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Some people would hate the feeling of being insignificant, but she felt filled with it. Overcome. “It’s beautiful. Thank you so much for showing me this.”
“It’s nothing,” he said, but, God, he was so wrong about that. Right at that moment, it was everything.
They watched in silence for a long time before they went back to the truck.
Cole drove back up to the road. He took her farther down the valley, every curve revealing another view, another breathtaking wonder.
When she could think again, Grace reminded him that she wanted to see the ranch where he worked.
“Sure. Of course. You’ve got time?”
“I do.”
He took her back a different way, and in between two big hills that would’ve been called mountains in L.A., he slowed the truck and turned onto a dirt road. They passed under a sign that said Easy Creek, and then he pulled to a stop.
“Is this it?” she asked as she looked over the wide valley that flattened out in front of her. “Easy Creek?”
“It is.”
She could see ranch buildings a quarter mile away, and behind them, the mountains rose in the distance. It was beautiful. He worked here every day. This was his life.
“It’s going to be mine one day,” he said softly.
“Is it owned by your family?”
“No. But Easy’s like family to me. I’ll buy it when he’s ready to retire.”
“That’s amazing.” He probably thought she meant the land, which was amazing. Beautiful and quiet and so peaceful. But what she really meant was that kind of security. Cole was a cowboy. Just that. He’d lived in Wyoming his whole life. He worked here on this ranch with friends who were like family, and someday the land would be his. What would that be like? To have always known where you belonged? Her life felt like it had been a series of bad places and rushed decisions.
For a while there, it had gotten smoother. But it had never been anything like this. It had never been safe.
“Thank you for showing me,” she whispered.
He drove a little closer, and she could make out a low, long house with a front porch and dark wood walls. A big barn stood nearby, a wooden fence circling out from it. It looked like something out of a John Wayne movie. Two cowboys rode along a trail farther on.
He turned around before they got any closer.
It wasn’t until she got home and closed her own door that she realized what had happened. Cole hadn’t wanted to drive up to the ranch, because he hadn’t wanted to be seen with her. He hadn’t wanted to introduce a purple-haired girl to the other cowboys.
She told herself it didn’t matter. And it didn’t. After the beauty he’d shown her today, Grace could forgive him such a small, human failing.
And anyway, she was tough. Just as he’d said.
CHAPTER SEVEN
GRACE WAS BACK IN THE THICK of L.A.
That’s what it felt like anyway, all these people rushing through the hotel with expressions that made clear they were important. Really important. Certainly more important than anyone who actually lived in Jackson Hole.
“You doing all right?” Eve asked.
“I’m great.”
“I know this is a lot for a first day.”
“I’ve worked on a lot of movie sets. I’m used to it.”
Eve let out a deep breath. “Good. Because I’m not. I’m really glad you’re here. I didn’t expect to have this whole mess dumped in my lap. The guy who worked with the studios on Jackson location scouting disappeared two weeks ago. Apparently he left behind a mess of screwed-up paperwork and some unhappy leasers. Nobody told me about that part of it when I agreed to take this on. I thought I was just going to take care of a few details.”
