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It’s hard to believe that just four months ago, I was living in LA, doing a job that seemed good enough, and not asking for more from life. That was before Luke Reilly showed me how much I was missing. He claims I did the same for him, but I still feel like I got the better end of the deal.

That’s something he and I can argue about for the foreseeable future from the comfort of our soon-to-be family resort, Loveland Ranch.

“We got the money?” I ask for the third time after Hazel, Hannah, and Dylan have assembled on the new gray couches in the living room. It’s a far cry from the dust-covered mess of cobwebs we encountered when we first came to see the property we’d inherited. I can tell from the way my sisters bounce on the velveteen fabric that they approve of my stylistic choices.

“Why do you keep asking that? You know that’s why we all drove up,” Dylan says, impatient as usual. Hannah’s husband Dean stayed back to work this weekend, but her son Dexter came up, and the second he got out of the car, he was off running to pet the new pot-bellied pigs in the pen out back.

“I guess I can’t believe it all came together so quickly,” I say, even though I saw the interest in real time after Luke posted his videos and our inbox exploded with requests to book reservations. As soon as we’re ready to open the doors, we’ll barely have a weekend without a wedding, and couples and families have reserved dates over a year from now. “It’s kind of surreal.”

“Surreal and amazing,” Hazel says, offering a rare bit of excitement. Dylan is considering moving here full time in order to help get all the interiors finished and hire a staff capable of running the place. Hazel is firmly rooted in LA, where her corporate finance job takes the majority of her time and doesn’t allow her to work remotely. And Hannah is married to a guy whose work keeps him in LA, so I don’t have much hope of getting her to relocate, but a girl can dream.

I’ll take all the help I can get, so I’m leaning hard on Dylan to commit. Funny, I know, coming from someone who didn’t have a committing bone in her body a few months ago. But hey, people can change, especially in the face of a handsome cowboy who puts my desires right up there with his own.

Dylan comes up and stares right into my face and waves a hand in front of my eyes. “Yep, she’s still alive, but what’s with the big goofy smile?” I blush and try to school my expression, which has a habit of going giddy schoolgirl whenever I think about Luke.

“I’m happy. Please just let me have this while it lasts.”

Dylan gets a strange look on her face, somewhere between misty-eyed and downright snickering. She swings her arm over my shoulder and squeezes me to her side. “Of course you can. And I hope it lasts forever.”

When she lets go, I take a cautious step to the side, unsure where the sudden outpouring of emotions, however strange, came from. Maybe she’s purely not used to seeing me so content.

Since I came back to Willow Springs, I’ve spent my nights with Luke and Scout at their house and taken on renovating the interiors of the future guest rooms and common spaces. I’ve only just scratched the surface, but with Dylan and Hannah’s help, we should be able to open the ranch to guests within the year.

“Let’s get to the more important question, a deep voice intones. “Who’s in charge of the food at this little shindig, and where are the drinks?” Fitz saunters into the room, carrying a backpack full of toddler gear, trailed by Charlotte, who speeds into the room with a shriek. Dexter follows shortly thereafter, roaring like a dinosaur with his hands in the air.

“Dex, cool it,” Hannah says, standing up to take a cheese platter from Tessa, who straggles in last but looks the most relaxed I’ve seen her in a while.

“Aw, you made it. I thought you had to prep for trial.” I stand up to hug her, glad she cleared her schedule to be here. It wouldn’t be the same without all my sisters.

“Later,” she says. “Plenty of time for it later.”

The back door slams and the boots on the hardwood floor make my heart flutter the way they do every time Luke comes home from work. It’s a different kind of delicious ache that warms the deepest part of my heart, a daily reminder of how I’m happy with an everyday routine that I never imagined could feel so exciting with the right person.

Scout and I have gotten the after school routine down pat, and by the time Luke arrives each evening, he’s finished his kindergarten take-home packet and helped me cook dinner.

It shocks me sometimes how satisfying it feels to have a routine. All those years when I was running away from stability, maybe I was really just afraid I’d never find it for real.

“Now, it’s a party,” Luke says, his voice a grumble that belies the smile on his face. His eyes search me out, and he comes straight over to wrap his arms around me tightly. Like he needs to refill his emotional reservoir with that hug before he can handle the rest of the people in the room.

I don’t need to ask him if he’s up to ten yet because I know he doesn’t go around hugging people at work, but with a houseful of sisters, we’ll get him there. I’m good for at least five, leaning into him and letting go of worries about getting Loveland Ranch ready in time for guests. It’ll be fine, somehow. Moments like this one are everything.

“Yeah, totally.” Scout pushes past Luke and heads straight for Dexter, beckoning him to follow him back out the door he just came in. Dexter gives the room a shy smile and swaggers out behind Scout, proud to be the oldest kid at age six.

“I’ll go see what’s what,” he explains, which causes Hannah to roll her eyes.

“He’s basically a teenager.” She waves a hand in his direction and focuses her attention on Luke, even though he hasn’t said anything. He tends to have that effect on people, even married sisters.

“You all look like you could use some fresh air,” Luke says, surveying the group of us.

“I sure could,” Dylan says, standing and pulling Hazel up with her. I’d question her seemingly ravenous need for air, except that it does sound nice to go outside. It’s become a habit for Luke and I to spend time on the back porch, talking about our days while Scout races around with the animals. After all the craziness of pretending to be a couple, now we mainly feel like a family.

Luke holds the door, and my sisters file out, each of them walking onto the porch and stopping by the railing. I’d ask why, if Luke didn’t take my hand and lead me past them, guiding us straight to the animal pen where there’s a prominent new addition.

“You didn’t!”

“I did,” he says proudly.

“You bought us a mini highland cow?”