Page 67 of Wild As Her
She’s been on my mind so much. The past keeps replaying in my dreams. I have dreamed twice now of the day I kissed her all those years ago and then turned her down. I’ll never forget the look on her face when I broke her heart. It shattered me. But I had to do it. If I hadn’t let her go, my father would have done some bad shit to the Wilder Ranch. I had to protect her and her family. There’s no telling how far he would have gone. He didn’t want any of us kids to have anything to do with the Wilder Ranch. I shattered her when I rejected her. She was so sweetand innocent back then, and we had that young love going on. I remember that kiss and how amazing she tasted. I still think about that kiss.
The inside of the Steamy Sips trailer is clean and smells like vanilla and coffee. Although, judging by the machine sitting smugly on the counter, I’ll never be able to figure out how to actuallymakea cup without screwing the whole thing up. I scowl at the thing, deciding water is just fine, and take a sip from my bottle as I slide into the dinette booth at the back of the trailer.
The place is tidy, and Cami keeps everything neatly lined up, nothing out of place. No clutter, no mess, just efficiency. A stark contrast to the chaos that surroundsThe Rancher Finds a Wife,which I’m figuring out is mostly staged arguments, too much perfume, and contestants pretending they knew what a hay bale was for. Nothing was what it was, and it was driving me crazy. I can't wait for this to all be over. This is just all weird.
I check my phone, mostly out of habit.I missed a few texts from my brothers, one from Weston that just said,"Survive the day”—real helpful—and one from Tucker that was just a picture of a goat tied to the back of the feed truck with no explanation. Typical.
I lean back and drummed my fingers against the table. That’s when I noticed the folder tucked neatly into the corner on top of a stack of papers, just peeking out enough to catch my eye.Wilder Ranchwas scrawled across in bold black letters.
I hesitate. Not because I have any moral issue with snooping—if Cami didn’t want people looking at this, she wouldn’t have left it sitting out—but because I know whatever is inside is probably something important to her. And what’s important to her, is important to me. Still, curiosity got the best of me.
Flipping it open, I scan the pages inside, expecting, I don’tknow… maybe some angry notes about how she was being forced to work withme? Instead, I foundplans.Big ones.
Fall festivals, bonfires, horseback riding lessons. A whole operation built around families coming to make memories at Wilder Ranch. Asummer camp…I could practically hear kids laughing and running through the fields already.
I kept flipping, my excitement growing with everything I read.
She wants to turn Wilder House into a B&Band afarm-to-table restaurant.Inside, with reservations only? A place where guests could experience real ranch life, made-from-scratchfood? Damn.
And the wild mustangs? She’d researched the leasing programs and figured out how to bring in state funding while giving those horses a place to roam safely. The plans looked profitable, which showed how she could finance them to get three phases of the new business up and running while taking on minimal debt. It was well thought out. The plan wasgenius.
I lean back, staring at the papers. This wasn’t just some half-baked idea, she’d thought this through. She knew exactly what she wanted Wilder Ranch to be, and hell if it didn’t make my chest ache a little. This isCami’sdream.
The sound of the trailer door swinging open made me snap the folder shut.
"Find something interesting, Jessop?"
I looked up to see Cami standing there, hands on her hips, eyebrow arched.
She didn’t look mad, justcurious.Like she’s waiting to see what I’ll say.
I clear my throat and smirk. "You always leave top-secret documents lying around for just anyone to find?"
"Only when I want to give people something tothink about." She drops her bag onto the counter and eyes me. "You look suspiciously guilty."
"Me? Nah." I lean forward, resting my forearms on the table. "Just impressed. This is some plan, Wilder."
She blinks, as if she wasn’t expecting that. "You actually read it?"
"Every word." I grunt. "Didn’t even need pictures."
"Wow," she says dryly. "Look at you. A real scholar."
I chuckle and tap the folder. "You serious about all this?"
Her expression shifts for a second. A little flicker of vulnerability before she masks it with sarcasm. "No, I just thought I’d spend months writing a business plan for fun."
"Could’ve fooled me," I say. "I mean, I never took you for avisionarytype."
"Right, because I’m just some hot-headed ranch girl who’s making this up as I go."
"That’sexactlywhat you are," I tease, "but this? This is real, Cami. This isgood."
She crosses her arms, studying me. "You actuallylikethe plan?"
"Are you kidding?" I lean back in the booth. "It’sbrilliant.The restaurant alone? The summer camps? The family events? You’ve got a goldmine here. This is something Bridger Falls needs. Heck, wish I’d had this as a kid."
Her lips part slightly, like maybe she didn’t expect me to say that. “We did have this as kids. We’d just be giving this to other kids to experience.”
