“Barlow Ranch,” she says, nodding her head. “Okay, maybe it’s not a secret spot. But it’smysecret spot. A place I go to when I need to clear my head, allow myself to feel feelings alone, or just need to breathe.”
“I saw it briefly when I drove into town but haven’t been that way since. It sounds wonderful,” I say.
She looks down at her watch before looking back at me with a grin on her face. “Since we’re closing up here soon, why don’t you head out now? If you’re going to visit my spot, you need to go at just the right time to see the most perfect views.”
“I can’t just leave. My shift isn’t over.”
“I’m the boss,” she says, pulling at my apron to bring it over my head. “And what I say goes.” She successfully gets it off me before swatting me with it to get out of the kitchen. “Now, go.”
“Fine. Fine.” I hold my hands up in defense before turning to leave. But I stop myself and turn around to face her. “I’m really lucky to have met you, Lily.”
“Right back at you, sister.”
I haven’t been toward the main entrance of town since the day I got here. It’s out of the way of everything and truthfully, everything I need is in the heart of the town.
My car rolls to a stop as I see the sign come into view.
I scan the surroundings, remembering that Lily said the best spot is the far south end of the ranch. I speed up a little more until I reach the spot where the wooden fence curves at almost a ninety-degree angle. I park off to the side of the road, round the front of my car, and step up to the point in the fence.
Two horses that were standing near the edge of the fence start to make their way toward me. A stunning white horse and a deep chocolate brown one. Both are draped in what appears to be blankets. I wonder if one of these horses is Lily’s.
I don’t know a thing about horses to even know what it’s called.
As I stand there, the sky undergoes a breathtaking transformation, shifting from a vibrant blue to a palette of pale orange and pink.
Looking up, I finally grasp what Lily was trying to convey about this spot.
The way she described it doesn’t do it justice.
I inhale the smell of fresh cut grass, closing my eyes to really take it in.
I let my mind wander to every single step that led me to this moment. That led me here. A single tear escapes, and I let it fall freely as I sit here in the open with no one around.
But it’s a happy tear.
Laced with the profound feeling of pride that I fucking did it.
I escaped the chains of my life to start a new one, breaking the mold that was put in place for who I was supposed to become, and let myself fall into the person I was meant to be all along. While there are still some rough edges and I feel lost at times, I don’t feel the pull to remain poised and presentable every hour of the day.
I’m free.
Kodi was skeptical, and I don’t blame her, I was too.
As the sun crests more over the mountain, I inhale and exhale again before leaving for my car.
The whinny of a horse in the distance causes me to turn around again.
A dark black horse gallops in the distance with someone on its back. The horse’s tail sticks out straight off the back and the rider bounces almost gracefully on its back as they both move with speed across the pasture.
They finally slow in the shadows of the stable and that’s when I realize the man riding the horse is Griffin.
I thought he looked good the last few times I’ve seen him.
Right now, even from a good distance away, he looks downright hot.
But in a burly cowboy type of way. Gone is the flannel I always see him in. This time he’s wearing his signature dark wash jeans with a solid white T-shirt that looks painted on him with sweat, likely from working around the stables.
The cowboy hat on his head covers his hair, but the thick scruff of his beard is on full display.
