He lifts a brow. “What makes you say that?”
My fingers tighten around my mug. “Because I broke your rules. Twice. After everything happened with Lane…Wesley and I were…involved.”
He doesn’t even flinch. Just nods, like he’s been expecting it.
“Yeah, I know, honey.”
My stomach flips.“You know?”
“I’ve been around a long time. Not much happens on this ranch that I don’t know about.” He smiles faintly. “I pick my battles these days. But that doesn’t change what I said. You’ve been good for this place. You’ve been good for us.”
Before I can find words to convey my overwhelming emotions, he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a thick white envelope.
“This is for your work this summer,” he says, holding it out. “Fair pay for a job well done.”
My lips part and I try to blink away the stinging in my eyes. “What? No, you didn’t—”
“It’s already done,” he interrupts, gentle but firm. “You earned every cent. Don’t argue with me.”
I take it with both hands, running my thumb over the flap, feeling the weight of it. It’s not just money. It’s proof that I was valued, that I was seen. That Imattered.
My throat burns. My voice is barely a whisper. “No one’s ever done something like this for me before.”
He smiles, lines creasing the corners of his eyes. “If you ever change your mind, you’ll always have a home here.”
Something inside me cracks open. It’s quiet, but deep—the kind of break that lets light in. For the first time in a long time, I feelloved.
I blink back tears and manage a shaky smile. “Thank you, Heath. For…everything.”
He squeezes my shoulder. “You’ve got people in your corner now, Sadie. Don’t forget that.”
When I finally walk down the steps, Emmett’s truck is already idling out front. He meets me halfway, grabbing my suitcase without a word. Lydia throws her arms around me, wrapping me in a tight hug. Her eyes are rimmed red from crying, but I hold my tears in, knowing if I start I’ll never stop.
“I’ll call you as soon as I land, I promise.”
“You better. This place is a real sausage fest without you.”
What we both mean is.I’ll miss you.
I climb into the passenger seat and close the door, silently wishing it were Wesley behind the wheel.
Wishing we had more time. Wishing he’d at least come to say goodbye.
I rest my cheek against the headrest, staring out the back window, hoping—justhoping—to see him standing on the porch.But it’s empty. There’s just the house. The sky. And the hollow ache in the useless organ behind my ribs.
Hot tears roll down my cheeks, blurring my vision as I buckle my seatbelt and let Emmett drive me away from the only place I’ve ever felt I belong.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
WESLEY
I’mlosingmymind—ifI haven’t already.
She’s been gone for two weeks, and I swear my pillow still smells like her. It has to be a hallucination. It’s been more than twice that long since I had her in my bed.
Still, I’ve been sleeping with my bedroom window open, hoping it will air out the lingering scent—but her ghost still haunts me.
One summer. She was only here foronefucking summer. A handful of weeks. And somehow, the house feels like it’s been tilted off kilter without her here.
