Page 95 of Cherry Tree Ranch

To make it up to me, I need Kaylee to help me break the real curse of my ranch – pains of the past that have been haunting us all. We need to tell our parents what really happened. I want Cash’s mom to feel comfortable with him there. I want her to find peace with the ranch, to know that it wasn’t Daisy’s fault Joaquin died. We send all our parents messages and they agree to meet tomorrow at the ranch.

After calming down about his friend Luna being here, Blue is rested and ready to ride home. I give Kaylee a hug, my heart full of grief and forgiveness and love. She squeezes me back like she feels the same. By the time Cash and I ride to the gate of Kaylee’s ranch, I can’t contain my nerves or feelings for him any more.

I go for nonchalance. “Sooo…”

“So? What’s up?”

I keep my focus forward between Blue’s ears. The fog is clearing, making each rock and patch of rigid sagebrush less of a hazard for Blue. “I … I love you too.” I roll my lips together and flick my gaze to him.

“Ho,” Cash says, asking Luna to halt. He jumps off. “Come here.” He scoops me out of the saddle by my waist and sets me on my feet. He twirls one of my curls between his fingers and grips my waist with his other hand.

I nearly forget Blue when he takes a sideways step, plunging me into Cash’s shoulder. Cash tips my face up to his and kisses me. His warm fingers find the bare skin between my shirt and my jeans, where they always seem to land.

He pulls back and asks, “Do you really want to forgive Kaylee?”

“I already have,” I say, and draw him back in, gripping the back of his shirt in my fists.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The kitchen table only has four chairs, so we pull up stools from the island. Mom places a pot of coffee, the cream and a jar of honey in the centre of the table. We all take a seat, and Cash pours us each a cup. I quietly watch steam rise from my mug. Out of the corner of my eye, Cash’s mom watches me. Since getting here, she hasn’t said a word except hello. Her gaze is sceptical, but not rude.

“So,” I begin, “the three of us all wanted to meet so we can clear the air on some things that have happened here. This ranch has been in our family for a very long time, but there were a lot of things we didn’t know about. I discovered documents in an old desk that gave us glimpses into its history and the history of the valley.”

Cash, Kaylee and I tell the story, from start to finish – how Daisy and Joaquin loved each other, how Earl targeted the ranch and the sorrowful details of Mama Clara, Joaquin and Daisy’s deaths.

“Dahlia?” Cash’s mom speaks first. “I know it may only be a legend, but I’ve heard old timers swear it happened – is there any explanation for why the cliffs turned red?”

“All I know is this ranch has an effect on people. I wonder if folks always knew in some way the injustices that occurred and needed a way to see what they already believed. Does that make any sense?”

She nods.

“Or, your aunt Daisy had a little magic up her sleeve and she had something to say,” Rhett says.

We all chuckle at the rugged cowboy’s statement.

“Oh, he’s not joking.” Kaylee laughs. “He believes women are connected to the earth in ways men will never understand.”

I sip my coffee, thinking Kaylee is lucky to have him. Mom gives Rhett a long, admiring look. When he catches her gaze, he blushes and reaches for the honey.

“What’s the honey for?” he asks.

“For your coffee, of course,” I say.

Rhett lifts a single brow.

“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”

“Oh, I won’t. I’ll try just about anything.” He lifts the honey dipper and adds a good swirl to his coffee. A little creamy coffee is left on his moustache when he looks up, astonished. “I’m impressed. This is really good. Why isn’t honey always served with coffee?”

“I know, right? That’s what I’m always saying.” Rhett and I exchange smiles, and he wipes his moustache clean with a finger.

“I need to tell you something else.” Kaylee looks at my mom and Cash’s mom, who are sitting side by side. “I made a big mistake on the night of the party. I dropped the cigarette in the mulch that started the fire.”

Mom almost knocks her coffee over in surprise. I rest my hand over hers on the table.

“It’s OK now,” I tell Mom. “Me and Kaylee are good. Right?”

“That’s right,” Kaylee says with a grateful smile. “And I talked to Daddy last night. I told him I wanted to do whatever it takes to make all this up to you – everything from the past with Earl, and now with the fire I caused.”