Page 176 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys

Annie bumps my shoulder, but Dakota studies me for another second before she smiles.

“You stopped talking about your next stop,” she says. “When we met, I know you were always on the move. You haven’t mentioned leaving in ages.”

Annie grins. “Maybe that’s because she already found where she’s supposed to be.”

I look across the grounds.

Willy has Sadie wearing one of his oversized clown hats while he pretends to stumble around searching for it, making her laugh so hard she nearly falls over.

Emmett watches them with that soft smile he only gets around his daughter, and Red stands at the fence talking with Clint, his bandaged hand hooked over the top rail while the lines around his eyes finally ease.

I look back across the rodeo grounds as families settle into the grandstands and the last of the volunteers finish clearing away the damaged fencing. Nobody’s watching every stranger who walks past anymore.

The town has already started putting the day behind it and getting back to the rodeo.

A few weeks ago, Colter Creek would’ve been another stop, another stage, and another place I’d leave before anyone expected me to stay.

Now I know Betty Lou always saves the best pie for whoever arrives last, Willy sings off-key because Sadie laughs every time, Emmett forgets to buy creamer often enough that black coffee has become a habit, and Red walks the ranch after dark whenever he needs to think.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped collecting places and started collecting people.

My phone buzzes. Daisy.

I answer with a smile.

“You planning to explain why half my social media feed is rodeo videos?” she asks.

I laugh. “Already?”

“Word travels fast. You okay?”

I look toward Dusty Spur, where Red laughs at one of Willy’s stories while Emmett steadies Sadie on his hip as she points excitedly toward the arena.

Annie slips through the crowd with her camera raised, Dakota and Abilene talk beside the fence, and Charlie tears past them before anyone can catch him.

“I am.”

Daisy is quiet for a beat before she asks, “So… when’s the next town?”

I watch Sadie spot me across the grounds and throw both arms into the air. I wave back without thinking, and her grin spreads so wide it makes me smile right along with her.

“I don’t know,” I tell Daisy. “I’ve always moved around, you know that. A few weeks ago, I’d have packed my guitar, climbed into my truck, and headed for the next town before anyone had the chance to miss me. Now, when I picture driving away, all I see are the people I’d be leaving behind. I just don’t know.”

Leaving doesn’t feel like freedom anymore.

It feels like leaving home.

CHAPTER FORTY

Willy

Red steers through the gates at Dusty Spur and parks beside the house, but nobody climbs out right away because Arizona’s still wedged between Emmett and me beneath the quilt we grabbed from the first aid tent.

The porch light dances across the truck, and after everything Travis put her through, seeing her breathing beside us eases a knot that’s been riding my shoulders for hours.

She catches me watching her and smiles. “I’m still here.”

“I know.”