Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

Ranger

"Are you sure you don't wanna stick around for a few more days?" Whitney asks as I finish packing my supplies up.

It's not unheard of for me to hang out with her and her husband for up to a week after I've completed the job. After all, they're a hell of a lot more than friends outside of work, and there's been a—shall we say—arrangement for a number of years. "I should really get back to Britt and Karli. Make sure they don't need anything."

She tilts her head to the side, her eyes wise to what I'm trying not to say. "Is it over?" She wrinkles her nose. "This little fling we'd have every time you came to take care of the horses?"

I tuck my hands into my pockets. "We both knew it wasn't forever, Whit. You're a married woman ..."

"Whose husband can't perform and was perfectly fine with me seeking pleasure elsewhere. Don't make it dirty, Ranger. We've always been two consenting adults." She raises her eyebrows, calling me on my shit.

"We have, you're right. There was nothing dirty about it. I just didn't have feelings for you in that way."

"And you do now?" She questions. "Because you've been different this time. Typically, you're not checking your phone, or working at a pace that's going to get you done faster. You did that this time. I know your daughter is injured, but there's something else going on. You know that above all, we're friends, Ranger." She reaches out, putting her hand on my forearm.

I take my hat off, holding it so that I can squish the bill in my hands while I talk. "I think you know I've had a really good time with this nomadic life I've led. After having to take care of Britt when her mom didn't want to, I enjoyed no strings attached, and taking the wind wherever it blew. But you're right. I have met someone who intrigues me more than anyone else I've ever met in my entire life. I think I've given her the impression that I never wanted to be tied down again, which isn't necessarily the case. I'm not sure how to convince her otherwise. I've got some work ahead of me," I admit as I glance up at the sky, trying to figure out if I want to leave this late or not. The sun is starting to set, and while it'll only take me a few hours to get home, it'll be well after dark, and I don't want to scare Ava, especially after what she's been going through with Wade.

"Go home, Ranger. Whoever this woman is, tell her how you feel. You're too old to be playing games."

"I'm not." I cut my head sharply back toward her. "I just don't know what to say to her." I shrug, not sure how to express myself, because the person I really need to be expressing to isn't here.

"You'll figure it out," she presses. "But what you're not going to do while you're staying here is be any closer to getting the life you want. So if I were you, I'd hop in and start heading back to Bellehaven. A couple hours from now, you'll know what to say, and if you don't? You're charming, Ranger. Just work it."

I throw my head back, laughing at her backhanded compliment. "I do tend to get my way."

"More than anyone else I know." She slaps her hand on my stomach, affectionately. "If she's fallen under your spell, she isn't going to say no, you just have to give her an incentive to say yes. It's not hard."

It is, but no one else will get it. This is something I'm going to have to do for myself. "I'll see ya next time?" I reach out, hugging her tightly. "Or are you going to get rid of me?"

"Never." She shakes her head. "You're good at what you do, and I will always value your friendship."

"Thanks, Whitney. I'll catch you around."

With those words, I jog over to my truck, open the door, slide in, start it up, and head for Bellehaven with nothing more than a hope and a prayer.

When I pull into Ava's driveway almost three hours later, I'm still not completely sure what I want to say to her, but I'm trusting myself, which is more than I've ever done before. Walking up to her door, I knock firmly, but not too firm.

Slowly, she cracks it, but the chain keeps her from opening it all the way. "Ranger? What are you doing here?"

This is it. It's my chance. My one opportunity, and I swear I'm not going to waste it. This is the moment when I lay everything out on the line. "I missed you, and I came to a conclusion while I was in West Virginia."

Her face is barely visible in the dark shadows, but those eyes of hers are shining. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I've spent my entire life searching for a place to call my own, and I had convinced myself it was because I didn't need one. That I could make the trailer my own, but it just never felt right. There was always a feeling of it still not being enough. It felt as if home was a construct I wasn't even going to have with my own child, and I worried, because it always felt as if there were something missing. An element that I couldn't put my finger on." I stop to take a big gulp of breath so I can get this all out. With a gush of air, I let go of everything. "I figured out what it was in the last few days, Ava. What was missing, what has always been missing? It's you."

"Ranger ..."

"I know you thought I didn't want anything serious, and I thought the same thing too, but I'm here to tell you, I'm open if you are. Ball's in your court, gorgeous. You just let me know how we play the game."