“I will. I’ll call.”
“Good luck, honey.” The line went dead.
“Yeah,” Ryan murmured. “I’m going to need it.”
The following morning, she dressed quickly in jeans and a tucked-in T-shirt, tugged on her boots, grabbed her purse, and headed out to her SUV. The morning sun painted the pines gold as she slid behind the wheel. Shifting into reverse, she nearly missed seeing Alyssa stepping onto her own porch, then jogged down the steps to her vehicle.
“Hi!” Ryan called, lowering the window.
“Hey, Ryan. I’m going to breakfast at the house. Want to join me?”
Ryan shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m going to tell the guys goodbye and hopefully see Seth.”
“Ryan, are you sure about this? I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“If I don’t go now, I never will. I can do it.”
“I hope you do stay.”
She forced a smile. “Depends on Seth. I told my boss I was staying if I can.”
“I hope so. I’ll see you later, Ryan.”
“Have a good breakfast,” Ryan said as Alyssa waved and drove off.
Ryan steered her SUV down the gravel drive toward the main road. As she sat at the road, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. What if he was pissed that she showed up?
“Just tell him you wanted to tell the guys goodbye, then get your ass in the car and go.”
Ryan followed the winding road until pulling into Seth’s driveway and his log home came into view, dark cedar logs weathered by sun and snow, but nothing took away from the beauty of the place. She parked on the drive, heart pounding so hard she could feel it.
Chapter Ten
After parking her SUV, Ryan got out and glanced around. It seemed so quiet. She turned to face the barn, then headed in that direction. When she entered, she let her eyes adjust and smiled as she remembered to do it.
Walking along the barn’s aisle, she saw Pearl in her stall and walked to her. Ryan put her hand through the bars and rubbed her soft nose.
“Oh, Pearl, you beautiful girl, I will miss you so much,” she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.
“She’ll miss you too.”
Ryan turned to see Ringo standing behind her. She hugged him, smiling when his arms wrapped around her.
“I’ll miss you too, Ringo. I came to tell you all goodbye.”
“We’re going to miss you around here, Ms. Carroll,” he said.
“You can call me Ryan, you know.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She looked toward the barn doors to see Micky, Red, Spurs, and Buck, entering. They all circled around her as she hugged them. She looked at each face.
“Where’s Cull?”
“In his office,” Ringo said, nodding his head toward a door with a paned window.
“I need to see him.” Ryan smiled at the men with tears in her eyes. “I will miss you all.” She shook her head as she crossed to the other side of the barn and knocked on the door. When he called out to enter, she opened the door and stepped inside. Cull sat at his desk but didn’t look up until she cleared her throat.
