Page 35 of The Outlaw's Code

“Honestly? One of Amber’s drinks. I don’t know. I’ve never tasted anything like it before but it’s really growing on me.”

“Right?” Calder playfully scoffed. “She might have a gift for the bartending stuff.”

Almost as soon as Calder was out of earshot, Virgil came up to me. “You’re welcome.”

“For what, exactly?”

“Ha. You all think these things just happen?” Virgil rolled his eyes. “It’s such a burden sometimes, being the only one who canseein this family.”

“Is this about to turn into one of your rants about UFOs? Or the microchip thing again? Because we’ve been over it a million times?—”

Virgil held up his hand. “I didn’t come over here to argue with you, nephew. I mostly just wanted to say congratulations… while also holding out for a thank you, from your end.”

“Thanks, Virgil.” I flashed him a genuine smile. “I might not know what you did, but I know whatever it is, it worked out great.”

“And this is why you’re my favorite.” Virgil beamed back. “Now, don’t screw this up. I love you but Jolene says I need to cut back on my meddling. She wants to spend more quality time together.”

“I think we’re all in a good place right now, so if you wanted to cut back on the meddling…”

“Oh, don’t you start with me, too.” Virgil sighed. “It’s a heavy crown but someone’s got to keep this family chugging along.”

“Yeah, but maybe you could see if the train can run without you? Maybe the tracks are good enough.”

“More than good enough, I’d say.” Virgil slapped me on the back. “All right. I’ll catch up with you a little later. I haven’t had a chance to tell Cameron the UFO story yet. He’s going to love it.”

“Uh, I don’t know if Cameron will love it?—”

“He’s going to love it!” Virgil assured me, as he made a beeline for Cameron across the dance floor.

“I never sawany of this in my dreams,” Calder murmured as he sat beside me on a bench. We’d been quietly watching the stars in the night sky, the music still blasting all around us, my family still chatting and drinking and dancing.

“What do you mean?”

“Remember how I told you that I kept having the same dream over and over? About the cowboy on the trail who I thought was going to save me?”

“Yeah?”

“It was you, Shane.”

“What?” I couldn’t help the startled look on my face. “You were seeing me in your dreams?”

“Not at first. At first, I couldn’t make you out,” he replied. “But then, I realized it was you. I kept trying to reach you, but I never could. And then after Vanessa showed up, it felt like I’d lost you forever, even in my dreams.”

“You never lost me, Calder.”

“I know.” He lightly smiled. “But even when I felt connected to you in my dreams, all that warmth… I never imagined it could’ve ended up like this, with how happy I am right now. I never saw anything beyond the trail, and you waiting for me.”

“Maybe that’s because you weren’t meant to see the rest of the dream. You were meant to live it. Out of your head, here with me.”

“I think you might be onto something,” he replied. “I haven’t even had those dreams since we’ve gotten together. It’s like my brain can’t come up with something that’s as good as the real thing.”

“I think I might know what that’s like.” I shifted closer to him on the bench, my hand reaching for his. “You’re a dream come true, Calder Hayes.”

Calder beamed over at me, before resting his head against mine. And as I stared out at the night, my family in the background, and my love at my side, I felt a sense of peace I’d never felt before. For the first time in my life, I knew that my future wasn’t going to be lonely, that there’d be another pair of hands working alongside me every step of the way.

And no matter what storms may have come or what challenges may come, I knew who was going to be standing by my side when it was time to face them. I took in a deep breath as I thought through everything we’d been through together, how much we’d faced just to get where we were now.

And while the trail had been long, and the road had been rough…

The man at the end? He was always worth it.

**

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