Even if I don’t know how.
There’s still her issue with the bank, the taxes, not to mention having to start from square one with Silverton Construction.
Still, I wonder…could that damn Mars rock help?
If it was really worth killing and dying over, maybe it’s as cursed as Mark Potter thought.
Maybe we should find our own way.
Then again, maybe that thing could finally do some good.
* * *
It’s like a whole new world by the time we leave Ursa.
Instead of going back to the ranch house, we go for a ride.
I think we both need it, and so do the horses.
We chatter back and forth about how we can’t wait to hear Declan’s put away for life. Probably won’t take long.
Sheriff Langley told us feelers started coming from other states for Declan Ekhard almost as soon as his ass was booked and we gave our statements. The trail of warrants he’s left all over the continent swindling millions of dollars out of hardworking folks should do a fine job of keeping him locked up.
And if they don’t, the human trafficking cases he’s been involved with will. Found out he hauled illicit cargo a few times for Jupiter Oil, a shady and now defunct entity dealing kidnapped girls on the black market. They went down last year in North Dakota and made national news for the hell they raised.
Thankfully, there’s only so much Declan talk worth blabbing about when his thieving ass isn’t our worry anymore.
We’re laughing as we race each other along the plains below the cliffs, then slow as we take the trails that start to wind up to the upper bluffs.
Libby looks brighter than I’ve ever seen her.
There hasn’t been a dull moment since I met her, not since I came back to Heart’s Edge, when she hasn’t been under pressure.
Even so, she’s been full of fire that never went out.
And now she’s free to burn all the brighter, her face open and fresh and full of joy, her eyes glittering. She’s let her hair down, this tumbling mess around her shoulders the soft summer breeze picks up and threads out behind her like spun gold, tumbling and waving everywhere.
She sits easy in the saddle, the tension gone from her body, leaving her moving fluidly with Frost’s gait, her hands light and sure on the reins.
Libby’s this woman of wild extremes.
And I don’t think anyone could blame me for falling head over heels in love with her stubborn, crazy ass.
We’re almost to the cliffs behind the Charming Inn, following well-worn paths where the trail widens in front of us. We can ride side by side without crowding.
She reaches over and catches my hand, squeezing it with a look full of so much warmth it stops my heart, before slowly drawing away to take her reins in both hands again.
“So,” she says lightly. “What the hell do I do with that rock?”
“Toss it over a cliff? That’s what your old man wanted. Doesn’t seem to do much but bring ruin and misery. Then again…”
“Yeah, it kinda saved our asses, too,” she chuckles. “God, I almost want to sell it. I mean, Sierra’s let up, but there’s still the bank, and I don’t know how I’m going to fight them off forever, Holt.”
“Your choice, woman. Whatever you decide to do with it, I’ll be standing by your side.”
We’re breaking out into the sunlight now, stepping out of the trees and into the field of flowers behind the inn, leading up to the cliffs where every lover in the history of the town wished for their forever.
I hadn’t meant to bring her here today.
It’s almost fitting that we’ve found our way.
I dismount from Plath, swinging myself down and holding a hand lightly on the mare’s neck to keep her steady, but my eyes are just for Libby as I look at her glowing on Frost’s back.
“Look,” I say. “You don’t need to sell the damn rock tomorrow. Or worry about money at all. Pulling together, we can manage. We can figure out the debt. You’ve got me now, and I’ll put in everything if it’ll help you.”
Libby gives me a wry, affectionate look. “Um, I hate to break the news but…you’re about to be broke after giving up that mega-mall contract.”
“Alaska’s working on more contracts in Heart’s Edge and five towns over. Maybe things will get a bit tight while I build out our work, but I can still help, Libby.” I offer her my hand.
I start off into the sunset then, knowing something deep down in all this chaos.
This is the perfect place.
Next time we’re out here, I’ll have a better reason for her to smile.
* * *
Months Later
It’s amazing how fast time blurs by with a weight bigger than King Kong off our backs.
Hectic weeks drift into a lazy late summer, giving way to a fall where the days get shorter and cooler. The hills around Heart’s Edge come alive with late wild blooms and the first hints of brilliant autumn.