“So they wanted the ranches—our families—to stay together indefinitely.”
Chills ran down my arms. My mind raced with the possibilities of how different things could have been. Would Beau and I have gotten together sooner? Would Anna and I still have been best friends? Would my family not be in debt?
“We couldn’t possibly do that now, though. Not after everything. That’d be crazy,” Beau said, peeking at me out of the corner of his eye as I set the contract down. “Right?” My heart lurched, my chest tightening.
“Yeah…definitely crazy,” I said, nodding, unable to stop staring at the contract. “How much is the land worth now anyway?” I asked casually as if my heart wasn’t in my throat.
Beau’s tone mirrored mine. “About 2.1 million, give or take.”
I rapped my fingers on the counter. “A lotta money.”
“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his head. “How much did you get from Cavendish again? I forgot.”
“About a million dollars.”
He nodded, staring down at the granite, feigning indifference. “That’s really great, baby…really great.”
Not even five minutes later, we were on a group FaceTime with Emmett, Anna, Colt, Savannah, and Delilah. We tried Tess, but naturally, she didn’t answer. And neither did Weston, but he was out of town for a rodeo, so he was probably busy.
“What the hell is this?” Colt asked, his camera angled on only half his face, which was too close to the screen. “I didn’t know you could FaceTime this many people at once.” Somebody laughed. I couldn’t tell if it was Delilah, Anna, or Savannah.
“Is this y’all’s way of announcing you’re together?” Anna asked, grinning. Her and Joseph’s heads were nestled together in the frame. They were so cute together.
“Because we knew that already,” Savannah tacked on. She had gold, shimmering eye patches under her eyes and a purple pimple patch in the shape of a star on her forehead.
“Sure,” Beau replied. “But that’s not why we called.”
“Wasn’t expecting to hear from y’all at all tonight,” Delilah pointed out with a smirk that made me blush. She had her hair in a messy bun with a face mask on, not caring that everyone could see her looking like Hannibal Lecter. She and Savannah must’ve been doing a skincare night.
Her brows raised a fraction. “Performance anxiety, Beaumont?”
Colt and Joseph snickered. “I like her,” Joseph said, grinning at Anna.
“I am pretty great,” Delilah said, with a smug smile.
Emmett scoffed. “Pretty great at being a pain in the ass is more like it.” It looked like he was in the barn stall he converted to a home gym over the few years he’d been home; he practically lived in there. And given the way his inked skin was glistening with sweat, he had been in there for a while already.
Delilah’s middle finger filled her camera.
Everyone’s icons shifted, and Weston’s face popped on the screen. There was a squeak, and Savannah shut off her camera. I clocked it immediately and glanced at Beau the same time he looked at me, as if to say,You noticed that, too?
“Well, looky here,” Weston said, grinning wide, breathing hard. His face was sweaty, his hair brushed back as if he’d been running his hands through it, still wearing his protective vest. He must’ve just finished. “The gang’s all together again.”
“That’s kinda what we were calling about,” I said, picking at my nails out of view. Beau’s hand settled low on my back,offering silent support. “So I’m over at Circle M, and Beau and I were in the basement.”
Weston grimaced. “Y’all were boning in the basement? Weird choice, but okay.”
“He can’t get it up. You missed that part,” Delilah said casually.
Weston’s head tilted back with laughter. “They make a pill for that, you know.”
I buried my face in my hands, shaking my head and fighting a smile. Delilah and Weston had always fed off each other like a match and gasoline, and it seemed that the years apart hadn’t changed that.
“My dick works just fine, thank you very much,” Beau ground out, his cheeks a little pink. It was adorable.
“More than fine,” I added, smirking at him. He pulled me into his side and kissed me hard, right in front of all of our siblings.
Everyone let out a collective sound of disgust that made me smile wider.
