Leigh squeezes my side, but I’m too busy rolling my eyes at my sister to give her my attention.
“You’re happy for us?” Leigh asks. Something in her tone makes me finally look away from Quinn. When I look down and bend so that I can see her face, I know this is a question that isn’t being asked lightly. She really does want to know if Quinn is happy. How she has to question that with the way Quinn is acting is beyond me, but I keep my mouth shut and tighten my hold. She needs this, for whatever reason.
“God, yes,” Quinn breathes. “You have no idea how happy I am. For both of you,” she adds, looking away from the girl in my arms and back into my face. “So damn happy for you.”
I know the last part is meant for me and me alone. I clench my jaw when the burn of emotion hurts my throat. Damn, that feels good.
“Just in case anyone is wondering how I feel, I just want to add, it’s about time.”
We all three laugh, the girls both a little wobbly, when Clay finally speaks, his deep voice washing over all of us.
Yeah, that feels real damn good.
After leaving Clay and Quinn, we grab one of the four-wheelers and head out. Leigh knows how to ride, but even though holding on to me isn’t necessary, she still keeps her arms wrapped tight around my stomach. Her head resting between my shoulder blades feels almost as good as her hands rubbing against my torso.
Because the Davis ranch is so big, it takes us a little while to reach the line that used to separate the two ranches. Since Clay doesn’t use this part of our property anymore, and there are no longer animals being housed on the old James ranch, the gate had been taken down, but I would never forget the line that took me to my sanctuary.
A little while later, accompanied by some squeals and laughter coming from Leigh when I hit the gas on the uneven earth we’re riding over, we pull up to the part of the property I had been telling her about earlier. It doesn’t look like much now. The old barn is still in good repair, even if it hadn’t been used in years, but it would need work. I would never allow that piece of her past to be torn down, so it’s a big focus in what I’m hoping to create here.
She climbs off, giving me a squeeze around my middle before doing so, and looks around her with her hands on her hips. Her face looks serene as she takes it all in. I imagine she’s seeing what it used to be as well as what it will be. Her daddy was a damn fine rancher and you can see that in how well this place has stood with little to no maintenance over time.
“I want to turn the barn into the mess hall of sorts. I’ll have to gut it, add a kitchen in the back, but I want to be able to keep a part of your parents here when we build this thing.”
She looks over, her eyes wide. “We?”
“Yeah, darlin’. This is just as much a part of you as it is me.”
Her hand comes off her hip and she reaches out for me. “It means a lot that you said that, Maverick, a whole lot, but honey, this is all you.”
Grabbing her hand, I swing my leg over the back of the four-wheeler and jump down onto the grass at her side, keeping her hand firmly in mine. Her head tips up and she continues to smile at me. “Thought that I made it clear, but there isn’t anything I do from this point on that isn’t about the both of us.”
“You did. I was just sayin’, well, I didn’t want you to think you had to do things a certain way because this used to be my family’s land. There aren’t any expectations from me. I’m still going to support you in this one hundred percent.”
Pulling her into my arms, I wait for her fingers to push into my hair, wishing my hat wasn’t on so she had more room to play. With her head tipped up and her body pressed to mine, I feel like the luckiest bastard on earth. That’s all it takes, her in my arms and that smile trained on me.
“I don’t think you’ll ever know how much that means to me, Leighton.”
Her face softens and the smile I love so much grows a little. She doesn’t talk, but her eyes tell me what I want to hear. She’s happy, damn happy if I’m reading her right. I vow right then and there with a small kiss to her forehead that not one day will go by without me making sure she always feels like she does right now, every single day.
22
LEIGHTON
“Heartbeat” by Carrie Underwood
I can’t believe the difference that just one day has made.
Last night I made a promise to myself to see this out. To open my heart up again and move forward. Of course, I also made that promise not knowing if I would be moving forward with or without him, but standing here right now in his arms, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.
And it’s all because of him. Well, maybe not all because of Maverick. Knowing that Quinn and Clay support this and are happy for us goes a long way in my mind, solidifying that I’m in the right spot—at his side. Seeing the man that Maverick has grown to be and knowing why he was the angry teenager he was back then also made me realize that, had we had our chance then, we might not have been strong enough to make it through the troubles that haunted him. Don’t get me wrong, I know he’s still holding on to that pain, but the wounds aren’t as fresh as they once were.
He’s stronger.
I’m stronger.
Together I just know we’ll be unbreakable.
This, right here and now, is our time. The only thing holding me back from believing that without any doubt is the knowledge that he’s still got to let go of all that pain he holds deep inside him because, until he does, I’m not convinced he won’t leave when things get too hard to handle emotionally.
He knows that too. Everything he told me last night attests to that. The only thing I can do is to promise that I’ll be there to stand by his side and help him every step of the way.
Starting now.
“Come on, cowboy,” I softly say. “Tell me about your plans.”
He gives me a crooked smile before pressing another kiss to my forehead. His arms leave the loop they had been making around my body, turning me so that I’m tucked under one arm and curling one large hand around my shoulder.
“Like I said, the barn will serve as the mess hall, but also will be a place for everyone to hang out and talk shop. My hope is to make it half kitchen and dining, with the other half having couches and an entertainment center. They can watch footage of themselves that will be filmed in order to learn what they need to improve on, but they’ll also be able to watch movies and shit.”