Dax would never have considered himself much of a wedding planner, but the day before Cole and Claire’s ceremony he found himself being put to work by his taskmaster of a sister.

He normally wouldn’t hate the menial jobs so much if the whole wedding itself wasn’t rubbing his face in what he’d lost.

Ever since that failed intervention the other day, Dax now no longer just mourned the loss of the woman he’d fallen for—the woman who’d managed to take his life and flip it upside down, rearranging his world and his priorities over the course of one weekend. No, thanks to his siblings and their good intentions, now he found himself battling doubt every second of the day.

Maybe they were right, maybe he should go after her.

But no, he needed to respect her decision. She deserved that.

But what if he could convince her?

If telling her he loved her hadn’t convinced her to give them a shot, then what would?

Telling her he’d give up Twilight Ranch.

And that’s where the debate always led. He looked around the ranch as he lugged some spare chairs out of the barn’s storage area and to the wedding venue itself—a semi-enclosed space that had a spectacular view of the valley below.

Could he give this up? Yes. The answer tugged at his heart, but he knew it to be true. If Katy accepted him into her life, he would do whatever it took to win her. Or at least he would if it was just his happiness at stake. But if he quit the ranch, what would happen to his family, to their legacy, to James and all the other ranch hands and seasonal workers who relied on this place for work?

He set the chairs up one by one as he weighed his options for what felt like the millionth time. Maybe James and Cole could handle it on their own—at least for a while. If the garage picked up with business than Cole would be forced to split his attention and they’d have to consider hiring someone new.

But then again, if the guest ranch took off, maybe they could afford it.

Maybe. Someday. These were hardly the kinds of words he wanted to use when he went to Katy and begged her to give him a chance.

When. He’d thought when, not if. He stopped putting up the chairs and stared off into the distance, but he was barely seeing the incredible view. He’d stunned himself stupid.

Without him even realizing it, it seemed the inner debate had been won.

His heart had come out the champion.

He didn’t know whether to laugh at it all. He was acting crazy. It would be the very definition of rash to drop his responsibilities and go after her.

But he was going to do it.

For once he would have to lean on his friends and family. He’d have to set aside that pride of his and accept help.

Funny, that thought would have killed him once upon a time. But now?

Well, now he knew he was willing to do whatever it took to have Katy at his side.

Heck, he’d even move to California.

Now he did laugh, running a hand through his hair as he attempted to come to grips with the enormity of what he’d decided. There was no debate anymore. It was happening.

His brain would catch up eventually.

He’d just started heading back to the barn for more supplies when Cole’s shout from the doorway of the main house caught his attention. Cole waved wildly and Dax headed his way.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he drew near.

His brother wore an insufferable smirk. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he was marrying the woman he loved while Dax’s true love fled the state, he sure didn’t have to smirk about it.

“There’s something you need to see,” Cole said, leading the way back to the family room.

The others were gathered in the entrance to the room. Oh brother. If this was another intervention, he swore he’d throttle them all, wedding or no wedding.

But then they caught sight of him and the sea of siblings and friends parted.

No, it couldn’t be.

Katy stood there, her hands clasped in front of her as she gave him a tentative smile.

“Katy?” He wasn’t sure why he asked her name as a question. It probably had something to do with the fact that he still wasn’t sure he could trust his eyes. Maybe this week of sleeplessness and inner debate had taken its toll and he’d finally lost it. Maybe he was actually seeing things.

She took a step toward him. “Hi Dax.”

Her voice seemed to be the cue for his family to rush out of there and give them some privacy. Within seconds the others had fled and he was alone with his Katy. He hesitated for a moment and so did she, but then he moved quick and fierce. Nothing in the world could have stopped him from pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

This was bliss. This was heaven. The feel of her lips beneath his was a balm for his broken heart and wounded pride. She moaned softly as she leaned against him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she met him kiss for eager kiss.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered between kisses.

His heart ached at the pain in her voice and he shook his head. “Don’t apologize.”

She pulled back then, forcing a distance so she could meet his gaze. “But I am sorry,” she said. “I should never have run like that. Not from us, and not from you.”

A pure, undiluted joy like he’d never known flooded through his veins. He pulled her close once more but before he could kiss her she spoke again.

“I love you, Dax.”

He stared at her unblinking for a moment as her words registered. “Are you sure?”

It wasn’t what he’d meant to say but it was what came out. There was a little part of him that was afraid to believe her. Because if she said those words now and left him again, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

She nodded, and her wobbly smile reached her eyes, which were filled with tears, but also the same overwhelming joy that he’d experienced. “I’m sure,” she said. “I love you.”

He nearly wept the joy was so intense. Instead he crushed her to him, murmuring words of love and happiness as he held her tight. He reveled in the weight of her in his arms, of her warmth against his, of her scent filling his senses.

She was here. Now. With him.

That was all he would ever need.

He needed her to know that. She had to know what she meant to him—and that was everything. She meant more to him than even this ranch, which had always been his top priority. He pulled back and met her gaze, which was still watery with unshed tears but filled with the kind of happiness that he hoped to see there every day for the rest of his life.

“I was going to come to you,” he said.

She arched her brows as her smile grew. “I guess I beat you to it then.”

He laughed. “I guess you did.”

She tilted her head to the side. “What were you going to say?”

He drew in a deep breath. “I was going to tell you that I will do whatever needs to be done to make it possible for us to be together.”

She blinked at him. “What?”

He looked around them pointedly. “I’ll leave the ranch. I’ll come to Los Angeles. I’ll probably need to come back and help out until we can hire—”

“No.”

Now it was his turn to stand there blinking. “No?”

She shook her head. “No. You’re not going anywhere.” One side of her mouth hitched up in a rueful grin. “If you move to Los Angeles we’d definitely have an O. Henry moment going on.”

He shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

She sighed but her smile told him she was teasing. “I’m saying you’d get to Los Angeles only to find that I had moved to Lulu.”

He laughed and shook his head. She couldn’t be serious…could she? “Now I know you’re joking.”

She grasped his hands in hers. “I’m not. I am one hundred percent serious.”

She was, he noted with fascination. He could see it in her eyes. “But…but, I don’t want you to give up your life for me,” he said.

“And I don’t want you to give up everything you love for me,” she said.

“I couldn’t ask you to—”

Before he could argue, she continued. “That’s the thing. You didn’t ask me to, and you certainly didn’t manipulate me into it or order me to do it.” She smiled up at him. “This is my decision. It is what I want.”

“What about your business?” he asked.

She gave him a funny, secretive smile. “I have a plan for that. But I need to talk to your sister first before I tell you the details.”

His sister? He shook his head, trying to prioritize his wayward thoughts. “I don’t understand.” He squeezed her hands in his. “I’d just decided to go to you, to give up the ranch—”

“And I appreciate that,” she said, laughter in her voice and joy clear in her eyes. “But I love it here. You love it here. Your family loves it here.” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t want you to leave.”

This was too good to be true. Surely it couldn’t be this simple.

“I’ll need to go back to Los Angeles on a regular basis,” she was saying, her tone taking on a practical note that told him she’d given this plenty of thought. “But I can manage the airfare and I think I can even tap into a whole new clientele with the bigshot tourists who come through this way.”

She grinned up at him. “So you see, I’m not giving up anything...except maybe some old fears and baggage that I’d been carrying around for far too long.”

“Oh, is that all?” he drawled, amusement in his voice. This woman blew him away. “You are…” He struggled to find the words.

“Impulsive?” she offered. The she scrunched her nose up. “Crazy, perhaps?”

He laughed and pulled her close. “I was going to say courageous.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “I like that better.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly as her gaze met his. He could see everything there. Her hope, her optimism, her fear, and the courage she had to overcome it. “Honestly, I have my moments,” she said. “I know I’m doing the right thing, but there’s still some fear here. I mean…this is crazy. We just met.”

He nodded. “Trust me, I know the feeling. I was telling myself the same thing when I was contemplating giving up the ranch to follow you to Los Angeles.”

She tilted her head to the side as she looped her arms around his neck. “Are we nuts, do you think?”

He pretended to think it over as he leaned down to kiss her once more. He didn’t think he’d ever lose the thrill that came with kissing these lips. “Probably,” he said in all honesty. “But if this is crazy, then I’m happy to be a lunatic.”

She laughed, going up on tiptoe to give him another heartfelt, sweet-as-could-be kiss. “They can lock us up together,” she teased.

“Mmm.” He buried his face in her neck as they held each other tight. “They can throw away the key.”

After a while she pulled back with a weary sigh. “Much as I’d like to stay here with you and celebrate, there’s some things I need to do to make sure my business doesn’t suffer from my impulsive flight from civilization.”

He laughed but arched one brow teasingly. “Flight from civilization, huh?”

She held her hands up in mock innocence as she started to back away. “Hey, you can take the girl from the city but…”

He hated to let her go. Now that he had her in his arms, he never wanted to let her go. But she’d come to him. She’d changed her whole world to be here…with him. He knew how scary that had to have been for a woman who so valued her independence and her freedom.

But she’d done it, for him. No, for them. His heart was so full he wasn’t sure he could speak for a moment. When he could he moved forward to give her one last kiss before letting her take care of her business.

She widened her eyes in surprise at the sneak attack kiss. “What was that for?”

“That was a thank you,” he said, his voice gruff but audible.

Her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. “Trust me, it’s my pleasure.” She glanced around meaningfully. “I’m glad to be back. I know it sounds crazy, but this place feels like home.” Her blush intensified as she added, “You feel like home.”

He groaned as his heart threatened to launch out of his chest. “You’re my home too, Katy. Now and for always.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she nodded, understanding just as he did how significant this moment was. Claire and Cole might be the ones exchanging vows the next day but they were making a similarly life-altering vow right here and now.

“When I said thank you,” he said slowly. “I didn’t just mean for coming back, I meant…” He cleared his throat. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Saving you?” She looked perplexed and he couldn’t help but grin as he pulled her close for one last embrace. “You, my love, are my very own knight in shining armor.”

She laughed up at him. “I like that. You deserve to be saved now and again.”

He nodded. “And you singlehandedly saved me from a dull life without the kind of love I’ve always craved.”

Her gaze softened, her smile sweet as she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Anytime.”

Her grin was teasing as she turned to walk away. But she wasn’t going far, and even if she did, he knew without a doubt that he would follow.

All this time he’d thought his home was in Lulu, at this ranch. He’d had no idea that his heart belonged to petite blonde from the big city.