Page 66 of Fall or Nothing

“Oh, Carter. I love you too. But now, what?” She laughed.

“Now you follow my instructions on the voicemail. Askthe doorman to get you a car to take you to the airport. Fly back to me. I’ll be waiting.”

“But what about your inheritance? Your life is here, mine is there?—”

“You’re wrong. My life is wherever you are. If Forest Grove is home to you, then you’re home to me.You’remy home, my sweet Sage-with-the-pretty-lavender-scent. And I guess Montana has grown on me.” I massaged my jaw and couldn’t wait for a little stubble to grow in—and for her to ride me, ride her cowboy. “I turned down my inheritance. Long story. I’ll fill you in later. So I guess if you want a broke cowboy?—”

“Don’t you know by now? I want you; the money doesn’t matter. We’ll figure it out. I’m sure Ash will hire you back on. And we can definitely use another hand during harvest time at the orchard.”

“We can make improvements with what I have left in my trust fund. But only after I take you on a trip around the world.”

“Carter, that’s not how this works. Saving for the someday trip is satisfying to me, knowing that I earned it.”

“So you’ll take me back but turn down the trip?”

“Looks like this is our first disagreement,” she chuckled. I heard her ask the doorman to hail her a ride to the airport.

“There are bound to be more, and I’ll take every single one of them with you. I can’t wait to see you. Safe travels.”

I stoppedat the Off-Duty Rescue Ranch on my way to the airport. The guys were a little standoffish; my guess was word had spread about my last name and wealth.

Jake was the first man to greet me with a smile. “Well, hell, look who came back.” I knew I could count on him to treat me like a normal cowboy.

“What can I say? Montana grew on me.”

“Good. Did you hear about the Amos brothers?” He continued. “The sheriff and his deputies caught them. They’re in custody. Word around town is that if Congressman Brewster had any involvement whatsoever in their illegal operation, it’ll finally be his downfall.”

I couldn’t speak to the Brewster situation, but I was most definitely happy to hear the brothers were behind bars.

“Was Trig involved?” I asked.

“The brothers ratted him out, stating that he’d spied on your conversation with the sheriff and Ash that day, and turned around and fed information to them for money. The sheriff thinks that’s why the brothers weren’t around at the raid—and how they knew where to find you when you took the sleigh out.”

“Fucking Trig.” Hard to believe he’d do that. “Glad it’s over. Especially since Sage is on a flight on her way back to me. I’m heading to pick her up now. I wanted to stop by and thank you and everyone for paying for her flight out to New York. If I had known, I’d have paid it myself.”

“Anything for love. Speaking of…” He checked his phone. “I have to rush off. Autumn needs me to watch the baby while she works her first shift at the Sapphire Saloon.”

“Babysitting already?” Iarched a brow.

“Like I said. Anything for love. I got Harper to rent me that apartment above the Copper Cup yesterday. I’m fixing it up and letting Autumn stay there for now. She just doesn’t know she’s mine yet.” He chuckled.

“What about Trig?”

“We’ll see what happens when he finds out, but since he’s behind bars, I’m not worried.” With his big shit-eating grin, and knowing how much trouble Trig can be, I hoped he knew what he was doing.

But considering how much Jake froze up around women, Autumn brought something out in him. It was a sight to behold.

“What about you? What are your plans now?” He asked.

“Spend time with Sage, getting to know each other properly. We’re in no hurry. We have all the time in the world now.”

“Sounds good. Hey, you know where to find me if you need a friend.”

“Yes, I do.” We bid each other goodbye for now and left the ranch one after the other.

At the airfield,I paced nervously beside my truck on the tarmac. In the moonlight and light of the airfield, it appeared less dirty. If I needed to impress Sage, I’d have gotten a car wash. But that was the thing about her, since she didn’t need impressing. She needed me.

A bit of a storm was rolling in as the wind picked up. Even a thunderclap nearby as, at last, the jet with the big gold Magnus monogram approached. My heart skipped a beat, my smile hardly able to be contained. The door opened, steps extended, and at last out came—Hugh?