by Liz Isaacson
He pulled into the parking lot at a diner Sissy loved and parked. Neither of them moved to get out; he didn’t even take his hands off the wheel.
“My last tour was so difficult because I didn’t have you waiting for me at home,” he said, his voice as tight as the rest of him. “So yes, Sissy. You hurt me. But I really am okay now.”
“I know that,” she said. “And your beard grows just as fast now as it did then. And you’re just as hard-working.” She reached over and gently took one hand from the steering wheel. “Just as handsome.”
That got him to look at her, and Sissy felt a measure of love for him. For this strong, caring man she’d once loved so deeply.
“So some things are the same,” she said, her voice barely leaving her throat. “But I know so many others will be different. And I want to know about all the differences.”
There. She’d said it. Apologized. Confessed her intense attraction and crush on the man. She hoped he could read through those lines as easily as he usually did.
Just to make sure, she stretched up and placed a long, lingering kiss on his cheek. Only pulling back an inch or so, she whispered, “And I’m starving. Can we go in now?”
Later that day, Sissy left the Administration building when Dave texted her that he was leaving for the cabin. After the kiss, Dave had relaxed and breakfast had gone well. He shared a few stories about his life on the ranch so far, but he hadn’t dipped into the pool of his past even once.
Sissy told herself to be patient. They needed time to come to terms with how things had ended last time, time to learn about each other as they were now.
The steady clip-clop of horse’s hooves came toward her, and she turned toward the magnificent sight of Dave atop of pretty brown and white horse. He spoke to it and it stopped, allowing him to swing out of the saddle and come toward her.
He wore happiness in his eyes, and she grinned at him. “Leaving?”
“Yeah,” he said, sweeping into her personal space and taking her right into his arms.
“Oh,” she said in surprise, and he jumped right back.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I just saw you there, and….”
“And what?” she asked. She hadn’t remembered Dave as one who couldn’t complete sentences.
“And I wanted to hold you,” he whispered. “But we’re probably not there yet.”
That little, three-letter word brought sunshine to her soul. Yet. “No, we are,” she said, feeling adventurous and brave, the way she’d been when she’d gone parasailing in Hawaii, and when she’d ridden the longest zipline in the world in Mexico. Well, at the time, it was the longest. A new one had opened up in the Middle East, but Sissy had no plans to travel there and ride it.
No, she wanted to stay right here on this remote piece of land and be held by Dave Merrill.
She stepped back into his arms, glad when he enveloped her into his embrace once more. He smelled like the open air, and animals, and leather, and musk. She breathed him in and held onto those broad shoulders.
“How long will you be gone?” she asked.
“Until Saturday,” he whispered.
She nodded, and said, “I’m helping with goat yoga on Saturday.” She swept a kiss across his face again. “Come find me when you get back.”
Chapter 6
Come find me when you get back.
Dave had Sissy’s voice on repeat in his head. She had no idea the power she still held over him, and while he hadn’t liked it at first, he was starting to realize that he gave her that power.
He still liked her so much.
He was not in love with her. He knew that. He had moved on all those years ago, and while she’d stirred him all up again, it would take some time for him to fall for her again.
“Which is good,” he said to Chestnut, his brown and white palomino he’d brought with him from his last ranch. “I mean, we aren’t going to get married next week or anything.”
Chestnut said nothing, but the question still hung in the air between them. Who said anything about marriage?
And Will she marry you this time, Davy?
Dave shook his head to get the horse’s insane questions out of his mind. He’d never married after his relationship with Sissy had ended. In some ways, he’d moved on. In others, he really hadn’t quite gotten over her.
No matter what, he had a long way to go before he could trust her. Before he could even start thinking about marriage and putting himself and his heart on the line like that again. She’d apologized, and that was nice to hear.
He’d hated hearing about her time in Costa Rica—until she’d said it would’ve been better with him there. But she hadn’t called when she got back. She hadn’t texted. She’d just booked the next trip. And then the next. And the next.
He knew. Number one, he wasn’t stupid. Number two, they had shared friends. Number three, she joined social media almost at its inception, and she wasn’t shy about posting pictures.
Dave hadn’t checked them all the time. He wasn’t that hung up on her.
“She wants to know about me,” he said to Chestnut. “But I haven’t told her anything.” He’d been troubled about why he felt like he couldn’t share his life with her, but he told himself to give the relationship time. Time to grow. Time to develop. Time to build trust.
Chestnut snuffled, and it almost sounded like he said, “Rubbish.”
Dave chuckled. “Yeah, I should tell her something, right?”
Chestnut tossed his head, and Dave took that as a yes. “All right, boy. You get us to the cabin. I’ll text Sissy.” He reached into his back pocket and extracted his phone.
He’d start with something simple. Something she didn’t know about him that wasn’t a huge secret and that wouldn’t cost him too much if they broke up when he got back to the ranch.
Although, the very idea of that had him hesitating again. “You’re not going to break up,” he told himself. They were barely dating as it was. So he’d held her hand and been out with her twice. He’d done that with several other women over the past year too. Sissy wasn’t special.
Which was the biggest lie of all.
Dave sighed again and tipped his head toward heaven. “Help me,” he prayed, almost begging God to give him some direction. A shove, even if it was off a cliff.
His phone buzzed—literally. Dave had set the text notification to a chainsaw buzzing sound that drove Cache up the wall.
Send me pictures of the cabin, Sissy had messaged, and Dave felt like he’d gotten that push. He’d felt it in the restaurant too.
I will, he texted her. I thought maybe I’d tell you why I decided to become a cowboy.
Ooh, intriguing.
Sissy had always been great at flirting, and Dave smiled at his phone as if she were there with him.
As you know, I dropped out of college to join the Army. Served a tour in Afghanistan and was going back for a second one when you broke my heart.
He stared at the words, wondering if she’d feel bad when she read them.
“Of course she will,” he muttered, checking first to make sure Chestnut was still on course and then deleting off the last several words. He sent the text without the accusation and looked up again.
That second tour was one of the worst things he’d experienced, and he knew now that it had everything to do with Sissy’s absence from his life.
When I got back the second time, my six years were up. I didn’t want to continue, so I left the Army and joined the reserves. I still go up to Fort Irwin once a month, but I’ve never been deployed again.
“Thankfully,” he said, remembering the long prayers where he’d begged God to send someone else. He’d seen enough war. Enough of the desert. Enough death. Mercifully, God had listened, and Dave hadn’t had to suit up and ship out again.
So I needed something else to do. Accounting was boring, and I wanted to be outside. So I took a job hauling hay at a local farm. The rest is sort of history.
Several seconds passed before she said, Fascinating. When did you get the cowboy hat?
He smiled and tapped as quickly as he could. When you’re outside all day, you learn quickly that you need a hat. I got one the evening I started. That first sunburn was a killer, let me tell you.
Now, he could work for hours in the sun and barely feel it. He’d learned to stay hydrated. Always have a pair of gloves in his back pocket. Never leave his hat home—oh, and have several backups, though most cowboys had a favorite hat they wore. He had two, actually. One for working and one for going out. His working hat was dark brown, and his dating hat was black.
Sissy sent back a smiley face emoji, and Dave picked up the story. I’ve always loved animals, and I took to horses the most. I worked at that farm for five years before I moved over to a cattle ranch quite a bit north of here. Still in California though.
You always have been a California boy, she sent back.
Dave scoffed. He hadn’t been a boy for a long time. His knees and back testified of his age every time he woke up in the morning.
I was there for five years, he said, choosing to ignore the boy comment. And I moved to a boarding stable for a few years, and now I’m here.
What has been your favorite spot?
“This one,” he said to Chestnut, who he’d bought from the owner of the boarding stable a year before he’d moved on. He loved the camaraderie at Last Chance Ranch. Loved that it was a rescue operation, with disabled animals or strays or abandoned pets that would die if Last Chance Ranch didn’t take them in. Loved his band. Loved his cabin.
Loved that Sissy was just a short walk away.
Last Chance Ranch, he texted, noticing that Chestnut had slowed and was pulling to get his head down to the grasses out here on the open range.
He shoved his phone under his thigh and picked up the reins. “Come on, boy,” he said. “You’re letting yourself get distracted.”
Dave was too, and he didn’t go back to his phone until he reached the cabin and put Chestnut to graze in the small paddock behind the house.
When he looked at Sissy’s texts again, she’d said, I like it here too. And I’m glad you’re here.
Dave was too, and he sent another prayer of gratitude to the Lord before he went inside the cabin.
Not many people came out to this place, so it looked and smelled exactly like last time he was here. Maybe there was a bit more dust, as the California winds tended to kick up in the spring.
The cabin had four bedrooms that wrapped down one wall and part of the back one, in an L-shape. The front door opened up into a living area on his right, with a kitchen in the back left corner. A small mudroom where cowboys could kick off their boots sat in front of the back door, which led straight into the paddock. There were no shelters for the horses out here, and while the weather usually didn’t warrant one, they’d had coyotes on the ranch before.
Dave determined he could build a little barn in the paddock, and then immediately dismissed the thought. He didn’t have time or resources to do that. And if Scarlett wanted something built, she’d hire Jeri. But Jeri had just brought home baby Brayden, so Dave knew there’d be no barns getting built any time soon.
On his left, a hallway led to two bedrooms with a bathroom between them. Various cots and bunk beds filled the rooms, as if at one time several cowboys had come out here together. As far as Dave knew, he and Hudson were the only ones who came to this cabin now, and even Hudson had started assigning Dave to all the jobs that needed doing away from the epicenter of the ranch.
He drew in a big breath and turned to pick up his saddlebags. He unpacked his food and water for the next few days, glad for the tiny battery-powered fridge that was big enough to keep meat and cheese cold. Everything else was mostly packaged, and for a few days, Dave didn’t mind.
But when he got back…. He pulled out his phone and said So am I to Sissy’s text about her being glad he was there. Then he added, I’ll be starving when I get back on Saturday. Wanna take me to dinner?
The pet cemetery held so much intrigue for Dave. He loved walking among the trinkets and grave markers, the chimes and wildflowers that had sprung up in the bare patches of earth. Some had headstones with a first and last name, but most were homemade markers with just a single name.
Bear. Thompson. Yeti. Digger.
He could tell the cemetery had been sectioned the same way the ranch was. In the horse area, the grave markers were much farther apart, but in the cat section, they were closer together. Cats and dogs seemed to be the most popular type of animal buried here, and their graves began just behind the big stone marker to the cemetery that read Angel’s Nest.
The stone had fallen at some point in time, and Dave had resurrected it. He was glad to see it still standing strong the next morning, and he trailed his fingers across the top of it as he entered the cemetery.
Hudson wanted two sections mapped, and Dave pulled out the notebook they’d been using for over a year now. The birds had been done, as had the reptiles. The horses, and the cats. Only about a third of the dogs had been drawn and labeled, and he decided he’d start there.
As much as he loved canines, he’d never had one of his own until he’d adopted Stella. He’d always thought it impractical, because he was never permanent somewhere, and he could be deployed at any moment.
But subconsciously, he’d decided to stay at Last Chance Ranch for as long as they’d let him. And if he got deployed, he could leave Stella with Gramps until he got back. He’d had friends at other ranches, but nothing like what he had here. Cache had taken Stella that morning, and he’d take her to Gramps that evening. The old man loved sleeping with a dog curled up at his feet, and Dave never worried when he had to come on his overnight trips to the cabin.
In fact, they rejuvenated him.
“All right,” he said to the graves. “Me and Sissy. What do you guys think?”
The only sound was the scratch of his pencil as he boxed in graves and put names on them. It was easy work, which allowed his mind to roam through other topics. Today, it was only a singular topic—Sissy.
Dave wasn’t sure what the future held, but by the time he returned to the cabin for a sandwich and a bottle of water, he’d decided he did want a future with Sissy in it.
He checked his phone, all smiles when he saw her text. Of course I’ll take you to dinner.
Maybe, just maybe, she wanted a future with him too.
Chapter 7
Sissy had just taken her mother’s famous sausage and potato casserole from the fridge to start heating it up when she heard the door open.
Dave was early.
He’d been stopping by the Administration Annex a few times a week to eat lunch with her, and she’d bragged about the casserole so much over the last few weeks that he’d finally asked her to make it.
She wasn’t a great cook, but she could slice kielbasa and brown it, open a bag of shredded hashbrowns, and put the dish together. It was full of cheese and deliciousness, and she slid the plastic container in the microwave just as Dave came into the break room.
No one else worked in the building full-time, but occasionally a few people congregated to eat lunch together. Today, though, the room was empty. Dave’s late lunch schedule helped them see each other alone, and he smiled at her.
“Horseback riding still on for tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yep,” she said, taking an unconscious step toward him, like she’d get another hug like the one he’d given her before heading out to the cabin. She froze, a trickle of fear still icing her lungs.
She’d been letting Dave dictate how fast this relationship went, thinking he’d be as quick as last time. But nope. He’d been taking things slowly, carefully, and while he held her hand and texted her almost non-stop while he wasn’t working, he hadn’t even leaned forward to try to kiss her.
She’d told him about a few of her trips. Her job at the only other ranch she’d worked at—a small, family operation that needed a ful
l-time accountant to fix their books over the last thirty years. The horse training facility was just outside of Marietta, and he’d nodded like that meant something to him.
When she’d asked, he’d said, “No, that’s just where you met Gray.”
“Gray was a mistake,” she’d said immediately.
Dave had taken her hand, and in one of their most tender moments since they’d started seeing each other again, he’d said, “Did you ever think that about me?”
She hadn’t been able to speak, but she’d shook her head and he’d grinned at her.
But still no kiss.
She was actually a little surprised she thought about kissing him so much. It wasn’t like it would be the first time.
“The free ride starts at ten,” he said, touching her arm. “Are you listening to me?”
“Sorry.” She cleared her thoughts and fantasies, focusing on the moment. “Yes. Free ride starts at ten.”
“Don’t wear heels,” he said with a grin, glancing down the counter. “We’re eating salad? I thought you brought that casserole.”
“I did,” she said, pointing to the microwave. “It’s heating up.” She collected the salad and a couple of plastic forks and took them to the closest table. “Soda in the fridge for you.”
“Ah, you know me so well.”
Sort of, she thought. She had learned more about him—the man he was now—but she certainly didn’t know him as well as she’d like. The microwave beeped, and she returned to it, her heels clicking on the tile beneath her feet.
“So no heels,” she said. “Jeans, I’m assuming. Cowgirl hat.”
He turned toward her. “You’re going to wear a cowgirl hat?”
“You told me a proper cowboy learns fast to wear a hat all the time.”
He simply blinked at her. “Do you even own a cowgirl hat?”
“Yes,” she said. “I made Kirsten and Clara go with me to buy it.” She smiled at him in what she hoped was a coy, flirtatious way. “They said it’s very cute.”
