Page 84 of Cowboy Elite 2: Mike

"What? I'm just saying, if it helps with nightmares, maybe we should market it. 'Watkins Ranch. Where the beds are magic and the biscuits are legendary.'"

Lyle snorted into his coffee. Even Kenny's mouth twitched again.

Liv pressed her face into Mike's shoulder, her whole body shaking with laughter she was desperately trying to muffle.

"Y'all are terrible," Heather said, but she was grinning. "Leave them alone. At least wait until after breakfast to torture them."

"After breakfast it is," Joe agreed cheerfully, returning to his laptop with obvious satisfaction.

Arletta bustled over and set the casserole down, cupping Liv's face with both hands, studying her with the shrewd kindness of someone who'd raised five children and knew the difference between 'fine' and actually fine.

"How you doing, honey girl?"

"I'm good," Liv said. "Really."

"Yes, you are." Arletta patted her cheek. "Knew you would be. You're tougher than you think."

They settled at the table, and Liv let the normalcy wash over her. The clink of forks on plates. Charlotte's running commentary about her purple horse named Sparkle Thunder. Kenny's occasional one-word contributions to the conversation. The comfortable rhythm of a family that had weathered a storm and come through intact.

Joe closed his laptop with a decisive click. "Got confirmation from the FBI this morning. Damian Russo's in federal custody. They're charging him with murder one, conspiracy, witness intimidation, and about forty other counts. Even without Liv's testimony, they've got enough to lock him up for life. With it?" He looked at Liv. "He'll never see daylight again."

The relief that washed through Liv was so intense she had to set down her fork. "It's really over."

"It's really over," Joe confirmed. "You're free, Liv. Completely and totally free."

"What about his organization?" Mike asked, hand finding Liv's under the table.

"Collapsing. Feds seized assets, froze accounts, arrested six lieutenants overnight. The extraction team we captured? They're all cooperating in exchange for reduced sentences. Russo's done. His empire's done." Joe's smile was sharp.

"You're a good man, Joe Watkins," Arletta said, patting his shoulder as she passed.

"I'm efficient. There's a difference."

Pudge appeared from nowhere and leaped onto the table, making a beeline for Kenny's bacon.

"Cat," Kenny said, not even looking up from his coffee.

Pudge paused, considered his options with those calculating yellow eyes, then grabbed the bacon anyway and bolted.

Charlotte shrieked with laughter. "Pudge doesn't care about rules!"

"Pudge is a menace," Heather said, but she was smiling.

And Liv sat there in the middle of the chaos, the laughter and teasing and stolen bacon and casual affection, and realized this could be hers. All of it. The mess and the noise and the love freely given.

Mike had asked her to stay. She realized she wanted that more than anything. The thought of packing up one lifestyle to exchange for another was a bit overwhelming. But she’d changed over these past few months. She could do it.

After breakfast, Heather joined Liv on the front porch with a second cup of coffee, watching the ranch wake up. Horses moving in the pastures. Ranch hands heading out to their morning tasks. The sun climbing higher, burning off the last of the morning cool.

"Mind some company?" Heather asked.

"Please." Liv patted the porch swing beside her.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the swing creaking gently, coffee warming their hands. From the barn, one of the dogs barked. Charlotte's voice drifted from somewhere, singing something off-key but enthusiastic.

“How is Charlotte doing after last night?” Liv asked. “I feel like I need to pay for therapy for her or something.”

Heather chuckled. “That little girl is more resilient than all of us put together. When I first met her, her parents had just been killed and she’d been sent to live here with Lyle and his brothers. She was so quiet and watchful. But Lyle, and Joe especially, brought her out of her shell. As did the dogs. She’s got a strength even I envy.”