He jerks a nod. “I know the small, dark-haired one. Is that her?”
“No, that’s Finley. Faith is blonde like Lissie, but she’s got big brown eyes. An honest-to-God angel to look at, but the woman is a damn she-devil if you ask me.”
Alex chuckles as he sips his Macallan. “I can vouch for that, but honestly, from her internship application, I reckon she’s done a lot of maturing in the two years since I last saw her.”
I lift a shoulder with a slight tilt of my head. “Well, I guess you’re about to find out, DeMarco.”
Vaughn’s reappearance puts an end to further speculation, though my stomach still niggles at the idea of Faith in Manhattan even as I know I need to let her find her way, just as I did.
“I’ve been waiting what feels like for-fucking-ever to give this to you, Holloway.”
My friend extends a thick envelope, nodding that I should take it. He smirks when I take it from his hand, and then he sits back down in his seat to my left.
“I’m assuming you’re in the process of house shopping, or maybe that should beranchhunting.”
I slide my finger underneath the seal of the envelope as I nod. “Yeah, though there’s nothing either of us like within an hour of Whispering Willows.” With a shrug, I pull out a stack of papers,placing them on my lap. “We’ll keep looking. If we’re moving all that way, we’re gonna make sure we wait on theright?—”
My voice stops working and my vision goes blurry as I stare at the documents before me—documents that are, in fact, the property title for Circle H Ranch.
The ranch I’d always dreamed of running one day. The place I’d often envisioned settling down with Emmy. The home of my childhood. The one that had been so cruelly snatched away alongside so much else through the machinations of one man.
I blink several times before shaking my head. Because right there, in black ink, ismy name. And I’m listed as the sole owner.
“It took some finagling, but I managed to get my hands on these a little over four years ago when the property was put up for auction.”
I try and fail to swallow past the lump in my throat before I swipe the back of my hand across my eyes, dashing away the tears that have temporarily blinded me.
“But how…why…I don’t understand…” Words fail me as I lift my gaze to Vaughn’s.
One side of his mouth lifts in a smirk. “I think you’re aware that I have more money than I could spend in a million lifetimes, so that answers thehow. As for thewhy, well, simply put, Holloway, you can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy. How you’ve lasted five years in this city is beyond me…”
Alex and Gray chuckle as Vaughn’s smirk becomes a full-blown shit-eating grin that shines from his eyes. “And as for your lack of understanding, allow me to confirm itonce.” He quirks an eyebrow. “So listen up, because this is a one-time admission you’re not likely to hear ever again, okay?”
I nod solemnly, my heart swollen almost to bursting as I regard the man who’s so much more than a friend to me. His almost midnight eyes are serious as they hold mine when hestates without inflection, “I don’t let many people in. But those select few who make it past the hard exterior, the few who worm their way through my deep-seated defenses, the few who trulymatterto me…there’s next tonothingI wouldn’t do for them.”
His forehead creases, and I feel the power of the emotions behind his declaration as he gives me a hard stare. “And I’m damn lucky to count you among those few, Ford. The day you walked in here asking for a job was the first time in alongfucking time that I took a chance on someone. Andthis?—”
He gestures to the property title in my grasp. “This is a small token of my gratitude to you for helping shape a future I’d never have believed possible. Because in taking a chance on you, it opened my eyes—and my heart—to these fuckers here?—”
“Hey!”
Alex and Gray’s joint cry of indignation has Vaughn and I sharing a grin before he sobers, his lips rising in an almost secretive smile.
“And my wife, who’s made my life richer in a way money could never buy.”
Then he winks, his teeth flashing in a Cheshire Cat smug grin. “And I can finally confirm that Sia’s going to be a big sister. Baby number two is due on Christmas Day.”
The sound of Emmy’s sweet singing greets my ears as I step off the elevator of what’s rapidly becomeourapartment above Sentinel. Once I’ve deposited the property title inside the safe in my office, I follow her dulcet tones, finding her having just climbed from the oversized tub that overlooks the city in the main bathroom.
Water drips down her body as she sings “Iris,”almost under her breath, and she stops suddenly when her eyes meet mine, a smile lighting up her entire face. I step inside the large bathroom, grabbing her fluffy white dressing robe from the back of the door before crossing the floor to slip it over her shoulders.
Looping my arms around her, I draw her back against my chest and press a kiss to her cheek. I can feel her smile as she snuggles closer to me, and I pull back just enough to whisper against the shell of her ear. “Coming home to you still feels like I’m living in a dream, baby.”
She spins within my embrace, looping her arms around my neck with a wry smile. “If I’m dreaming, I don’t ever want to wake up.”
I drop my brow to hers, my gaze locked on her bright blue eyes as my hold around her tightens. “How do you feel about moving this dream to Texas?”
There’s laughter in her voice when she murmurs, “Haven’t we already started ranch shopping?”
