Page 123 of Wildflowers & Whiskey

Eventually, I pull myself together. Wipe my face with the back of my hand, straighten up, and take one long breath.

“Come on,” Iris says softly. “Let's get some food.”

The kitchen is warm, the familiar smell of coffee and a home-cooked meal pulling me in. Mrs. Mae takes one look at my face when we walk in, giving me a small smile while we grab our food. The ranchers scatter in, joining us at the table until it’s a full house, minus two. Because Wade and Colt are nowhere to be seen.

I look around the kitchen as I eat, trying to memorise it without being obvious. When the plates are cleared, Mrs. Mae comes to stand at the end of the table and looks at me with those steady eyes that see everything, even the things you try to hide.

“You're leaving today.”

“Yes,” I say.

She comes around the table without another word and pulls me into a hug that is fiercer than I expect. I hold on and press my eyes shut, breathing through it carefully. I try hard not to fall apart again.

She pulls back and holds me by the shoulders. “You stay in touch, sweetie,” she says.

I nod, and then she pats my cheek once. Turning back to her kitchen.

Iris takes the bags to the truck as I take a moment in the hall to breathe. I still can’t believe I am leaving, but it’s the right thing to do.

If I say it enough, I can overshadow any doubts in the back of my mind.

I step out onto the porch, and Naomi is standing right there, sitting on the top step. Her knee bouncing erratically. She looks around when the door opens, standing up quickly.

“You’re actually going,” she says.

“I'm actually going.”

In an instant, she pulls me into a hug. Both arms wrapped around me so tightly that if I wasn’t already finding it hard to breathe, I would be now. I hold on to her.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too.”

We are both crying now, which doesn’t stop even when we pull apart from each other. We smile at each other, but my eyes drift to the view of the ranch. The distant fields of wildflowers, the barn, the paddocks, the small dots in the far pastures that I can identify as cattle.

I breathe it in one last time.

I have spent years going through a lot of places, temporary trips that never felt right to me, all for the sake of finding somewhere I could settle.

And then, I came here and found it.

“Maeve.” Iris's voice comes from the bottom of the steps. I look over at Naomi, and she smiles at me. I pick up my bag and haul myself into the taxi.

Meadow Bell Ranch gets smaller in the wing mirror as the taxi pulls away. I keep my eyes forward and my hands folded in my lap. I don't let myself look back after the first few seconds because I know if I keep watching it shrink; I won't hold it together for the drive.

When it disappears completely, I let myself cry.

Not just for Wade. Not just for Colt, or the swing on the porch, or the kitchen dinners, or the boots in my suitcase.

For the version of myself I found here. The one who stayed late over spreadsheets, not because she had to but because she actually cared about what she was building. The one who was capable of everything she put her mind to.

For the place that finally felt like home.

And for the quiet, terrifying knowledge that somewhere out there—there might not be another place like it.

Chapter Forty Six

Colt