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“If we hadn’t ended up at the ranch, what were you planning to do with your life?” he asked.
“Same thing I do now. Well, mostly. I wanted to be an editor, and that’s what I do.” She shrugged, but she knew it was rare for someone to live their dreams the way she did every day.
“Sometimes I forget you’re a hot-shot editor. How’s it going?”
Everly laughed. “I’m not a hot shot. I’m average Freelance Editor Everly Cooper.”
“But I bet you’re good at it and your clients love you.”
She smiled and laid back on the blanket beside him. “I am good at it. I better be after all the online classes. And I love my clients. I think they love me too.”
“I’m glad you’re doing what you love.”
“Me too. What about you? Did you always see yourself as a cowboy?”
Blake’s tone was deep and sure as he grinned. “You like it.”
She could deny it, but that would be a lie. “It seems to be doing well for your ego.”
He looked up, avoiding her gaze, “I hope you don’t think you have to be here because of Ridge…or me. I just want to make sure you’re doing what you want.”
“I am. Well, I guess I am. I thought I would be moving on soon, going wherever David went. Now my future feels blank.”
That caught Blake’s attention, and he turned to her. “What do you mean?”
She raised a hand and twirled it in the air. “I thought I was building a home, getting a house ready to live in for the rest of my life. I thought I was going to resign from the ranch after the wedding. None of that is happening now.”
Blake sighed. “You know lots of couples move at least once after they get married. That house might not have been where you ended up.”
“But I felt like I had a mission, and I was moving forward. Now all of that stops, and I don’t really know what I’m doing. David is going to make me move out as soon as I answer his phone call.”
“Don’t worry about where you’re going to live. I promise we’ll find something for you. I’ll take you by the house later, and we’ll get your stuff. You can stay with Jess and Remi tonight.”
“No, I’m not planning to answer David’s calls until tomorrow so I can have at least one night of sleep in a bed before I have to move to a couch.”
“I don’t like that idea,” Blake said low.
“I know. Ridge isn’t even back from his pack ride, so I can’t ask him to help me move stuff.”
“I’ll be helping too. I’m not leaving you alone through this.”
She looked over at him and couldn’t help her grin. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I love that I can always count on you. I hope I’m as good of a friend as you are.”
Blake let his head roll to face her. His pinky brushed against hers between them, and she regretted using the word “friend.” The heat churning inside her was the kindling of something more than friendship.
His touch was gone as fast as it had jolted through her. His brows furrowed, and he swallowed hard before speaking low. “Don’t let him change the way you look at yourself. You deserve a man who will be faithful to you. You’re amazing, and the right man will see that and never let you forget it.”
Her breaths were shallow as his words gripped her chest. “Thank you.”
Blake took a deep breath and sat up. “You ready to head back?”
“Sure.” She helped fold the blanket and gave Burgundy a snack before they started back toward the stables. This time, being close to Blake felt right. Would another man ever make her feel as special as Blake did?
Back at the stables, Jess met them at the entrance with her arms crossed over her chest.
“So, I guess there’s a good reason you’re not in Cleveland?”
“There is,” Everly said. Of course her best friend would be curious.
