Chapter 26

TWENTY-SIX

Bella rode hard, not stopping until she reached her destination, a hidden oasis her family had named Hart’s Pond. She patted her horse’s neck as she slowed to a stop beside the beautiful spot. “Thanks, Honey.” She hopped off, removed Honey’s saddle, cooled the mare down, and then turned her loose in the pen they’d built out there for that exact purpose.

She checked Honey’s water, gave her some hay, and then walked to the edge of the pond.

She sat down on the flat rock she’d used so many times for a picnic for herself and hugged her knees to her chest.

The late morning sun was bright, but Honey’s pen was in the shade, keeping her cool.

The sun reflected off the crystal-clear water, and she could see all the way to the bottom of the pond.

Bella rested her chin on her knees, rocking gently, waiting for the energy of Hart’s Pond to work its magic. After a few moments, she felt herself begin to relax, and she was able to finally take a deep breath.

“Men,” she muttered.

“What about them?”

She jumped and turned to see Tatum Crosby, Brody’s wife, and her sister Meg emerging from the opening in the thick foliage that surrounded the pool. She sighed when she saw them, not in the mood for company. “Uh, hi. I was just on my way home.” She headed over toward Honey to make her lie the truth.

“I stopped by to see you,” Meg said. “Falcon was sitting in your kitchen looking very stabbed and contemplative. He said you took off and said not to follow, so I figured you came here.”

Bella frowned. “How did you get here so fast?”

“I drove,” Phoebe Hart, the wife of her brother Jacob, walked in, accompanied by Sofia, who was married to Keegan. “We were heading into town for brunch, and we stopped to grab you and Meg. She said you were on a walkabout, so we figured you needed some girl time.”

Bella sighed. “I’m just leaving?—”

“Nope, you’re not.” Meg put her arm around her. “We have champagne and snacks. It’s party time.”

“I’m not in the mood?—”

“Really?” Tatum put her hands on her hips. “Brody told me that you wanted to move to Boston because of Maddie’s friends. Because you wanted more than your brothers.”

Bella felt her gut drop. “I didn’t mean it like that. I love you guys?—”

“I know.” Tatum adjusted her cowboy hat. “Here’s the thing. I’m away a lot at my residency in Vegas and other concerts. I was excited to connect with you and Meg again, but I’m not around a lot.”

Bella shrugged. Tatum had been an under-the-bridge kid at one point, and then she’d taken off without a good-bye. None of the Harts had heard from her since then, until one day Tatum had sent Brody a ticket and asked him to come to her concert.

Bella had loved Tatum as a big sister, and Tatum had left her. The pain was still there, commingled with all her other trust issues. But that was fine. Tatum made Brody happy and that was all that mattered. Besides, Tatum was a freaking international superstar. She was amazing. “You have an incredible career. I think that’s awesome,” she said honestly.

“Tablecloth is set,” Phoebe called out. “Come on, ladies. Let’s drink and eat.”

Bella glanced over at the rock, and then blinked in surprise when she saw the beautiful display that Phoebe and Sofia had already set up. There was a thick blanket, a flower centerpiece, and even nice plates and silverware. The food was arranged, and it looked more like a feast than a snack. “What is this?”

Meg smiled. “Honestly, we came by your house to kidnap you to bring you here. But you beat us to it. Of course, we were all going to get horses and ride out here, but since you had a head start, we didn’t want to risk that you’d have left by the time we got here, so we drove.”

Bella looked around at the women. “Why would you kidnap me?”

Tatum and Meg each took an arm, guiding her toward the picnic. “Eat and drink, my pretty,” Meg teased. “So many questions from such a sweet little thing.”

Bella pulled her arms free. “Look, I’m not going to be good company. I don’t even want to be at the ranch?—”

“That’s why we’re here.” Meg sat down and so did the others, leaving Bella the only one standing.

She was so confused. “I don’t understand what this is.”

Meg looked at her, her cowboy hat casting shadows across her face. “When we were talking that night on the Cape before I left, and you made it so clear how you wanted to be away from the ranch, and wanted to be friends with those amazing women, it got me thinking.”

Embarrassment flooded Bella’s cheeks. “I didn’t mean that you guys aren’t amazing?—”

Meg waved her off. “I know that, and that’s what got me thinking. Our ranch used to be the boys and us, but now we have more women here. We’re all pretty amazing, but the ranch is still kind of dominated by the boys. When I thought about it, I felt like we, as women, hadn’t worked to build what we had. We weren’t investing in us. ”

Bella blinked, surprised.

Phoebe raised her hand. “I’ll admit that I would love to be more connected to you guys. I know I’m super busy helping Jacob become more comfortable with life, and I’m busy with my daughter and my coaching business, so I haven’t been all that social as much either, but I would love for us to have some intentional girl time.”

“Me, too,” Sofia said. “I had some amazing friends in Seattle, and I miss them a lot. It’s hard to build new friendships when you get older, and I’ve just focused my energy on Keegan, my stores, and my daughter, too. But I miss that level of comfort between women. I’d love for us to spend more time together.”

“Me, too,” Meg said.

Bella stood there, staring at these women. “Tatum, Sofia, and Phoebe,” she began, her voice thick with emotion. “You all have these amazing accomplishments professionally. I felt like you would think I was just some rich girl with no purpose. And two of you are moms. What do I talk to you about? I don’t know anything about being a mom or having a career. I didn’t even really have a mom for long, and my only work is making food for a few dude ranch people and family.”

Meg hopped up and put her arm around Bella’s shoulders. “I love you, Bells.”

Bella sighed. “I love you, too, Meg. I do. I just?—”

“I know. You and I have always been alone in a sea of boys who like to protect us. You run the dude ranch kitchen by default, not because it was this great dream of yours. I want to do something more as well.” She squeezed Bella’s shoulder. “But we can grow together.”

“I—” Bella spread her hands, unsure what to say.

It was Tatum who stood up. “Look, ladies, here we are. Five fantastic women who all live on the same ranch, part of the same family in different ways, and we have all made ourselves too busy and too insecure to invest in us. ” She turned to Bella. “I know we’ve never fully recovered from the damage I did to our trust when I left so long ago, but I’m tired of dancing around it and pretending that everything is as it was. I love you.” She gestured to all of them. “I love each of you, and dammit, I claim you all as mine. ”

Sofia jumped to her feet. “I want to be claimed by you guys. I claim you back.”

“Me too,” Phoebe said. “Girl power matters, and we’re forever girls, no matter how old we get.”

Meg smiled at Bella. “What do you say, Bells? Do we expand our sisterhood with all of our heart?”

Bella took a breath, emotions clogging her throat. “I don’t know how to let people in,” she said. “I was hoping that Maddie and that gang would just suck me in so I wouldn’t have to figure it out.”

“We’ll figure it out together,” Phoebe said. “I don’t know how anymore either.”

“Me either,” Meg said.

“I keep everyone at a distance,” Tatum said. “The price of fame.”

Sofia beamed at them. “I’m going to hold all of you to this,” she said. “I’m great at having girlfriends, and I miss the hell out of it.”

Bella started laughing through her sudden tears. “This is all just a ploy to keep me here, isn’t it, Meg?”

Her sister kissed her cheek. “I’d never try to trap you, Bells, but I realized that we were missing out on something beautiful that was right here, waiting for us. You deserve it, even if you move away.”

“We’re all family,” Tatum said. “All of us. Sisters.” She slung her arm over Phoebe’s shoulders. “Come on girls. Group hug. This is how it starts.”

She flung her other arm around Sofia, and then Phoebe and Sofia held out their arms to Meg and Bella. Meg looked at her. “Bells?”

Bella nodded and walked over to the group. She barely got within reach when they dragged her in. They all lost their balance and almost fell down the rock, shrieking with laughter as they tried not to land in the water.

Bella leaned back on her hands, laughing as everyone straightened themselves out. “All right, Tatum, if we’re friends now, how on earth did you become such an absolute badass with your career? How many Grammys now?”

“Eight.” Tatum beamed at them. “Plus, I got two more nominations for this year.”

Sofia grinned. “I’m literally ninety percent terrified of you, Tatum. You’re a world-wide celebrity.”

“Agreed,” chimed in Phoebe. “I’m kind of afraid to talk to you at family events.”

Tatum looked around, and Bella saw the sadness in her eyes. “You guys are afraid of me?”

“I’m not.” Bella stood up, walked across the stone, and sat down next to Tatum. “I was mad at you, but I know you’re the most beautiful soul. I’ve always loved you, Tatum.”

Tatum put her arm around Bella. “Thanks, Bells. I love you, too, and I’m sorry I left.”

“I know.” Bella sighed. “I think part of the reason I was mad at you was because you had the courage to leave and go after your dreams, and I just stayed small and sat in the safe space that Brody created for me here on the ranch. It was about me.” She glanced at Tatum. “Still is.”

Tatum rested her hand on Bella’s shoulder. “I’m going to write a song about female friendships,” she said. “As women, we get so busy that we forget to invest in ourselves and in our connection to other women. And I want all of you in my video.

Sofia’s face lit up. “No way! In your video! That’s awesome. Yes!”

“Me, too,” Phoebe said.

“I’m in,” said Meg.

Bella hesitated. She’d worked so hard to stay hidden for so long, but if she were in Tatum’s video, the whole world would see her. Was she ready for that?

Tatum frowned. “Not interested, Bella?”

She took a breath. “I have a stalker. A guy I dated a few years ago. He’s—” She stopped.

“Psychotic,” Meg said. “Creepy. Dangerous. All the things you think of. That’s why Bella stays hidden. So he won’t find her.”

The three women looked startled. “I didn’t know that,” Tatum said. “Why didn’t I know that?”

Bella shrugged. “My brothers scared him off. He’d never come after me here. But when I leave the ranch, he sometimes shows up. He knows where I go.”

“Oh, damn.” Phoebe looked worried. “I know what that’s like. Don’t be in the video.”

Bella looked at Phoebe, who had gone into hiding to avoid her ex. “Is it worth it? To hide?”

Phoebe raised her brows. “I’m glad I’m not dead, so yes, I’d do it again.”

Bella hugged her knees. She was sitting with two women who were so different. Tatum had gone into a life in the spotlight, not hiding. Instead, she had shined her own light so brightly, acquired more than one stalker, and had refused to back down.

Phoebe had gone into hiding for years, cutting off her own family to escape her ex-husband, and then had done it a second time to protect her daughter.

Both women had ended up finding happiness and love. Family. Fulfillment. Careers that made them money and filled them with purpose and joy.

That meant either path could work.

So, what did Bella want to do?

“I want to shine my light,” she said quietly.

“What?” Meg leaned in. “What did you say?”

Bella lifted her chin and looked around at the beautiful group of women surrounding her. “I want to shine my light,” she said louder. “I think that’s what I need. That’s what’s driving me to want to escape the ranch and the kitchen. I just want to no longer hide myself.”

Tatum beamed at her. “Yes! So, you’re in the video?”

Bella nodded. “I’m in.” Screw her stalker. Let him come for her. She wasn’t going to hide anymore.

“Whoohoo!” Tatum held up her arms. “I already thought of a few lines. You guys want to hear them?”

When everyone said yes, Tatum started to test out some lyrics, and soon they were in a creation hotspot, writing a song together about women.

Bella smiled as she listened to the conversation. These women, by marriage or by finding, were her family. Her sisters. All different, but all amazing people.

This is what she’d been missing. The power of women coming together, supporting each other, making each other laugh. And she’d had it all along. All of these women literally lived within walking distance of her house.

And she’d thought she had to run to Boston to find them.

Meg sat down next to Bella and nudged her shoulder. “Aside from the video, how are you going to shine your light, sis?”

“I don’t know.” She hugged her knees and rested her chin on them.

Tatum looked over. “What are you going to do about Falcon?”

Bella stiffened. “Nothing.”

“Girl, he was sitting at the counter looking very distraught,” Sofia said. “He looked like a man whose heart had just shattered. Did you dump him?”

Guilt flashed through Bella. “I didn’t dump him. I just called his bluff, and he failed.”

Meg raised her brows. “What bluff did you call?”

“I asked him to marry me, and he said he couldn’t.”

The women all screamed, and Meg hit her shoulder. “What are you talking about? Tell us everything .”

Bella paused, looking around at all the women. She’d always been honest with Meg, but these other women? She wasn’t used to that. She was used to not trusting. But these women had won over her brothers, and they were her family now. So, she took a deep breath, and she told them everything.

And it felt amazing.

It was when they started asking the tough questions that things got hard.