Page 36 of The Last Promise You Made

“Closed.”

I nodded. “If you need anything, I’m here. Gia is here, and you can just come out and get us. I’ll be in my office. That’s those double doors we passed, but they’ll be open. You’re always welcome in there.”

She nodded, little eyelids already drooping.

We stepped out, and I shut the door behind me. The block of emotions in my chest was trying to unravel. I felt untethered, and if I felt that way, I couldn’t imagine what Addy was feeling.

“I should have asked first before offering Addy, but is it okay if I do some laundry?” Gia asked.

“Yep,” I said, needing away from Gia as quickly as possible. Needing to get myself in check before she said or did something to unravel me a bit more. “It’s up there, the door on the right.” I pointed toward the next level that led to my room.

Ravyn had said laundry rooms needed to be by the bedrooms so you didn’t have to haul linen and clothes all through the house to get to it, and I’d agreed. So many of the things in my home had been built because of what she’d said. I hadn’t sat around in my home, pining for her every day just because we’d designed it together, but ever since Gia and Addy had walked through the door, I couldn’t stop thinking of Ravyn. It was as if her ghost had followed them here, tearing open all those scabs, reminding me of things I’d thought I’d forgotten.

I turned on my heel, heading to my office without another word.

I’d just sat down at my desk and turned on my laptop when my phone dinged.

It was Sadie, texting in the group chat I had with my siblings.

SASSYPANTS: If I wasn’t so pissed on your behalf, I’d call you a chicken for making Mama tell us what’s happened.

GEM MINE: Ry… I just don’t have enough words to tell you how sorry I am. For all of it. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.

Gemma was going through her own bit of hell at the moment after the asshole actor she’d hooked up with in LA had broken her heart. Maddox and I had wanted to fly out to California and string the guy up by his balls, but Gemma had threatened to disown us if we did. She’d said the best revenge she could get was acting like he didn’t even exist. Acting as if he hadn’t stomped all over her soul.

ME: You can’t tell anyone about Addy. She’s in a lot of danger, and until we figure out how to get her out of it, no one can know about her.

Maddox came back instantly.

WOODY: Gia find out something else since we talked?

I groaned, knowing immediately our youngest sister was going to latch on to that name I’d purposefully held back from Mama.

SASSYPANTS: Gia? Our Gia? Holy shit! Gia is the undercover agent who brought Addy to you? I knew there was more to her than just that journalist gig she offered up.

ME: Leave it to Woody to give me up. There’s a reason you earned that nickname.

WOODY: How was I to know you didn’t tell Mama she was here? But you know, NOT telling anyone about her speaks louder than you actually saying her name.

SASSYPANTS: Say her name, big brother. Say. Her. Name. I dare you!

ME: Fuck you all. I have more important shit to think about than some lying, sneaky brunette who just dropped a bomb on my world.

GEMMA: Can you call it lying if she was undercover?

SASSYPANTS: We all know Ry would love to help her “under the covers.” Question is, could he handle it? Could he handle even more? Like, say an actual date?

I tossed my phone to the side with a disgusted sigh. I concentrated on typing up a list of things I needed to get for Addy. Clothes. Toys. Phone. Bath stuff. More books. Video games. I wanted to spoil her, shower her with all the things Mila had and more. Plus, I needed more than bread, cheese, eggs, and beer in my refrigerator. I needed fruits and vegetables and healthy shit. I never really had a lot of food in the house because, more often than not, I ate at the ranch or in town.

My phone buzzed a few more times, but I just ignored it.

After making the shopping list, I opened the accounting system for the ranch. Ever since Ravyn had stolen from us, I’d been handling all the financials myself. No way I could trust someone else with it, not after I’d cost us so much already. We were in far better shape than I would have expected us to be not quite eight years after taking that hit. We’d paid off all our loans, generated a decent salary for me and my parents, invested for a rainy day, and were now able to build the final two cabins we’d had to put off.

When I’d first presented my idea to my parents about transitioning the farm to a dude ranch, they’d laughed. But after I’d shown them the studies done by the Eastern Dude Ranchers’ Association and told them how it had saved many landholders with properties even bigger than ours from losing some or all their land, they’d gotten on board fairly quickly. If the black blot of trusting Ravyn hadn’t been hanging over me, I’d be immensely proud of what we’d accomplished with me at the helm.

My eyes slid to the framed drawings on the wall—designs of the cabins, the restaurant’s façade, and the remodel of the barn—all done in pencil and ink with my name scrawled along the bottom. They were good, but the reality was better.

My gaze settled on the largest frame holding a drawing of my home with the mountains sloped up behind it. I may have given up my old dreams, but I’d still had a chance to build something here. I didn’t regret the years of college I’d skipped or the dozen more I would have had to spend at an apprenticeship in order to make a mark in the world of architects.

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