It was exactly four weeks later when Claire’s review officially came out in print, and two days after that, a stack of the magazines were mailed to the ranch’s main lobby.

“Here you are, Caleb,” the mailman had said, tipping his hat.

“Thanks,” I replied, and then carried the box inside.

I wasted no time opening it, and inside, a whole stack of travel magazines awaited. I picked one from the top of the pile and flipped through the pages, easily finding the feature on Double Canyons Ranch proudly and boldly on display. I read the review several times, although it felt brand new again, seeing in from within the glossy pages of the magazine and smelling the crisp ink.

That day would mark the beginning of the non-stop reservations that began pouring in for tourists wanting to visit and stay at Double Canyons. Up until that point, it felt like the ranch had been a well-kept secret, and now, finally, the cat was finally out of the bag, thanks to Claire’s review.

“I think we’re going to have to invest in getting a functioning website,” Luanne had said at one of the staff meetings. “That way, people can book their reservations for themselves, because this is getting to be too much. That little phone in the lodge had been ringing off the hook ever since Claire’s review came out. I’m certainly not complaining though!”

“How many bookings do we have?” asked Wesley.

“We are completely booked for the next twelve months!” Luanne said, almost sounding as if she couldn’t believe it despite being the one to do set all the bookings.

Rosa let out a low and impressed whistle. “This is wonderful,” she said.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’re going to have to start hiring more people too, right?” Luanne said, looking toward me.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s definitely a given,” I replied.

“Well, since no one else is going to say it,” chimed in Nash, “Does this mean the financial crisis is over? With so many bookings, we should be able to pay off whatever needs to be paid off, right? No more worrying about losing the ranch to the bank or anything?”

“Damn straight,” said Wesley with a hearty laugh. “The bank is officially off our backs. This is cause for celebration. Come on, Rosa. What kind of wine do you got in the kitchen? Let’s go find the good stuff.”

Rosa laughed. “Sounds good to me. Let’s have a toast in the kitchen. Come on, everyone.” she said, standing up and walking arm-in-arm with Wesley toward the kitchen. Luanne and Jacob laughed, and got up to join them.

Meanwhile, Nash and I lingered behind.

“That’s some shit, isn’t it?” Nash noted.

“Yeah. I guess you were right about that article. You knew what you were talking about.”

He sat on the edge of the table. “What in the hell did I know?”

I rubbed the back of my head. It felt good to have the financial worries over, and I had to admit, I was looking forward to toasting to that, but I couldn’t pretend that the elephant in the room wasn’t here.

There hadn’t been a day that had gone by I didn’t think of Claire. Every morning when I woke up, I still saw her face. Every night before I went to bed, I wished I was holding her small and supple body in his arms. And now—as the reservations continued to pour in, it only made me feel like I was in her debt. She had literally changed my life. In multiple ways. For better or worse.

I still hadn’t heard a single word from her since the day she made her surprising and abrupt departure.

“I can’t pretend anymore,” I admitted.

“About her?” Nash asked.

“Yeah about her. Damn it. Look at that article. It saved us. It put the ranch on the map. But she left? Why? I don’t get it.”

“Maybe we should find out why.”

I looked at Nash.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying we need to fly to Chicago and track our girl down.”

I shook my head. “She doesn’t want to see us.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t know why she left.”

“We were too much for us. Why can’t you see that?” I pressed. “We scared the hell out of her.”

“Well she scared the hell out of me.” Nash beat his fist on the table. “I can’t stop thinking about her. I can’t stop thinking about a future with her. Here. On this ranch. This is where she belongs, not in Chicago.”

“What if she slams the door in our faces?”

Nash chuckled. “I’m willing to have the door slammed in my face. Once,” he added with a smile. “Just once. She’s worth that. Don’t you think?”

I rocked back on my heels. He was right. “Just once.”

He laughed. “Come on, brother, let’s go get our girl from the big city.”

“You really have to stop calling me that. I’m not your brother.”