My jaw ticked, but I turned to face my wife. Because there was no way this actually appealed to her. I hated that they’d put her in this position.
She looked at the floor, and I took that as confirmation—she was uncomfortable, just as I’d suspected. I was about to pull her into my arms and whisper that we could leave right now. She didn’t have to do this. It was okay to say no.
But then she said in a hush, “Ford’s right. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. I’d get to start a company with my name on it and model makeup I created.”
Hold up.
Did she actually want this?
Her expression was nervous but excited.
She wanted this. Badly.
Then it hit me. Ford had seen my no on the fire chief job and raised me a wife who’d just been offered everything she’d never told me she wanted. All to maneuver me back.
My jaw pulsed. “Let me guess,” I said to Jules. “You have to stay in Seddledowne to do it.”
She stared at me, saying nothing.
Which was its own answer.
I couldn’t live here again. I’d fought so hard to be happy last time and it had evaded me at every turn. But I was happy in Phoenix.Actuallyhappy, maybe for the first time in years. I didn’t want to give up my job, my friends, my peace, or the distance from my family that let me breathe. I could be a good husband out there. A really good husband. But here? Juliette would see all the worst parts of me.
And there was no way she’d love me after that.
For the sake of our marriage, I had to talk her out of this.
I threw up my hands. “Jules, this is what Ford does. He twists people into doing what he wants. Well, guess what?” I whirled on my uncle. “I’m not going to be your stupid puppet. I’m perfectly happy out west, and I am never, ever moving back. So just stop,” I seethed. “Stop manipulating my wife and using her as a pawn so you can be the hero who got Griffin to come home.” I hardened my expression. “The answer is officially no.”
There. End of story. Now we could leave. And we needed to, or we were going to miss our flight. Did they think I could just walk away from my job? I’d signed on for theseason and couldn’t tap out early simply because it was inconvenient.
Aunt Peyton shook her head, mouth pressed flat.
Which was whatever.
But Ford? Wasn’t playing fair. He said nothing. Just looked at Jules—a single, deliberate look that handed her the floor.
I saw my mistake too late. Right about the time Jules lifted her chin.
“Wow,” she said. Then she rolled her shoulders back and thrust her hand at Peyton. “I accept your offer. When do we start?”
As they shook, sealing the deal, I stared at them open-mouthed.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked Juliette. It hit me then. Maybe Liam was right. Maybe I didn’t know my wife as well as I thought I did. Last night we were the greatest love story ever told, and today she didn’t give a crap about what I wanted? It felt like a betrayal. Full stop. “You know how I feel about this place. This town.”
Jules turned to me, her expression softening. “I like it here. A lot. Your family is…incredible. And now they’re my family. You know what that means to me.” She put her hands on her hips. “Since the second day we got here, all I could think was, I don’t want to leave. Ever. I want to be here for Christmas and Easter and Halloween, and every Sunday dinner. And I want to watch Blaze play football and see Belle argue with Madden’s son, Christian, the next time he’s at the ranch. Everybody keeps talking about how spicy they are together. I want to castrate a bull and learn to ride a horse. I want to experience all of it. In person. Not over FaceTime.” She sniffed. “That’s why I cried myself to sleep last night—not because I’m about to start my period. Because I was devastated at the thought of leaving.” Her forehead furrowed. “I don’t get how you can stand being anywhere but here. Especially with everything going on with James. Just think about it. If we were here, we could help him.”
Her reasons were… valid. But I couldn’t even think straight. All I knew was that I needed to leave. The panic came out as indignation — cocky, defensive, wrong. “You don’t want to live here. You’ll be bored in six months. That’s a promise.”
“No,” she said, frustrated. “I won’t. I already know that. I will never get tired of being here. It’s peaceful and quiet, and I could really?—”
“No. I’m not staying. This is insane. You can’t make life-altering decisions that quickly.”
Jules’s head tilted to the side. “You mean, like getting married after knowing someone for three days?”
The room went quiet. Even Bowen and Maggie, who I’d heard come running in behind us earlier, stopped their incessant judgmental whispering.
Jules pressed a hand to her heart. “Sometimes you just know.”
