She stuck her bottom lip out, kicking a rock. “It’s not the same.”
“Honestly, I’m a little underwhelmed,” Weston confessed. “I was expecting something a little more chaotic. Like a car chase or a shoot out or I don’t know…something.”
Colt snorted. “This isn’t an old Western. It’s normally pretty cut and dry.”
“Boring’s more like it.” God, Weston and Delilah were cut from the same damn cloth.
I shrugged. “I liked it.”
“Yeah, ‘cause you got to play hero,” Claire pointed out, giving me a knowing look.
“It was sexy,” Delilah smirked. My sisters grimaced. While they supported us fully, they hadn’t gotten completely used to us being together. Delilah didn’t exactly make it easy on them, either. But I loved it that she clung to me, that we were joined at the hip.
“I’m just glad it’s done, and we can focus on the ranch now. Freedom Reins is opening next week, and we all need to be focusing on that,” Claire said.
Beau and I locked eyes. We hadn’t talked again about his plans to propose. All I knew was that he was waiting for next week to happen so Claire would be less stressed. I didn’t even know why she was stressed, though. Delilah had the whole thing sorted. All ten patients were booked, their care plans were ready, and the construction was completed. Before we knew it, Golden Circle would be up and running at full capacity.
It was bittersweet to see how much the ranch had transformed in such a small amount of time. I couldn’t help but think of my parents and wonder what they’d think. I hoped they’d be proud of us—of me. For the first time, I thought maybe they would be.
“You still taking me out tonight?” Delilah asked, her arms around my waist. Everyone had broken off into their own conversations while I was stuck in my head.
My stomach twisted. Tonight was our first date. A real one. It’d been a week since we became official, and I’d announced like a dumbass earlier that I’d take her out. Now that it was here, I was hoping she’d forgotten. But of course, she hadn’t.
“Yep.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to take her out. I did. I was just nervous. It was ridiculous, but it was true. I’d jumped out of planes into active war zones, and yet Delilah—mygirlfriend—had me more on edge. After everything we’d survived, something simple like dinner felt like a new kind of risk.
She grinned, and I knew then I’d have to suck it up. I’d crawl over glass for that smile. “Pick me up at seven?”
“Okay.” She gave me a kiss. One that made my head spin and my heart flip.
“Maybe if you’re lucky, I won’t wear panties,” she said, walking backwards towards her Jeep with a smirk that made my knees weak. She stepped onto the running board of her car and blew me a kiss, hair wild in the wind.
I caught the kiss and put it in my pocket. “God,” I murmured to myself, voice tinged with awe. I still couldn’t fully believe she was mine. Sometimes I couldn’t even believe Delilah was real. She was too perfect. Everything I’d ever wanted in a woman and then some.
“Hey,” Colt said, pulling me from my thoughts. “I want to talk to you about something.”
I watched Delilah pull out before I gave him my full attention. I turned to face him, crossing my arms. “What’s up?”
“You ever think about what’s next for you?”
I frowned, not catching on. “I’m not following.”
“I know you manage the ranch hands, but”—he let out a long breath, resting his hands on his hips—“you ever think about doing something else?”
“Like what?”
“Like putting on another uniform.”
My brows raised a fraction. “A police uniform?”
He huffed a laugh. “Yes, Emmett, a police uniform. We could use someone like you.”
“I don’t know…”
“Talk it over with Delilah. Whatever you need to do. Just promise you’ll think about it.” I nodded. “Good.” He clapped my shoulder. “I think you’d like it.” I didn’t need to think, I knew I’d like it. But I’d still take the time to mull it over.
The ranch was never meant to be more than a stepping stone for me anyway. But maybe it had been what I needed to slow down long enough to remember what peace felt like. I’d spent so many years chasing the next mission, the next fight, the next thing to fix. Turns out, peace wasn’t something to chase—it was something to build. Maybe Colt was right. Maybe another uniform was in my future. But whatever path I chose, I knew Delilah would be by my side. With her, the ghosts that haunted me didn’t seem all that scary, and I felt more capable than ever before.
