Page 106 of The Cowboy and the Stray

Even Sloane got in on it. After Ash’s fourth toast, she said, “To Ash, who can’t hold her liquor, but never let that stop her.”

Ash stood, wobbled, and did a full bow. “Thank you. I am a professional.”

It went on like that until the food was almost gone. The lights above the table made everyone’s face a little too bright, but it didn’t matter. For once, nobody wanted to be anywhere else.

At the end of the meal, Midge stood up again. She wasn’t the tallest in the room by far, but when she wanted to be, she was the biggest.

She cleared her throat, then raised her glass once more. Her hand shook just a little. “To Tess,” she said, and her voice cracked. “To the strongest woman I’ve ever met. May you always find a way to make it home. Here.”

The room went quiet. Tess stared at her plate, then up at Midge, eyes wet but unashamed.

I watched her, and all I could think was, mine.

I hadn’t planned on falling in love, but here we were.

“To Tess,” we all said, and the words rattled off the beams.

The rest of the night blurred, but that was the moment I’d remember.

That was the night the house felt full again.

That was the night Tess stopped being a stranger and started being family.

When the pack finally gave up the table, the house emptied like a stadium after a home win. The leftovers were sorted, the glasses stacked, Noah sent to bed with instructions to brush his teeth and stop throwing Nerf darts at the ceiling. Midge went to smoke her cigar on the front steps.

Tess stood at the sink, hands on the rim, shoulders tight. For a second, I thought the noise and the whiskey had caught up with her, that maybe the whole thing had been too much. But then she looked back at me, smiled, and nodded toward the back porch.

I followed her out. The air had finally cooled. The yard was mostly shadows and crickets, porch lights dimmed to a soft haze. We sat on the swing, and she leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder.

“You think they’ll ever run out of stories?” she said.

“Not as long as Ash and Buck are alive,” I said.

She chuckled.

We rocked for a while, letting the night soak in. The stars were out, and somewhere a barn owl called to nothing in particular.

“You know, I never could’ve imagined I’d end up here.”

“Neither could I.”

She nudged me with her elbow. “You’re the one who’s always lived here.”

“I meant with you,” I said.

That shut her up for a second.

Finally, Tess said, “I guess I’m gonna have to get a real job now. Can’t just be the charity case forever. Are you going to give me one?”

I snorted. “Baby, if you want a job, you can have half the ranch. Hell, you can have all of it. I’ll just hang around and watch you work.”

She squeezed my hand. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.” I turned toward her, made her look me in the eye. “You’re it for me. You know that, right?”

She swallowed hard. “I know.” Her voice cracked. “I know.”

She looked at me, really looked, and I saw the tears she was trying to blink away. “I love you,” she whispered.