Page 123 of Wilder

I smiled at that. “I was the second I had you in my arms again.”

He breathed out a laugh. “Oh, I’m liking this cheesy side of you. Remind me to record it on my phone so I have something to fall asleep to when you’re off doing those overnight auctions.”

I pulled my hand away from the wheel long enough to reach over and squeeze it around his thigh.

We pulled into the drive, dust kicking up behind us. My family home stood tall under the blue sky and just beyond it, the bunkhouse, which seemed to sit usually quiet for this time of day.

Everything looked the same and yet, everything felt different all at once.

Asher and I had left and come back to this place as different people, forever changed by what happened and what our futures now held. I’d be lying to myself if I believed I wasn’t nervous about this—coming out to the entire ranch and hoping like hell none of them treated Asher differently than before.

As we parked, I spotted Sully stepping out onto the front porch of my family home, pausing for a second as he caught the sight of my truck. He slipped the door closed behind him and headed down the steps, an arm coming up to wave at us in greeting.

“Well, he doesn’t look as upset as I thought he’d be,” Asher muttered.

I squeezed his thigh again. “He’s the one who got me to pull my head out of my ass and go get you.”

He whipped his head around to stare at me. “Seriously?”

“Mhm.” Cutting the engine, I tossed the keys up onto the dash. “I’m sure he’s got an apology lined up for you. At least hear him out before you cuss him out.”

Asher laughed. “Okay, deal.”

Patting his leg one last time, I popped open the door to the truck and hopped out of it, swinging it shut behind me.

“Welcome back,” Sully shot us both a smile, a flicker of genuine warmth laced between his words. “How was the flight in?”

“Bumpy,” Asher replied, slamming his door shut. “The first trip was worse, though. But I’m sure you’ve guessed it wasn’t because of the turbulence.”

Bemusement hit me while I watched Sully’s face screw up a bit.

If we were lucky, Asher would only be ragging on us about this for just the rest of the year—maybe a couple of holidays, a birthday or two, and probably every time we lost a game of poker at the bunkhouse.

Still, after everything, I’d take it.

I’d take the teasing, the jokes, the sidelong smirks and snide comments if it meant getting to keep him here, next to him, with the sun warming our backs and the ranch stretching wide around us, right where we both belonged.

Sully sighed, holding his hands up. “All right, fair. I deserved to hear that.”

At that, Asher glanced around the main yard, gaze skimming across the familiar landscape. “Bit quiet around here. Where is everyone?”

“Up at the bunkhouse for lunch,” Sully replied, nodding toward the road that wound up that way. “Come on. They’ll all be happy to see you. I didn’t tell them you were coming. Just in case. Didn’t want to get their hopes up if something happened.”

Lacing Asher’s hand with mine, we started walking up the road, our boots crunching against the dirt while the early afternoon sun continued to cast long shadows across the dusty stretch of ranch behind us.

“I can’t wait to see Pelly,” he murmured, squeezing my fingers. “I missed her.”

“Old girl’s missed you, too,” Sully replied. “She’s been giving Laken a run for his money the past few days.”

Asher laughed, eyes lighting up with a familiar glint. “Oh, I bet.”

As we reached the top of the hill, the bunkhouse came into view. Long, weathered wood stretching out in a wide arc, the front screen door propped open to let in the cool spring air, a couple of boots kicked off on the porch next to it while the unmistakable scent of cooked meat drifted into the air.

Home.

Lunch was already in full swing by the time we stepped through the front doors. Voices and laughter spilled out from the dining room, bouncing off the high ceilings and echoing through the front entryway the same way they always did when my ranch hands got together for meals.

Noisy, messy and full of energy.