“Do you like the horses or Mr. Ewan?” Aria teased.
Amelia gave us a very serious look. “Both. I love both. But I love Mr. Ewan more.”
And with that, I promptly burst into tears, and my daughter gave me a startled look, her tiny eyebrows shooting up, before trying to wipe them away.
“I will go find him. I promise.” And I’d figure out what the hell I was doing next at some point.
“Good.” She gave me an adorably pompous nod. “Because I miss him.”
I looked at Aria over my daughter’s head and saw the longing there. My cousin was in pain, and I could fix this.
But maybe I could fix what I had done to my own family.
I just had to hope I wasn’t making yet another mistake.
* * *
The flightto Wyoming took longer when I had to fly commercial, and there wasn’t a direct flight to the small town where Ewan’s family resided. I rented a car and doubted myself with every passing mile. Amelia hummed in the back seat and looked so excited and worried at the same time, that I had questioned my decision countless times. My parents had dropped us off at the airport, apprehension and something I couldn’t read etched on their faces. But then my father had practically shoved me out of the SUV when they’d dropped us off.
“I almost made the worst mistake of my life by nearly letting your mother walk away. I know there aren’t any easy answers, but I saw the way he treats you and my granddaughter. I was getting the feeling if you didn’t go there, he’d be back here soon.”
My eyes had widened. “How could you know that?”
“Because he’s a good man.”
So there I was, driving to the McBride ranch, hoping I wasn’t making a mistake.
I should have warned him, should have called, but it would’ve given me distance to the point I wasn’t sure I would be able to make the choices I needed to.
And frankly, I needed to see him.
I tapped in the code to the gate, aware it was odd that I even had it. But he had mentioned it to me in passing, because in that short amount of the time, we had clicked.
And I had almost let it all slip away. I wasn’t going to do it again.
I drove down the road, taking in everything at once. This place was beautiful. The mountains in the distance, the farmland and animals everywhere. I knew that the working part of the ranch was a few miles down at a different entrance, but this gate was just for the land Ewan owned. I had directions to his house, and I had hoped he was there. Maybe he was working. Maybe I was about to drive up to a completely empty house, or one filled with people I didn’t know. Or maybe Ewan had already found someone else. “It hasn’t been that long. Get a grip, Livvy.”
“Are we here? Are we here?”
I looked in the rearview mirror at my daughter, knowing that no matter what happened, she would remember this moment. She might have been too young at the moment but bringing my daughter to the ranch she couldn’t stop talking about had been the only choice.
“We are. We just have to hope he’s home.”
I probablyshouldhave called ahead. Surprising Ewan with not only myself, but my four-year-old daughter, was ridiculous. And yet, here I was. With no way to turn around and change my mind. Hence why we were doing it like this. I couldn’t let any more doubt creep in.
I finally pulled in front of a large two-story home that felt as if it was pulled directly from my dreams. A large front porch, and a balcony that looked to be directly from the master bedroom as Ewan had said. Everything looked welcoming, and far too big for a single man.
Once again, I was making impromptu decisions and wondering if I made mistakes. But no, this felt right.
Finally. This felt right.
Before I could even stop the car, the front door opened, and my heart leapt into my throat.
“Mr. Ewan!” Amelia called, kicking her feet in her seat.
He stood there, hands on hips as he stared at me, his face going pale. He had on a flannel shirt buttoned over a white undershirt and those tight jeans I loved so much.
“I want to get out. I want to get out.” I heard Amelia trying to work her way out of her booster and seatbelt, and I finally turned off the car.
