“Not sure accusing Way of a sham marriage in front of the whole town is the proper way to show someone you care.” My aunt made a huffing noise.

At least Eden had the decency to look regretful. “I’m sorry, Way. I didn’t mean?—”

I shoved my chair back and dropped some cash on the table to go with Foster’s. “I gotta go.”

Leaving without making sure everyone was okay was hard as hell, but I did it anyway. I needed to meet with the AdventureSmash team and check on a few details at Lake Sports, but then I needed to talk to Silas. And I didn’t just want to talk to him to tell him about my feelings. I wanted to… make it special. Make sure he knew that despite the exhibition, despite everything that needed to be done over the next few days, he was my top priority.

I wanted to tell him I appreciated him, that I was grateful to know him and incredibly lucky to have had his help. But more than that, I needed him to know I was in love with him and wanted to find out if there was any chance at a real future between the two of us.

The walk back to the office took forever since the sidewalks were full of people, locals and tourists alike. Thankfully, Bernice had the day well organized, and we jumped right into it, approving last-minute permits, payments, and other requests before the ten o’clock meeting.

The meeting ran better than I expected. The AdventureSmash team was thrilled with our resourcefulness and commitment to the event’s success.

“This is looking really good, man,” Robbie said with a grin. His teeth were bright white against his suntanned skin. “I was out at Three Daughters and saw a shit ton of climbing routes I’d love to explore for future races, and our socials have been insane with requests in the area. Trail runs, too. You’ve got a gem here. If only you had an airport with commercial flights, you’d be overrun half the year.”

Several of his teammates chuckled and nodded, and they began talking about future events here in Majestic and the sponsorship opportunities they would pitch for them like it was a foregone conclusion, which went a long way to allaying some of my stress.

Things were as ready as they could be going into tomorrow’s event.

Once the meeting broke up, I texted Silas.

Me

You at home?

Silas

Yeah. I have a surprise for you, actually. You heading this way?

My heart took a little leap.

Me

On my way after a quick stop at Lake Sports. Need me to bring lunch?

Silas

No. Just yourself.

I headed out of the office and told Bernice to catch me on the radio if she needed me back in town in the next few hours. My imagination went a little wild as I drove to visit Lake and Jackson. If my conversation with Silas went well, maybe we could spend some time celebrating in bed. Or maybe he’d agree to take a short trail ride with me to oversee preparation on the river by the kayaking crew.

When I got to Lake Sports, the place was buzzing with customers, athletes, and employees helping fix bicycles and load kayaks on roof racks. Two event tents were set up in the parking lot to provide additional areas to help customers, and music was blasting from speakers set up under one of them.

Cody and Clayton Spilling were manning a table in front of a smoker where a sign advertised their special pulled pork sandwiches for sale.

This was the Majestic summer we all dreamed of, and I couldn’t help but feel proud as I saw it happening. The sun shone down from a deep blue sky, and a breeze blew gently enough not to worry me about incoming weather. It was one of those days that made the winter ones worth it.

“Way!” Jackson beamed when he spotted me come through the open front doors. “How’s everything going?”

I nodded and returned his grin. “So far, so good. I came to ask you the same, but it looks like I already have my answer. You need anything before I head out to the ranch for a bit?”

He shook his head. “Nope. All good, thanks to you. This event has already been the best thing that’s happened for our business. We can’t thank you enough for convincing them to pick us for the exhibition. I can’t imagine what it’ll be like if we land a full race on their schedule next year.”

We spoke for a few more minutes before a T-shirt caught my eye on a rack behind him. It was from their rock climbing collection and had an outline of the triple jagged peaks of Three Daughters with a script font below.

Majestic Rocks.

I grabbed it in Silas’s size, but before I could pay for it, Jackson insisted I take it on the house. “You sure?” I asked.