Page 40 of Timeless: Encore

Alex looks at her watch. “I texted Jace, he’s on his way. I think we should get started, it gets dark so early in December I want to make sure we have plenty of time for pictures.

Becca, Jace’s sister’s wife, who manages the ranch for Alex, waits with two beautiful horses. Samantha is light tan. Gloria is chocolate brown. While Becca shows Mia how to pet them for real, I decide to check in with Alex about the wedding night situation.

“Are we alright? Zane has been going out of his mind with worry that Ronni and I went too far the other night.” I take her hand. “Mainly, I just want you to be okay.”

She waves me off. “Yeah, I’m fine. Finding out you have health issues can be a bit of a shock. But, it’s life. Jace is fine, he’s just overprotective.”

“I get it. Zane’s the same. He’s had a rough year without the structure of the band. I can’t tell you how excited he is for LTZ to record again.” I toss out a fishing line. Zane won’t ask directly, so I might as well throw it out there.

She looks at me and sighs. “Jace misses the band a lot. I think the guys just need to get together again and talk, you know?”

“Yeah.” I toe the ground. Think about what to say. I decide to keep to my own truth. “Zane and Connor have a crazy idea about getting custom buses so we can all tour with them. I’m trying to figure out how that’s going to work with the restaurant. At least for the first year. I’ve got my core kitchen staff, but it’s still going to be a ton of work.”

Alex nods. “Zoey’s bound to be pregnant any minute now if she’s not already. Ronni has a bunch of TV and movie commitments next year. Jace and I are hoping—“ Alex stops herself. “Well, my dream is to get this ranch certified for therapy.”

“We all have a lot going on.” I gaze out at Mia, who is enamored with Penelope the horse.

Alex starts toward the horses and gestures for me to follow. “We do. It doesn’t mean LTZ is done. The guys have a bond that is special. Their music is special. A break is needed sometimes. It’s never a bad thing to take a step back and reimagine, right?”

“Yeah. I feel the same way.” I nod.

Alex leads Penelope into the small indoor arena adjacent to the barn. Becca boosts Lena and Mia up on the fence. I join them, glancing up at the house where Jace has just pulled into the driveway. Mitch takes off to greet him. I watch Zane and Jace embrace from afar. They disappear into the house so I return my attention to the girls and horses.

Alex is so incredibly beautiful in the ring. I’m not certain what voodoo magic she works on the horses, but upon her silent cues and hand gestures, they do tricks. They run around the arena. Bow. Stand still in a perfect line. Circle each other. All sorts of things.

It’s so enthralling, I don’t even notice Zane and Jace have joined us until Mia takes off running. “Daddy!” She giggles when he picks her up and kisses her cheek.

Jace waves at us and says to Alex, “Stuff’s in the fridge.”

“Took you long enough. It’s time to dress up the horses for the pictures.” Alex picks up Lena and walks over to the boys. Samantha follows and stands at her side.

She’s such a rockstar. “I can’t get over how cool you are, Alex. The Liberty horse stuff is fucking awesome.”

“Well, I can’t even boil an egg, so we’re equally badass, just in different ways.” Alex snuggles her daughter. “Right, Lena? Girls are badasses.”

Jace laughs and takes her from Alex. “So, we’re just embracing the curse words now?”

“I started swearing at a very young age, and I turned out pretty good.” I wink at Jace and give Zane a huge kiss.

Zane yanks me to him by my beltloop. “One more of those, wife.”

He’s so fucking delicious. I can’t help but kiss him again and again and again while we watch Alex teach the girls how to groom the horses. They braid red, green, and gold ribbon into the horses’ manes and tails. Mia is mesmerized. So am I.

Alex is where she belongs.

Being here today gives me such a great perspective.

The men of LTZ deserve the awards, accolades, and wealth they’ve achieved with their band. But, so do all of us. Zoey and the foundation. Alex and her horses. Ronni and her television and movie projects. Me and the restaurant.

We’re all badasses in our own way.

We matter. What we do matters.

All of us, together, matter.

Feeling on top of the world, I follow Alex and the girls inside the house to change. We wear matching velvet T-shirts, and I don’t even care that she wears size XS and I now wear 1X. We’re both beautiful. Our girls are beautiful. The pictures turn out beautiful. Spending the afternoon here on the ranch was the perfect medicine for Zane. And for me too if I’m honest.

It’s amazing what following your dream can do for a woman. It’s as important as unconditional love. This past year has been rocky, but it feels like the cloud of doom that’s followed me for so many years has given way to bright-blue skies.

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