot, and I don’t really appreciate that.

Then I think about the constant nagging of my sisters and father to let her ride again.

Like always, my mind goes back to the accident. The way she looked, the pain, the aftermath.

There’s no right answer. Or maybe there is, but I’m just not ready to give it.

“If I agree to this, and that’s a big if, it won’t be Cloud.”

Her eyes widen. “Okay.”

“I mean it, Sadie. Don’t start trying to negotiate with me. If I sense even a hint of manipulation, I’ll say no immediately. And again, this is a big if.”

“I hear you, Dad! No problem. We’ll talk, and if you say yes, I will ride whatever horse you want. I promise.”

I exhale heavily, needing to think about all of this. “All right. I’ll see you in a week?”

“One week, and I will be showering for at least a day after because…eww.”

I laugh. “Deal. I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

Yeah, unless I break her heart again by saying she can’t ride.









Chapter 30





Lark




“Tell me why you’re so unhappy about your brother coming,” Tristan says as I’m lying in his arms, his chest against my back as we stare out of the tent door. Yes, a tent.

Tristan surprised me with a small tent and lots of blankets. Sex outside without the risk of bugs.

We just had another fantastic round of sex, and I’m so freaking happy that Tristan likes to cuddle.

I like to cuddle too.

Remember, Lark, this isn’t a relationship.

I sigh, and Tristan’s arms tighten a little. While intimacy was not on the list, I also don’t have anyone I can talk to about this. Suzanne is flaky, and Mary Lou is hard to reach with her schedule. My other brothers can’t stand Carter, so talking about him to them will only fuel the fire.

Tristan it is.

“He makes Momma happy, which is good, but Deacon and Ryan don’t get along with him.”

“None of those reasons explain why you aren’t happy.”

Well, isn’t that annoying of him to point out.

I close my eyes, staying quiet and trying to muddle through my own thoughts. There is a lot with Carter and Maverick that is complicated. I can talk about Carter to Tristan, but there’s no way I will ever bring up Maverick.

Not ever.

Not with the damage he’s done to his family.

Not after the way Fallon came after me today.

I roll onto my back, turning my head to face him and pulling the covers up. “Carter and I don’t see eye to eye. He’s very difficult, always thinks he’s right, and never apologizes. My whole life, I’ve been hearing about how I don’t live up to my family name.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

I sigh. “It’s just…I’m not like them. I don’t hate everyone just because. I’m not always angry at the world and feel like things are terrible. I love it here, you know? I like my life. I love my family and friends. Sure, things suck sometimes, but overall, life is what you make of it. Situations are fleeting, and you just have to hold out hope that the bad stuff will shift. It always does. Carter is probably the worst of my brothers in the negativity department. Ryan is bad, but he at least can see the good in things, and I think his comes from deep responsibility.”

I stop there because I’m not going to divulge just how bad things are with the ranch. We need to replace a tractor, but we can’t afford it. “Carter thinks because he chose to leave Infinity Ridge, it makes him better than the rest of us. Maybe it does, I don’t know, but he likes to tell us why he’s so right.”

“He’s not right,” Tristan says immediately. His thumb moves to my chin, tilting it toward him. Our eyes meet in the moonlight, and even though I can’t see everything, I can see the emotions there. “He’s not right, Lark. He’s no better than you because he left here. What you do—for your family, for the community—matters.”