Page 104 of Home Is Where You Are

Pulling back, I slipped it into her hand. A smile lit up her face, and my heart squeezed. God, I was so head over heels in love with this woman. Just her smile could bring me to my knees.

“Goodnight, my beautiful butterfly,” I whispered as I turned and walked away before I begged her to spend the night in my arms.

thirty-two

AINSLEIGH

Iwoke up today a woman on a mission. I reached over for my phone bound and determined to make every moment of the day count.

I shot off a text to Aspen and Dylan letting them know all about the interview since I hadn’t responded to the numerous messages they’d left me yesterday asking for updates. I let them know while it was amazing to get the offer that I turned it down.

Gentry had sent me a message, but I remembered that I’d never opened his butterfly from the night before. I tended to keep them until the morning because I knew whatever was inside would be a bright light to the start of my day.

I almost felt bad opening them because they were so beautifully shaped.

This note he’d used multicolored paper, making it the most beautiful one I’d received to date.

Carefully I pulled back the delicate pieces until it revealed Gentry’s handwriting inside.

A butterfly for my butterfly. Thank you for always being a light in my world that used to be filled with such darkness.

Have dinner with me tonight, just the two of us.

All my love,

Gentry

I made my bed and threw on a pair of jeans and a Courtright Ranch T-shirt along with my cowboy boots. My hair was still straight from yesterday, so I pulled it up in a ponytail and finished my morning routine.

There was so much I wanted to do today, and I had to get a move on if I wanted to get it all done before dinner tonight with Gentry.

I met my mom downstairs who as per usual had a cup of coffee ready for me.

“Thank you, Mama. Have a wonderful day,” I told her as I rushed out the door to complete my morning chores.

Before I began, I sent an email thanking Mr. Lundry for the time and consideration, but I respectfully declined the position.

With one thing off my to-do list, I hurried through cleaning the stalls and feeding the animals, finishing in record time.

The next stop was my dad’s office. I was ready to accept the position. Even though I had huge shoes to fill, I had all the confidence in the world that I could.

“Good morning, Loretta,” I said with a smile as I entered the office, just as she turned on the computer. Looking at the clock on the wall, I realized how early in the day it was. It wasn’t quite eight, which meant that my dad most likely hadn’t made it in yet.

“You ready to take over for me?” she asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

“I am,” I said, and she coughed while attempting to swallow her coffee, clearly shocked at my response.

“You are? That’s fantastic. I didn’t want to have to interview and train anyone other than you. You have no idea how happy you’ve made this old woman,” she said giddy with happiness.

“I don’t know if I can fill your shoes, but I’m going to give it my all,” I told her as I sat in the chair in front of her desk so we could chat face to face.

“Does your dad know yet?” she asked as she turned away from me and rifled in the filing cabinet behind her.

“I was coming here to tell him. I figured I’d give him some happy news first thing this morning,” I replied just as she turned to face me. A packet was in her hands that she handed over to me.

I took the packet and looked through each page. It was the contract for the position I’d be taking. On the last page was the offer letter with my yearly salary.

“There must be some mistake,” I said as I handed the packet back to her.