With my arm around Lily, her head resting on my side, I read her the last line of the book she’d chosen for the night. It was a fairy tale. One with a happy ending, where the boy gets the girl and they live happily ever after. The more time that passed without hearing anything from Lottie the more I started to think it was all bullshit.

I’d been working endless days to keep my mind occupied. Waiting for Lottie to come home. Or call. Or text. Or send a damn telegram through a pigeon carrier. I’d take anything. Any kind of sign. If I didn’t hear something soon, I’d have to take matters into my own hands.

I promised her I’d wait. But waiting was proving to be harder than I expected. And I wasn’t exactly getting any younger. I’d give her one more week and then I was packing a bag for Seattle.

“Uncle Tuck?” Lily yawned, fighting against her sleepiness.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Will you take me riding this weekend? Grandpa said if you taught me to ride, he’d get me my own horse to keep at the farm.”

I lowered my chin to my chest, my hand brushing through the strands of her hair. I’d been too buried in work to spend time with her lately. And if I was being honest, avoiding the farm and the memories that went with it.

“Sure. We’ll go riding on Sunday before dinner at Grams’. How about that?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She smiled. The tension in my body lifting a little more every time she did. I kissed her forehead and tucked her in.

“Get some sleep. You’ve got school in the morning.”

She yawned one more time, her eyes closing as she rolled to her side. She was out before the light was.

* * *

I drummed my thumbs on the steering wheel, glancing at the clock one more time, my foot easing off the break so we could roll forward another few feet. Six feet every five minutes. We were getting nowhere. Could they make these drop off lines any less efficient?

Horns went off around me. I leaned out the window to count the cars ahead of me. Two more. Two more and it would be Lily’s turn to exit. I had nothing planned. Nowhere I had to be. It was the waiting that had me tilting my head back to stare at the roof of the truck, letting out a loud sigh. It was fucking ridiculous. All the waiting. Waiting for the cars to move. Waiting for materials to arrive. Waiting for Lottie to come back to me. It was bullshit. All of it.

“It’s our turn, Uncle Tuck.”

My head snapped upright, the car behind me laying on their horn.

I edged the truck forward, stopping in the designated zone. Lily unbuckled her seatbelt, freeing herself from her booster seat. She leaned over the front seat, giving me a swift kiss on the cheek.

The truck door opened, Leighton standing there to help Lily down.

“Morning, Mrs. Bradley!” Lily sing-songed as she jumped from the backseat of my truck.

“Morning, Lily,” Leighton responded with a smile before looking up at me. “Tucker. How are ya?”

“Doing good, Leighton. Yourself?”

“First week of school is almost over. So I’m doing much better today.”

I chuckled. “I bet.”

The impatient mother behind me honked again. I glanced in my rearview mirror to see her hands flailing as she cursed me.

“I guess I better let you go before we cause a fight to break out.” Leighton laughed.

“Probably a good idea.” I smiled.

“Bye, Uncle Tuck.” Lily waved before running off toward her school.

Leighton moved to close the door and then stopped.

“Hey, Tuck?”

I looked back at her.

“Don’t give up. She’ll come around. I think finding out about Abby…well, you know how she felt about her.”

I nodded once, my fists clenching around the steering wheel. The mother honked her horn again. Leighton’s face hardened as she held back a curse, slamming the door closed.

* * *

“Keep your back straight and arms in, Lily. There you go. That’s it. You’re a natural.” I held the leather strap in my hand, leading the horse in a slow walk around the pen, my eyes constantly traveling over my shoulder to keep an eye on her, making sure she didn’t fall off.

Lily beamed with pride the whole time she rode. Wes had bought her a new pair of boots to celebrate her first lesson. She hadn’t stopped smiling since she’d slipped them on.

“When do we get to go faster?”

“When you’re ready.”

“I’m ready.” She tightened her fists on the reins, her chin held high, showing no fear.

I chuckled. “I mean when I think you’re ready.”

She huffed, her body sagging with disappointment.

“Tell ya what, we can ride together after dinner. I’ll take you to my favorite spot on the farm.”

“Really?” Her eyes widened, the grin back on her face.

“Yep. Maybe we can even get your uncle Wes to go too.” I looked over at him where he stood, leaning over the top rail, his foot on the bottom rail as he watched her.

“Sounds like a good time,” Wes agreed.

Grams walked up beside him, a hand clamping down on his shoulder. “Looking good, Lily.”

“She’ll be barrel racing in no time,” Wes added with a grin.

“Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I narrowed my eyes on Wes.

Grams and Wes both chuckled.

“You kids ready to eat? The pot roast is gettin’ cold.”

“Well, nobody likes a cold pot roast. Let’s eat.” Wes jumped over the fence rails, helping Lily from her horse.

“You guys go on ahead. I’m gonna get the horses settled, then I’ll be in.”

Wes nodded, holding Lily’s hand as the three of them walked back toward the house.

* * *

“Tell me about your class?” Grams asked Lily as we dove into our dinner plates. “Do you like your teacher?”

“Yep. Mrs. Bradley is awesome. Did you know she was Lottie’s best friend when she was my age?”

Grams smiled softly, her skin creasing at the corners of her eyes. “I did know that.”

“Really? I didn’t. Well, until Mrs. Bradley told me. I hope I have a best friend.”

“I’m sure you’ll make plenty of friends.”

“Yeah. But I want a best one. Just like Lottie and Mrs. Bradley. Did you have a best friend when you were my age?”

“Hmm…” Grams looked toward the ceiling, letting Lily’s unanswered question linger a moment. “I believe I did. Her name was Amelia. We called her Milly for short.”

“Grams.” Lily giggled. “Milly was your horse.”

“So she was. Does that not count?” Grams goaded her some more.

Lily shook her head, amused. “What about you, Uncle Tuck?”

I cleared my throat, taking a sip of my beer as I leaned back in my chair. “Yep. Derek became my best friend around that time.”

“Wow. You two have been friends forever. Almost a hundred years.”

The whole table laughed.

“I’m not that old, sweetheart.” I winked at my niece, a giant grin on my face.

There was a faint knock at the door. Had there not been a momentary reprieve form Lily’s chatter I would’ve missed it.

“I’ll get it!” Lily jumped to her feet, sprinting from her chair before anyone could stop her.

I followed, coming up behind her just as she opened the door. I halted mid-stride. A flush of adrenaline coursed through me. The air in my lungs trapped as I fought to breathe. My brain tried to register the person standing in front of me.

Lily squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around Lottie.

Lottie hugged her back with her one free arm, the other holding a brown bag in her hand. When they pulled away from each other, Lottie’s eyes met mine.

“Am I too late for dessert?” She held up the bag. “I brought cobbler. It’s store bought, but I hear it’s still good.” She smiled, trying to hide the nervous quake in her voice.

I stared at her. Dumbfounded. She was standing a few feet from me. Her hair down. Her smile beautiful. Her eyes blue as the Texas sky. I had to be seeing things.

Grams and Wes came out of nowhere, hugging and greeting her as I remained with my boots cemented to the floor.

There were words exchanged. Ones I didn’t comprehend. Decisions made as my family excused themselves from the room, taking the bag from Lottie and leaving us two alone.

She smoothed her hands over her skirt, tugging at the edge of her shirt. Her eyes looking everywhere but at mine. Her teeth nibbling at her bottom lip.

“You’re here.” I said the words out loud. I still didn’t believe it. Seeing her. Smelling her. None of it felt real.

She cleared her throat to speak. “I—”

My mouth was on her before she could say another word, my hands crushing her against me, catching her gasps with the sweep of my tongue as it delved into her mouth, the fire behind our kiss as radiant as her hair. I groaned as her body responded, clinging to me and melding us into one. My cock ready to take the lead. My brain reminding me we weren’t entirely alone before the fervor of our reunion escalated.

I forced myself to pull away, grazing my fingers over her porcelain chin.

Her fingers lightly touched her mouth. “My lips are—”

“Beautiful.”

She smiled, her hand slipping. “I was going to say numb.”

I rubbed my thumb along her bottom lip. “You came home.”

She pulled away, stepping from my arms. I suppressed the panic building inside. She lifted a large, thick envelope from her purse.

“I have nothing to offer you…nothing left. I sold the farm.”

“You are the only thing I want, Lottie. Everything else we can figure out as we go. We’ll take it one day at a time.”

Her eyes held mine. “Why’d you do it, Tucker?”

I sighed, rubbing a hand through my hair. I knew I should have explained this to her before. She was here now, and I would tell her whatever she needed to know as long as she promised to be mine. To give this thing between us a real chance.

“It was stupid. I should’ve never agreed to marry Abby. I know that. But at the time, I thought I’d never see you—”

She shook her head. “No, Tuck. Why did you do this?” She pushed the envelope against my chest.

I stared down at it, knowing she’d figured it out.

I took the envelope from her. The evidence of what I’d done inside. Tossing it to the entry table, I wrapped my arms around her, determined to guard her heart with my life.

“Because, Lottie, whether you’re ready to admit it or not, I know you love that farm. And I wanted it to still be there for you when you figured that out. I didn’t want you to regret not keeping it.”

She ran her hand along my jaw. Raising to her toes, she kissed my mouth. When she leaned back, there was an inner light in her eyes as she looked at me directly with unshed tears. She took a deep breath, and I could see the moment she decided. Her mind clear. Her composure regained.

“Ask me, Tuck. Ask me the damn question,” she demanded.

A slow smile spread as I shook my head. “No, darlin’. There’s no question for me to ask. I’m already yours forever and you’re gonna be my damn wife.”

The curvature of her lips mimicked mine as she locked her hands at the base of my neck. I lowered my head, slanting toward her mouth, ready to taste her once again, only to be disrupted by Lily charging toward us, stealing the chance from me.

The little thief pulled at my arm, harvesting both mine and Lottie’s attention.

“Don’t you have some dessert to eat, kiddo?” I teased her, my irritation already subsiding from her disruption.

“Nope. Already had it. Can we go now? Can Lottie come too?”

Wes lingered in the background, his body relaxing into the doorframe. “Lottie can take my place, if she’d like.”

“You sure?” I glanced back at Wes.

He gave a single nod of his head, pushing off the frame. “Yep. You three go. I’ll help Lily prepare the horses.” He dropped his eyes to Lily as his hand reached out for her.

She left my side, rushing to Wes, her ponytail swinging from side to side as she took his hand. The both of them disappeared out the front door, along with her excited chatter.

I looked at Lottie. “What do you say? Up for a ride?”

“Apollo?” She swallowed, her voice quiet as she bit the corner of her mouth.

“He’s in our stables with Dolly. Moved them over here with the rest of the horses a few days ago. Lily’s been learning to ride on Dolly.”

Her body relaxed as the rest of her lit up. “I love you.” The words slipped from her mouth—fast and rushed.

I waited a moment.

Expecting her to regret it. Fearing she’d take the words back, all the while, my pulse quickening as my mouth went dry.

She didn’t take them back. She didn’t hide her face with regret. She looked at me pointedly, the truth in her eyes emanating.

My throat grew thick as I tried to speak. “You’re my world, Lottie. Always have been. Always will be. I love you, too.”