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“Not yet, but all three of us have savings. She comes from Washington, but we’re considering staying in Alaska. The resources are harder to come by, especially in the more remote parts, but we can make it work anywhere.”
Shaw reached out and clasped Piers’s shoulder hard. The brotherly grip damn near brought him to his knees with a heavy weight of sadness, though.
He gripped Shaw’s shoulder too. They shared a nod of unspoken understanding that if ever needed, they were both there for each other. The other person only needed to call.
“Well, come find me before you go. Say goodbye. Ash too.”
He firmed his lips. “We will.”
Shaw dropped his hand and walked away. Piers couldn’t quite trust himself to turn and watch him go. The end of an era didn’t have anything to do with giving up the job—it was this place.
The ranch. The people he worked and played alongside. The beauty of the landscape, the animals he helped care for each and every day. Over the years, it had become home like nothing had before.
We’ll find our own place. A new home, a new place to love.
After a few more trips between his room and the truck, he was able to stuff down the majority of his feelings about leaving the ranch. There was no reason to be sad. He was getting exactly what he wanted—Ash and Sylvee. The three of them living, working, playing…loving.
As he headed back to the lodge once more, a shrill whistle carried to him. He automatically glanced up to see a man dressed in all black waving at him.
He peered closer. Riggs.
Since the big bosses accepted their resignations, they hadn’t spoken. What could he want now?
He detoured toward Riggs, cutting across the yard, noting where it was still patchy from the heavy winter snows. In another month, the grass would be lush and green, but he wouldn’t be around to see it.
When he got close enough to see Riggs’s dark eyes, he pulled in a deep breath. That crease of worry between his brows didn’t look good at all.
“You need me for something?”
Riggs assessed him with a cool look. “Let’s walk.”
Oh shit. This couldn’t be good.
Not that he needed to worry about what the bosses said anymore. They were no longer his bosses.
Still, he gave Riggs a nod of agreement. They set off toward the water.
As the sidewalk gave way to a footpath, they were both silent. Birds flitted between the low shrubbery and the light breeze freshened, bringing the scent he associated with the harbor. In the distance, he heard the barking of the seals that were probably playing on the rock.
“This place is magic. Another world.” Riggs’s observation echoed Piers’s own.
“It’s beautiful, for sure.”
“I’m wondering if my family needs to make this our permanent residence too.”
Piers snorted.
Riggs twisted to look at him. “Why is that funny?”
“Texas boy like you in Alaska? You wouldn’t survive one winter.”
His lips quirked. “That’s true. A summer home then.”
Piers chuckled. They reached the inlet. A Boot Knocker had one of the small boats out in the harbor. A woman sat in the back of the vessel in a bathing suit, face tipped up to the sun.
Bending, Piers snagged a pebble off the shore and ran his thumb over the smooth edge.
“If you had the choice to stay on the ranch, would you?” Riggs’s question caught him off guard.
