“So, unless you’re doing one of the above, you’re likely just going home to rot on your couch and wish for a tornado to pick you up and take you anywhere else.” She levels me with a serious look. “So, are you one of us, or are you just another sad city girl waiting for your Amazon packages and praying your Wi-Fi holds?”
I blink. Once. Twice. Then burst out laughing. “Wow. That was… aggressive.”
“Motivational, actually.” Hazel shrugs, smug as hell, and points across the street to a big, barn-shaped building with string lights wrapped around the porch beams and a swinging saloon-style door painted red. A large wooden sign above readsThe Twisted Saddle.
“Every Saturday night, I’m at theSaddlewith my best friend and a few of the local cowgirls. You don’t have to drink. You don’t have to dance. But it’s an open invite. I’ll save you a seat and defend your city girl ways with violence if necessary.” She tips her hat. “You’re welcome.”
I stare after her long after she’s gone, Bea grinning wildly at my side, my heart in my throat, excitement thrumming through my veins.
Could I do it? Go and make some finds? Plant some roots of my own in Heart Springs?
“You know, she’s not wrong,” Bea murmurs, bumping my hip with hers. I swing my head, and she gives me a slow smirk. “Doing all three at once? One of the best nights I’ve ever had.” She waggles her brows. “That’s how the twins were made.”
A laugh bursts from me, and Bea turns to face me, grinning, but her head is cocked, eyes narrowed in that knowing way of hers.
My laugh dies, smile slipping.
“Are you usually free on weekends?” she asks, catching me off guard. “I assume you work a regular work week.”
I nod, brows furrowed. “I don’t really know many people here yet, so I’ve just been filling my time with exploring.”
“Are you crafty, Georgia?”
“Crafty, ma’am?”
She tuts at me, rolling her eyes as she idly organizes her display, like it’s all second nature at this point. “It’s Bea, dear. ‘Ma’am’ makes me feel old.”
“Sorry,” I giggle. “And, yeah, I guess. I know my way around a hot glue gun, and I’m pretty great with paint. Just don’t let me near the glitter.”
“You sound like Colby.” She laughs. “We’ve got this community event coming up at the farm. The girls are all busy with their own stuff, and I can’t pull any of the ranch hands from their duties to help me get ready. Besides, I’d love to spend time with you, dear. Show you around the farm. It really is lovely.”
“I’m sure it is.” I swallow, biting my lip. “And that’s so kind of you.”
Just like with Hazel, I’m overcome with the kindness these people are offering me. Their sincerity, and inclusion. I can’t remember a single time in my life when anyone’s ever gone out of their way to bring me into their fold—especially not strangers.
And the fact that Bea wants to spend time with me…
Maybe I could use it as a way to get to know her, and if I do that, maybe eventually I'll be brave enough to voice the questions I fear she might be able to answer.
“So, you want me to come to the farm,” I say slowly, heart racing. “To help you set up for…?”
“The Honey Bea Bash,” she fills in, nodding and smiling adorably. “It’s one of my favorite events. It kicks off the summer in Heart Springs. All the kids and families come. I’ve done it for years, but now that we don’t have as much staff, because—”
Her smile fades, and the look that replaces it is so sad I want to hug her. Bea blinks a few times, then waves a hand through the air.
“The why’s not important, but I can’t quite do as much as I used to, especially not alone.” Reaching over the table, she grabs my hand. “You’dreallybe doing me a favor.”
Spending time with the Archers is dangerous—not professionally, not really. I’m not in Heart Springs anymore. Technically, I’m not breaking any rules, and the gray area is exactly that.
But that’s not why this family scares me.
It’s because every single one of them has found a way to rope me in, and my heart—my aching, yearning soul, has never wanted anything more than this.
Community, friends, people who see me as I am—and accept me anyway.
“When did you need me?” I croak.
Bea grins, tugging me into a warm hug that steals my breath and heals a tiny part of me all at once.
