Page 19

I watch Tucker, and now I understand. This place isn’t just where he grew up. It’s where he belongs. Maybe that’s why he never stopped coming home like I did. Maybe everybody needs somewhere that feels like this. If I felt like this when I went home, I’d actually go.

The back door opens, and cold air rushes inside. Tucker’s brother Jack steps through, covered in snow. “Fence came down.”

The room goes quiet.

“Cattle get out?” Tucker asks.

He glances around. “I need every hand.”

“You need to sit down, eat a bowl of soup while the boys get the horses ready,” Maggie demands as she stands to get it for him.

I set my coffee down before anyone can ask. “I’m in.”

Jack nods once and pulls back a chair to sit. He’s been out dealing with this, and he obviously needs to eat.

Tucker grins. “Let’s go saddle up some horses.”

Tucker and I make our way down to the barn. “Sure, you want to spend the next month here working as a hand? It’s not always fun.”

“You know I do.”

Ten minutes later, we’re on horseback under a sky full of stars with snow falling softly around us. Our horses breathe white into the night.

The work is cold, hard, but it’s honest. Exactly the way I want it. I need Wilder Ranch. And it feels good to get to work and be needed.

Somewhere around midnight, the last steer is back where it belongs.

Jack rides beside us in silence for a while. Finally, he says, “Good work, guys.”

Coming from him, feels better than any buckle I’ve ever won. Jack is a legend at this ranch, and his praise means a lot. “Appreciate it, Jack.”

He nods once. “Glad you’re here.”

So am I.

We ride back toward the lodge, Tucker trailing behind. We’re both exhausted, but in the best possible way.

Smoke curls from the chimney, and someone left the porch lights on. Like they’re waiting for us. For a second, it feels like coming home.

And just like that...

I’m thinking about a woman named Jolene all over again and wondering how that could have been twenty-four hours ago. It feels like I’ve lived a week since then. I wonder where she is...

6

jenna

I Need to go Home for Christmas

I made it to the airport and through security, and all I can think about is Beau. I didn’t want to leave. We had the best night together, and the way he laughed and looked at me was something I didn’t know I needed until... him. The way he made me forget everything else in my life for one night. I think about what it would be like to be with someone like that. Someone who just made life easier and fun. Someone who, just by holding your hand, made you feel safe and protected. The way he stopped and listened to me when I talked, like he wanted to know me.

Well, the stories we made up, anyway.

It hits me like a sucker punch to the gut that Rick and Becky were right. Rick had to threaten to fire me to get me to stop working, and I know he meant well, but I needed it. I’ve been working way too hard. And somehow, work has become my life and my entire identity.

I get in line at the airport coffee shop and stare out as travelers hurry past. There’s Christmas music playing, and for once, I’m not cringing or reaching for my noise-canceling headphones. I’m taking it all in. Because I need to make some serious changes in my life. If someone asked me who my closest friends in Los Angeles were, I honestly couldn’t answer besides Rick and Becky.

Coworkers? Sure. I have plenty of assistants, producers, and staff writers as friends. But actual friends? Violet, Cami, Poppy, and Sutton come to mind from back in Bridger Falls.