Page 94 of Fire Away


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“Shut up,” I laugh.

As we round the car and open the trunk, we each grab a moving box full of my things and bring it inside. It takes several trips for us to empty the car, but luckily I didn’t have any large furniture to bring along.

“This feels right,” I admit, staring at the stack of boxes in Warren’s room.Ourroom.

Blythe squeals and claps her hands. I can’t help but smile and laugh along with her.

“God, it needs a little redecorating though,” I say. “First thing to go is the set of bachelor navy sheets.”

“Shit,” she mumbles with a hand over her eyes. “I forgot something in the car, be right back.”

“I think we got everything—” I start, but she’d already run out of the room. I shrug and turn to survey the room again, making a plan in my head for how we can spruce it up a bit.

I have no intention of erasing the simple charm or Warren’s personality in the room altogether. A little brightness and color wouldn’t hurt, though.

“Found it,” Blythe says as she runs back into the room and stops in front of me. “Here. It’s for you.”

I reach out to take the small box from her hands. It’s pink, of course. Shiny gold foil flecks cover the white tissue paper on the inside. I set the lid down on the dresser next to me and unfold the tissue paper to reveal what’s underneath.

A tiny handwritten note sits atop a bracelet. Instead of opening the note first, I’m unable to resist the beautiful gold chain underneath. I lift it from the box and hold it out in front of me.

“What in the world?! B, this is so beautiful!”

A tiny charm hangs in the middle of the bracelet. I bring it close to my face, admiring the intricate details. It looks familiar and my brows pull together trying to piece together where I’ve seen it before.

“It’s a prairie rose, just like my necklace. See?”

My gaze snaps up to see her holding the identical charm hanging from her neck.

“The necklace was a gift from my parents, and Gage named this ranch after it. It’s special to me, and I thought . . .” she stops mid-sentence with a soft smile. “Well, I think it means something to both of us now and that you might like the bracelet.”

“It’s—” I swallow to clear my emotions. “It’s gorgeous and I want to put it on right this second. Thank you. You’re so thoughtful, it’s the perfect gift.”

I shake my head in wonder while fumbling with the chain to try and clasp it around my wrist.

“Hold on, silly! Read the note first.”

“Here,” I huff as I hand her the bracelet to hold for a moment. Taking the note out of the box, I unfold the delicate paper and read out loud.

“Will you be my bridesmaid?” I don’t know how to be a bridesmaid. I’ve never been asked before. But visions of standing next to my friend on her wedding day flash through my mind and I have my answer. “Hell yes, I’ll be your bridesmaid. Oh mygod!”

I step forward to pull Blythe into a warm hug, and she squeezes me back hard enough that I almost can’t breathe.

“It’s going to be the wedding of the century,” I choke out. “I can’t wait and I’m so happy for you.”

“I need you there with me,” she whispers.

“I wouldn’t miss it, B.”

39

SAVANNAH

“He looks happy, doesn’t he?” Blythe points out.

We’re standing together in a crowd of people that are gathered outside of Farrow Equipment. Westridge doesn’t get a new business in town very often. So when they do, they pull out all the stops, complete with local media coverage, a ribbon cutting, and a commemorative photo opp.

Leading up to today, Warren tried his best to brush it off like it wasn’t a big deal. But I knew deep down that he was looking forward to this more than he let on. Between the dimples in his cheeks and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes, it’s hard to miss his excitement.