Page 99 of Ace of Spades
“He passed away before he could give it to me himself, but he told my mom to give it to me when I was old enough. She said he told her that it was more than just a good luck charm; it was a reminder. A reminder of who he had waiting for him back at home, and a reminder of who he did all of it for.”
He smiles, a faraway look in his eyes as he recalls the story.
“He told her that it wasn’t really about the luck that the card gave. He wasn’t superstitious like that, but he humored her regardless since it meant so much to her. For him, it was a symbol—a symbol of what kept him going. Or, more importantly, who kept him going.”
My heart thrums steadily in my chest, a smile pulling at my lips as a warm breeze ruffles our hair.
“That’s really beautiful,” I tell him.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “I thought so too.”
Those three words sit on the tip of my tongue again. The three words that I hadn’t been able to bring myself to speak out loud, out of fear he might not say them back.
“We should probably start heading back,” I say instead. “I promised Dakota that I would help her and Debbie clean and decorate the guest bunkhouses before the next group of tourists gets here in a couple of days. They’re probably waiting on me.”
“Right,” he says, lowering to kiss me. “Well, let’s get you back, then.”
He winks at me, and butterflies erupt in my stomach at the sight of this perfect man. Something else curls my belly, like aweird feeling that the shoe is going to drop at any moment. I had felt it over the last month, as if everything lately had been too good to be true.
“Do you ever feel like… like something’s not right?” I ask as we pull on our clothes, Weston pulling his hat over his head as I shove my jeans over my hips.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh. “I can’t explain it, it’s just this gut feeling that I’ve had over the last few days.”
He comes over and places his hands on his hips, forcing my eyes to meet his.
“Hey, look at me—everything is just fine.”
“I know,” I tell him, plastering a smile on my face. “Anyways, have you talked to your mom? How’s everything going with the trailer park?”
“It’s going just fine,” he reassures me. “The old wagon stop is officially a registered landmark, so your dad is just going to have to shift his plans if he wants to build that private airport of his. Even better, now that there are more eyes on the trailer park, he’s had to cut his ridiculous fees and rent increases out of fear of scrutiny from city officials.”
“And he really hasn’t been spotted anywhere near here?”
“No,” he promises, hands reaching up to smooth my hair before cupping my face. “You and your mom are safe here. There’s nothing for you to worry about. He’ll have to go through me if he plans on getting to either of you.”
I smile, feeling the slightest tinge of relief at his words.
“Now,” he states, turning to untie our horses as he hands me Casino’s reins. “Let’s get back to the ranch. You have rooms to help clean, and I have a baby raccoon to bottle feed.”
I giggle as I climb into the saddle, adjusting my seat as we take off walking.
“You know,” I tell him. “You make quite the hot raccoon dad.”
“Never in my life did I think I would hear those words,” he laughs.
“Hey, I don’t want to hear any complaints out of you. Our little ranch mascot is the one to thank for half of the bookings we got this month. I’m telling you, he’s the new face of Hidden Creek Ranch, and the people are loving him.”
He rolls his eyes, and I bump Casino over to Lark so I can gently shove him in the shoulder.
“Admit it, you love the little guy.”
“I do not.”
“Don’t lie to me, Langford. I walked in on you bottle-feeding him shirtless the other day, and you were even using your baby voice.”
“He likes to cuddle against my bare chest so that he can feel my body heat,” Weston defends, his confession earning an ear-splitting grin from me.
