Chapter 12

Bridget stood at the window for nearly half an hour, watching the people on the street below without ever really seeing them. Her eyes were too full of tears to see much through the watery blur. Finally, she dragged herself to the kitchen table and slumped in the chair.

More horns blared below and she tried to block her ears. The city noise was suddenly deafening and annoying and infuriating.

She'd really let them leave. Let Matt and Mark walk out of her life without telling them what they meant to her. All her reasons for letting them go began to crash in on her until she thought she'd suffocate under the weight.

She hadn't had a choice. Had she? She thought about Lyle and what they'd shared—friendship, laughter, dreams for the future, finding true love—all those simple joys. She wiped her eyes. Lyle would never experience any of those things again.

She walked to the kitchen counter and retrieved Lyle's last letter to her. She read the words again, but this time, they took on a different meaning.

Now it's up to you. Finish the job. Do what I couldn't.

If Lyle had taught her anything—while they were together or with his untimely death—it was that life was too precious to waste. He wouldn"t want her to devote herself to a job she wasn't passionate about. He wouldn"t want her to give up the chance for real, true love.

Suddenly everything became so clear to her. All Lyle had ever wanted was for her to be happy. Didn't she owe it to him to live her life to the fullest, rather than wallowing in misery and guilt? She wasn't the same woman she'd been a year ago. She couldn't go back to the life she'd known when Lyle had been alive even if she tried. Life was a series of steps, of moving forward. Staying in New York would be like standing still.

She had no idea where her life was leading her, but every fiber of her being said she'd never know true happiness if she didn't take a chance at making a future with Matt and Mark. In Saratoga.

Her tears dried up and she smiled at what she was contemplating. Holy crap. Was she seriously going to move to a horse ranch all the way across the country with not one, but two cowboys? She giggled, the sound echoing in the empty room. Yep. She sure as hell was.

Her cell phone rang and she raced to retrieve it from her coat pocket, praying it was Matt or Mark. An envelope fell out and landed on the floor as she grabbed the phone.

Her heart fell when she saw her editor's number. She sighed. "Hello."

"Hey, Bridget. How's my favorite reporter? I was wondering if you'd had a chance to start working on your article about the trial. We were hoping to get it on tomorrow's front page."

The old Bridget, the one her editor knew, would have stayed up all night writing the story. Instead, she'd spent the evening wrapped up in the embraces of the two cowboys who'd changed her life. Bending down, she picked up the unfamiliar envelope.

"Um, I haven't had a chance to start on it."

There was silence on the other end for a moment. She'd shocked him.

"Oh, I see," he replied.

Opening the envelope, she spotted a plane ticket. Her ticket to Saratoga. Mark had said they'd bought one for her. Her hands began to shake as she realized what she held.

"Truth is," she began, "I think I'm going to have to pass on the article. And the promotion. And, well, my old job too. I'm quitting it all."

She wasn't sure where the words were coming from, but the moment she began speaking them, they came faster, grew stronger. She had a ticket. She was going to use it.

"I don't understand," her editor said.

"I'm quitting. I'll email you my resignation later, but for right now, I have a flight to catch."

She hung up the phone without waiting for a good-bye. Reaching for a tissue, she blew her nose and cursed herself for being all kinds of a fool. How could she have let them leave without her?

Rushing to her room, she began throwing things in a bag as she called for a taxi. She was going to be on that plane. She had to be.

Bridget ran through the terminal,glancing at the clock. She was an OCD flyer by nature, always at the airport hours before departure. She currently had three minutes to reach her gate or the flight was going to take off without her. If she'd had a brain in her head, she would have planned this whole thing better. Arranged for a later flight. Packed up her apartment. Given notice to her landlord. Hired a moving company. Told her parents she was moving west.

Christ. Here she was running through JFK like a lunatic, trying to catch a plane when the fact was she was just going to have to turn around and come back to New York later to clean up all the messes she'd left behind.

She grinned. She didn't give a fuck. This was fun. She was dashing headfirst into her future, leaving the old Bridget behind.

She rushed up to the desk and flashed her ticket to the airline attendant. Everyone else was already on the plane. She couldn't wait to see Matt and Mark's faces when she boarded.

She giggled as she stepped on to the plane—giddy with anticipation. The flight attendant gave her a funny look, then smiled. Apparently uncontrollable happiness was contagious.

"Welcome aboard." The attendant looked at her ticket. "Your seat is near the back. Next to that tall handsome man in the cowboy hat."

Bridget glanced toward the rear of the plane and spotted them. Her heart nearly exploded with joy.

Neither man had seen her yet. Mark had claimed the window seat and was watching the activity out on the runway. Matt was sitting next to the aisle with his head thrown back, his eyes closed. The seat between them—her seat—was empty.

She walked straight up to their row and hitched her purse higher on her arm. "Excuse me. I think that's my seat."

Both men jerked at the sound of her voice. Her smile was so huge it hurt her face, and then a sudden bolt of panic jerked her. What if their offer hadn't been sincere? What if they didn't want?—

She didn't have a chance to finish her thought. Matt stood up quickly, bumping his head on the overhead compartment. That didn't stop him from giving a loud whoop. The chatter in the airplane died at his loud exclamation and Bridget saw one of the flight attendants look their way with a worried expression.

He hugged her. A hard, full-body embrace that drove all the air from her lungs.

Mark's voice cut through the silence. "Stop hogging her."

Matt released her, helping her to her seat. Once she was in place, Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her as close as the armrest between them would allow. "Goddamn, you're a sight for sore eyes."

She pulled back and cupped his beloved face with her hand. "Ditto. I couldn't let you guys leave without saying something."

Matt quickly claimed one of her hands, leaning closer. The airline safety video began to play, but they ignored it. "What did you forget to say, sweetheart?"

"I wanted to know if your offer still stands?—"

"It stands," Mark interjected quickly. "For you. Always."

"I'd like to move to Wyoming and start a life with you guys. You saved my life, kept me safe, but more than that, you brought me to life. I'm not sure I knew what it meant to live until I met you."

Matt leaned over and pressed a kiss on her cheek. "You did the same for us, Bridge. Mark and I were just living, slogging our way through the daily grind without even knowing how much was missing from our lives. Then you fell down at our feet—literally—and it became obvious we had no idea what happiness was. You opened our eyes to some pretty amazing possibilities. Now I can't even imagine a life without you, without Mark. We fit together. The three of us."

Mark squeezed her hand. "You're ours, Bridget. Our city cowgirl. We'll keep you safe, always."

Matt reclaimed her attention. "And warm and happy and—" He winked at her as he added "well-fed" to his romantic list.

Bridget could see a few passengers looking in their direction, could read the confusion on their faces as they tried to figure out the relationship dynamics.

She grinned. They had a lot of things to work out, but she knew they would. "I know now that everything's going to be all right. There's nothing the three of us can't do, because you love me. And I love you."