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TJ.
Trey.
The ranch.
Trey stood right by her as his father said a prayer over the food. He stayed at her side while they ate, the family talking and laughing over one another.
“I’ll take TJ,” Hugh said when it was clear Beth wanted to linger with Trey.
“Okay,” she said, staying next to Trey as Hugh gathered up the two little boys and took her SUV.
Finally, Trey slipped his fingers between hers and said, “Walk with me, Beth.”
She did, and the moment she felt sure no one left at the party would overhear her, she said, “I have room in my life for three main things. The most important things. Lots of other things can get done, but they’re not the priority.”
“Hm.” He kept his head down, his eyes trained on the ground.
“I know what they are for me,” she said. “I’m not perfect, and I’m not going to be perfect all the time. But they’re TJ, you, and the ranch. I need those three things in my life, Trey. You’re not just some cowboy I know.”
She’d hated hearing him say that, and she hated that she’d ever said it out loud to him.
“I want to name the ranch The Triple-T Ranch,” she said. “One T for TJ. One for Trey. And one for Turner.”
He looked up at her, his expression storming with emotion. “That’s actually perfect,” he said. “I don’t need the ranch named after me, though. Maybe just The Double-T?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I want you there. I don’t want the ranch to be more important than you. I’ll work on balancing my family life with our life, I will. But I want Triple-T. The Turner is for me, Trey. It’s okay for me to leave the Dixon behind now.”
She swallowed, but it was true. She couldn’t live with Danny’s betrayal and sting in her heart forever. She also hadn’t been able to let go of him for a long time. She could now.
“The three of us is what makes that ranch what it is. It should be Triple-T.”
“Okay,” Trey said, pausing. “The grass gets wild here, and there’s still some snow. We should go back.” He turned back to the pavilion but didn’t move in that direction. “I’ve missed you.”
“I miss you too,” she said. “TJ misses you like crazy. He asks about you every day. I don’t know what to tell him.”
“I don’t love him more than you,” Trey said, dropping his head again. “It’s just different.”
“I know,” Beth said. She reached up and cupped his face in her hand. “Will you kiss me, please? Soft and slow, baby.”
Fire danced in his eyes, and he took her face in both of his hands and kissed her, just the way she wanted him to.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“It’s got to go up,” Trey called, realizing Cayden was about to lose his end of the pole. Trey lunged toward him, catching it just as Cayden’s fingers slipped. “Spur.”
His oldest brother jogged through the white gravel to help too, and once Spur and Cayden both had a grip on the pole, Trey went back to standing near the highway entrance to the ranch.
The new Triple-T Ranch, where a new sign was going in today.
Warm sunshine shone down over them, though it was only the beginning of March. Trey felt the light of it on his skin and throughout his soul. “Conrad,” he said. “Up. It has to go up.”
“I can’t lift it any higher,” his brother complained, and Blaine stepped over to help him, though he was needed to secure the new face to the existing sign.
“There,” Trey said. “Right there. Hold it steady. Let’s get it attached now.” He flew forward and got into the basket with Lawrence. Ian lifted them up, and when the basket was level with where they needed to be, Trey used the cordless drill to get the new sign attached to the arch that had been installed a week or two ago.
He’d rented this truck to trim the trees that had been growing wild near the stables here at the ranch, and it was perfect to finish this major project too. Everyone had come out to help, and Beth had the scent of maple and bacon floating in the air.
“Trey,” TJ called from the ground, and Trey looked down at him. The little boy simply waved up at him, his smile wide and full of happiness.
