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Plus Dale and Donny, who I’d grown very attached to and loved dearly.
And Bryce…
Would I ever leave?
Would I ever realize my dream to study in Paris? To become a world-class chef?
An epiphany struck me like a lightning bolt.
I had to go.
I had to go now.
There would always be something to keep me here at the ranch. Here in Colorado.
Jade’s baby. Joe’s baby. The boys. My brothers.
And Bryce Simpson.
He didn’t want me. I had to accept that.
Perhaps getting away was the answer.
Yeah, things were still going on with Colin Morse and his father. Yeah, we were all still struggling with the past.
But the past was the past. I had an obligation to myself to look to the future.
I had to go.
First, though, I’d talk to Jade. After I explained my reasoning, if she wanted me to stay until she gave birth, I’d stay. She was my best friend, and I owed her that much.
But if not?
I was out of here.
A smidge of guilt gnawed at me at the prospect of leaving my family. They needed me. But hired help could easily do what I’d been doing since Felicia had left.
My life wasn’t on the ranch. I’d known that for a long time.
My life was in a big city somewhere, where I’d feed hungry people at a five-star restaurant. That was my dream.
It was time.
Time to do what was right for me.
“I understand,” Jade said after I’d shared my revelation with her. “You have to go. I hate it, but you have to.”
“It’s killing me to think about missing your baby’s birth.”
“It’s killing me too,” she said. “But I get it. I really do get it.”
Jade was the only person—other than Mel—who knew about Bryce and me. Who knew I was in love.
“One thing, though,” Jade said. “You need to be doing this for the right reason.”
“I am. It’s what I want.”
“I know it’s what you want in the long-term,” she said. “But think about it. If you’re doing this to get away from Bryce, that’s the wrong reason.”
