Page 20 of Sunrise & Serenity

She glances my way, but instead of the sassy smile or stubborn defiance I’ve started to expect, there’s an uncertain tilt to her lips. Is this the first time she’s questioned why she thought this job would be a good fit for her?

Stepping behind her, I slide my hand down her arm until I grasp her wrist. Then I guide it toward Cozy. “Hold your hand out flat.”

She does as I say.

“Now let her smell you.”

We hold still like that, and Cozy stretches her nose out again, whiffling it over Sage’s palm.

She twitches against me and lets out a startled giggle. “It tickles.”

I smile for a moment, but it’s gone just as quickly. This isn’t how the tour is supposed to go. Clearing my throat, I release her wrist and step back. “Okay. Let’s keep going.”

She doesn’t move straight away, keeping her hand up for Cozy’s inspection. After a few more seconds, she turns, her expression soft.

It tugs at me, and I don’t like that it does.

I stalk past the rest of the stalls and out the other side of the barn. From here, there’s a prime view of the lower end of the valley.

“The ATV trails for guests will head into those hills.” I point toward the ridgeline. “Hiking and riding trails start just beyond the pony paddock.”

“Okay.” She raises her camera and snaps a few images.

When she lowers it and studies the small display screen, those loose tendrils of hair drift around her cheeks, touched by the breeze. Irritated with myself for noticing, I head off, determined to wrap up this tour as soon as possible. There are fences damaged by the storm that I should be out fixing.

“Most of the horse facilities are concentrated down here.” I gesture toward the cluster of barns and corrals. “The foaling barn is farther back, and the indoor arena’s behind that.”

She stops, turning in a slow circle, as if trying to absorb it all.

Despite my impatience, I give her a moment. When she meets my gaze again, she shakes her head. “This place just keeps going.”

I look over the barns and corrals that sprawl out around us. “This is the heart of the ranch.” I nod past the buildings to the country beyond. “Gets a lot emptier when you’re out riding fences.”

She falls into step beside me again, and I gesture to the next cluster. “Like I said, cattle spend most of the year down in the lower pastures. Horses are kept closer to the barns. That round pen there’s for green stock.”

“Green stock?”

“Young horses that need training.”

We round the last barn and come to a stop. The scene before me is one I’ve seen a thousand times, but today it hits differently.

The land spreads out beneath us, the sun-spangled river winding its way through pastures still green from the spring snowmelt.

I know every inch of this valley.

And for the first time in a long time, I let myself soak it in. My chest tightens unexpectedly—a reminder that while the land might not have changed, I have.

Beside me, Sage turns a slow circle, camera strap sliding across her shoulder as she takes it all in.

“I can’t imagine ever getting used to this,” she says softly.

Neither can I.

I look away, changing the subject before that thought can settle.

“The main guest area is over that rise, closer to the road into town.” I nod toward a dirt track that disappears between stands of cottonwood. “Far enough from the working ranch that guests won’t be underfoot. The main lodge and five cabins are almost finished. Five more are in the works. Sterling’s got big plans.”

“They’re not your plans?”