Graham made lists for work as easily as breathing. After Laney had used her ex-husband voice on him, he’d taken a few days to wrap his head around what she’d said.

She wanted to come first. Of course, he’d been able to provide that for her during the holidays. He’d been there, lending a listening ear, giving her a shoulder to lean on, cry on, hold onto when she needed it.

He had to decide what to do with the information, and he’d been making lists of what he wanted his life to be, what he didn’t want it to be, what he liked about Laney, what he could control about his job, his life, the way he treated her.

Someone knocked on his office door late in the afternoon on Friday while he reviewed one such list. Well, he hadn’t exactly started the list yet. A single question sat at the top, reading Do I love Laney?

So it wasn’t a list. Not exactly. But all of his other lists and soul-searching that week had revolved around this one question.

“Come in,” he called, sliding the paper underneath a pile of folders.

Dwight came in, looking like he hadn’t worked all week, or for several hours today already. “Afternoon, Graham.” He could be civil, that was for sure. And he was professional through and through.

“Hey, Dwight.” Graham opened the notebook where his chicken scratch stared back at him, notes about what he wanted to maintain control of and what he hoped Dwight would take on. “Thanks for coming.”

The other man settled across from Graham’s desk and steepled his fingers under his chin. Graham almost rolled his eyes, but he needed Dwight on his side.

“I have a few things to talk about,” Graham said. “And it has to do with the running of the company.”

“The running of the company?”

“I work too much,” Graham said simply, unwilling to go into detail for this man he could barely tolerate. “I don’t need to do everything, be everywhere. I’m hoping you’ll help me put together a task list for both of us that makes my life more manageable and gives you more of the freedom you’ve wanted since I took over last year.”

Dwight blinked at him, his hands falling to the armrests. “You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious.” Graham didn’t joke about business. About much, actually. Probably another strike against him if Laney were keeping a list. Wow, he hoped she wasn’t keeping a list.

Dwight leaned forward and glanced at the notebook, though Graham doubted he’d be able to read a single word of it. “All right. Let’s hear what you’ve got.”

“I’d still like to be involved in major things,” Graham said. “But I want to be the big picture guy, while you’re the day-to-day guy.” He glanced at Dwight to see if they were still on the same page.

A light had entered Dwight’s eyes, something Graham hadn’t seen in a long time. “Go on.”

“I want to be involved with legal. My brother’s moving home to take on public relations and some marketing, and I want to work closely with him on that. But I don’t want to do payroll anymore. I don’t want to deal with employees, or schedules, or drill sites.” Graham felt a burden lifting from him as he continued to outline what he hoped were decent plans for Springside Energy moving forward.

“I want to spend more time in the lab,” he said. “Developing the robotics that could really help us make sure we’re being as environmentally friendly as possible. I think that will go a long way with the public as well.”

“So I’ll be the general manager, and you’ll be the CEO.” Dwight grinned at him, and for the first time since Graham had taken over the company, he felt like he and Dwight were on the same page.

“I suppose I deserve that.”

Dwight lifted one shoulder in a shrug and kept smiling. “Your father told me you were stubborn and would want to learn everything.”

The breath whooshed out of him as the weight of Dwight’s statement hit him. “You talked to my father about me?”

“He always knew you’d take over Springside.” Dwight sobered and finally looked like a man Graham could trust with personal things and professional things.

“He died of a heart attack,” Graham whispered. “When did you talk to him about this?”

“He wasn’t well for a few months before his death.” Dwight cleared his throat. “He didn’t tell your mother. No one but me. He told me a lot of things about you and your brothers in that time.”

Graham’s chest pinched and he couldn’t seem to get a proper breath. Dwight had known his father better than Graham had. Probably better than anyone. And Graham hadn’t once thought to talk to the man about his father.

“I’m sorry,” Graham said, true regret lacing through him. “You must miss my dad as much as I do.”

The pain flashed across Dwight’s face, and Graham couldn’t believe he’d never thought of the other man as a human being with feelings before. Maybe he was just too deep into his grief, and he did like to do things his way.

His way.

Wasn’t that exactly what Laney didn’t like about him? Everything had to be his way. He couldn’t even provide an explanation for her when she needed one.

He hadn’t realized that was what he’d done, but it didn’t matter. How she felt about it was what mattered. He sighed, so tired of thinking about what he’d done wrong and how he could fix it.

“I miss your father, yes,” Dwight said, his voice quiet. “He was a good man and a good boss. Tough when he had to be. Kind always. Family-oriented.”

Graham wanted to be just like him, and he knew if he didn’t fix things with Laney fast, their time to have a bigger family than just Bailey would be lost. He compartmentalized her for the time being and continued his meeting with Dwight. After all, if he wanted to win Laney back, he had to show her that he’d made some changes in his life. Changes that would put her first—right where she deserved to be.

The last Saturday in January found him standing behind his barns, looking down the hill and over the snow toward Echo Ridge Ranch. He searched the clear sky for any hint of smoke, anything to show that Laney was still at the cabin.

There was nothing, and he wondered if she’d moved back to the homestead. If she had, that meant the furnace had been fixed. He hated that he hadn’t done it for her. He should’ve called someone from the plane as he flew to New York and replaced the whole thing.

He saw that now.

He saw a lot of things now that he’d been blind to before.

But he still didn’t know how to get her back into his life. Before, when he’d needed her, he’d text her. She always came, and he wondered if she would again.

But he wasn’t going to ask that of her.

He turned and went back to the lodge to get ready for his brother’s arrival. Eli and Stockton and Meg were set to arrive at the airport tomorrow, and Graham wanted to have everything perfect for them when they arrived. Sure, the lodge was fun for a five-year-old who was only staying for a couple of weeks over Christmas. But it would be his nephew’s home, and Graham had plans to make the boy’s room exactly what it should be.

After he’d worked in the basement room, putting up a wall of Lego sheets so Stockton could create right on the walls of his room, he went outside, this time to the front of the lodge. Eli would do a full analysis on the lodge when he arrived, everything from parking to permits, but Graham felt like he should know as much as his brother. The lodge had a water feature in the front, but he’d done nothing with it in the year he’d lived there.

A truck came up the lane from the ranch, drawing his attention from the fountain, but it wasn’t Laney’s. A man sat behind the wheel, and he drove so slowly that Graham had several long seconds to look at his face.

Jake Langford. What in the world was he doing down at Echo Ridge Ranch?

He waved to Graham like they were old pals, and Graham lifted his hand in return. Jake was Beau’s age and a little bit mentally handicapped. Graham had heard he’d been blamed for a theft a few years ago, and Beau was sure the man hadn’t done it. But Jake had been confused, in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, and he’d gone to jail for thirteen months.

And now he was…doing what exactly down at Laney’s?

“She’s a grown woman,” Graham muttered to himself. “You’re not her husband, and it’s none of your business.”

Problem was, he wanted it to be his business. He was in love with Laney, after all.

He froze, his jaw muscle twitching. Had he just thought he was in love with Laney?

“Of course you are,” he muttered, his bad mood growing though he’d come outside to get relief from the melancholy atmosphere inside the lodge. He wouldn’t be this miserable if he wasn’t in love with her. He wouldn’t upend his entire life just to prove to her that she was the most important thing he had. Heck, she wouldn’t be the most important thing he had if he didn’t love her.

And with that, he decided he didn’t need a big show to impress Laney. No pomp or circumstance. He just needed for her to see that he’d put her first.

Just the fact that he was wandering around the grounds, looking at defunct fountains, proved that his life had already changed. He never would’ve had time to do that before he’d split responsibilities with Dwight.

He gazed up into the sky, the brightness of the blue and the glinting sun making his eyes hurt to the point of watering. “Do I just go talk to her?”

The sky didn’t answer. Neither did God, for that matter. But Graham felt something way down deep in his soul that whispered, Yes, just go talk to her.

Instead of jumping behind the wheel of his SUV, he opted to walk the mile down the road to her house. The truck sat in the garage, which was also open, and he made his way to the front door and knocked.

“Momma!” he heard Bailey shout. “It’s Graham.”

He winced, wishing his identity could’ve been a secret until Laney opened the door. But Bailey whipped it open in the next second, and she threw herself into his arms. “Graham! Did you come for my birthday?”

He hadn’t even known it was the girl’s birthday, but he couldn’t say that. Laney appeared down the hall, an apron around her waist and the scent of freshly baked cake hanging in the air. Their eyes met, and Graham thought it would be okay to tell a lie, just this once.

“I sure did, Bay. Happy birthday.”

The little girl squealed and wiggled out of his arms. He let her run ahead while he approached much slower. Bailey put on her coat and said, “Momma, I’m gonna go out with the cats for a minute, okay?”

“Okay, bug. Have fun.” Laney just watched him with those green eyes, clear as glass. She looked better than he’d ever seen her, and he waited until her daughter had pulled the back door closed behind her before he spoke.

“I just saw Jake Langford leaving from down this way.” Graham hooked his thumb over his shoulder, wondering why he’d started with Jake. There were so many more important things to talk about.

“I hired him,” Laney said. “He does my morning chores, so I can do this kind of stuff.” She walked back into the kitchen and washed her hands. “You don’t have to stay for her birthday party. It’s not for hours.”

“I don’t even have a gift for her. I can run and grab something and come back.”

“That’s not necessary.” At least she was talking to him, and not in that ultra-cold voice.

“Laney,” he said, exhaling a moment later. “I’ve made a few changes in my life this week, and I’d love to tell you all about them.”

She barely flicked her gaze in his direction as she measured out butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. “Oh?”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, no speech prepared. “I don’t want to be friends.”

That got her to stop and stare at him, the teaspoon of vanilla hovering above the bowl. “What?”

“I can’t just be friends with you anymore.” He shrugged, realizing how warm it was in the homestead. Or maybe that was just him sweating because of this conversation. “I’m in love with you, and I want to be more than friends. I want to be your partner. Your best friend. Your husband. Your daughter’s father. Your lover. Your biggest supporter.” He took a big breath. “I want to know how you got your furnace fixed, and why you had to hire Jake. I want to know everything about your ranch, and I want to help you with it.”

He tried to sound less like he was reading from one of his lists, but the fact was, he had the blasted things memorized. “Because of those wants I met with my general manager this week, and I’ll be working much less as he takes over more of the day-to-day tasks. I wanted you to know that. I wanted you to know I’m going to put you first. That is, if you’ll take me back.” He took a step forward and then settled back again.

“Please, Laney,” he said. “Forgive me, and let’s try again.”