Page 116 of A Forever Kind of Rancher

“I am. The other thing is that I have this chance. This chance to feel again. To love again. To have the most beautiful things in life again. And I was just going to choose fear instead. And that was a dumb-ass idea. I had a lot of reasons, a lot of other things I pushed in front of the fear so I could pretend it wasn’t just that I was scared. I failed Steph. I didn’t protect my family. But deep down I know that’s not true. I know Steph and I just didn’t want to make our marriage work, to be honest. Not without Tally. And it was pretty damn mutual. We changed too much to come back together in the end. It wasn’t all on me, but it was sure convenient when I was staring down another relationship to make it all about me. Because who wants to admit they’re just a quivering coward? I sure as hell don’t, but it’s the truth.”

“Zack...”

“I do love you, Grace. With all my heart. That heart,” he said, pointing to the shining glass representation, “and this one.” He took her hand and put it on his chest. “And I know I’m not the ideal man. I come complete with a whole set of matching baggage. I live mainly in the country. I don’t have what you’d call ‘manners.’ I’m not ‘very pleasant’ and I don’t ‘work well with others.’ But... I damn well love you with everything I have in me. I even found some more things in me I didn’t know I had left just so I could love you more. I don’t bring a whole lot to the table. Just me. And I hope that’s enough. I hope you still love me, too.”

She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her head up and kissing him for all she was worth, with everyone around them watching. And she didn’t even care. She was bleeding emotion all over the damn place.

Ice bitch could take a seat. She was no longer needed.

“Yes, you idiot,” she said when they parted. “I love you. I really, really love you. The kind where...the place we live doesn’t matter and the fact that you’re borderline charmless is okay.”

He laughed. “Borderline charmless? What the hell, woman. I charmed you out of your panties fast enough.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do. I’m a moody bastard when I have to wear a tie.”

“And I don’t even care!”

“Dear Lord, you do love me.”

“I really do. For me. Not because I’m trying to make up for someone else. So what do we do now?”

He tightened his hold on her. “Well, what are you planning on doing for work?”

“I was thinking I would go into business for myself.”

“So you’re going to work a lot and make no money?”

She laughed. “Basically.”

“I’m in,” he said. “And you realize that working remotely might be very possible. And that I have a ranch in Pine Ridge Falls. And you have an apartment here...so...”

“Are you suggesting we live in two places?”

“Why not?” he asked. “Though, if you want to live here... I could...”

“No, Zack. That’s part of you. An important part. I want to share in all of it. The good, the bad and the ugly. That’s how relationships work. Real ones, anyway.”

“That’s what I want,” he said. “With you.”

“You have it.”

Zack looked down at Grace, his heart ready to burst. There had never been a woman like her. And she loved him. For a moment, all the bad stuff fell away, and he knew that no matter how hard things had been, he was the luckiest man on earth.

Because he had another chance. Because he had her.

Having her here was best of all. Sharing his past, his pain, and his future and hope, with her.

“I’m ready,” he said, looking around the room, at all the pieces of his past, pieces that would always be with him. Pieces that felt manageable now.

“For?”

“Life,” he said. “Let’s go live it together.”

Epilogue

Grace Song looked out the kitchen window and at the light that was still on in the barn across the yard. Zack was working late again. He’d been doing that a lot the past couple of weeks.

---