The Long Way Home

by Liz Isaacson

  In the end, she heaved herself out of the car too and went to freshen up for dinner with Ty. As she curled her hair and added a fresh layer of lip gloss in anticipation of seeing her boyfriend, River’s mind drifted to the future.

  She’d caught herself doing it from time to time after John left. He’d kept paying for the house, everything the girls needed, all of it—until everything with the custody was settled.

  Then he’d told her he’d pay the child support and alimony—and that wasn’t enough to keep the house in Vegas without finding a job. River had opted to return to Gold Valley, where she had help, could afford cheaper housing, and a job had just opened up.

  Now that she was here, settled into her job well enough, and had bought a house, River’s future centered around her relationship with Ty.

  Only three more weeks, she thought, pausing in her grooming. Three more weeks until you would’ve left for college.

  She shook her head at her teenage self, wishing she could go back in time and tell her eighteen-year-old self not to leave town, not to leave Ty. He’d given her every indication that their relationship would continue well into autumn, way past winter. Every time he sat by her in church and held her hand, she felt like they’d be doing that every week until their hair turned white and their skin wrinkled. Such peace, such happiness, had never coursed through her so strongly.

  Every time he called, or texted, or sent her a smile—even if it was during the dreaded horseback riding lessons—she couldn’t help the leap her pulse took. Such things had died when John graduated from law school and began clocking eighty-hour weeks. River knew ranching required long hours, but she couldn’t imagine Ty choosing the job over his wife and children. Of course, maybe she didn’t know him as well as she thought. She of all people knew that a wedding changed a lot more than a woman’s last name.

  “C’mon girls.” River turned from the mirror, from her internal thoughts, and knelt to help her girls wash the fish stink from their hair. She barely had them dressed and their hair in ponytails before Ty knocked on the front door, pushing it open a moment later.

  “Hey, Mister Ty!” Lexi called from the barstool where River still worked on her hair. She tried to get down, but River put her hand on her shoulder.

  “Wait a second, baby. I need to spray it.” By the time she’d hairsprayed Lexi’s hair, Ty had walked into the kitchen.

  He pressed a kiss to River’s temple along with the whispered, “Wow, you look great,” before turning his attention to the girls. He exclaimed over their hair and their matching plaid shirts and asked if they liked pizza more than pasta.

  As River tucked the comb and hairspray back into the hair bag, her heart swelled with love. Love for Ty.

  Horror struck her right in the throat, but it fled in the next heartbeat.

  “River Lee?”

  She startled at the proximity of Ty, at the intense way he peered at her. “Yeah.” She smoothed her hair, trying to find her center. “Yes, I’m ready to go.”

  “You girls go load into the car,” Ty said, gently pushing the girls toward the front door. As they went, he swept his hands around her waist and brought her close, close. “You smell fantastic.” He slid his lips along her jaw, down the column of her neck. “And it’s criminal to wear shorts like that when we won’t be alone for hours.”

  Warmth filled her at the same time his cowboy hat hit the floor. Heat exploded through her when he finally claimed her lips, and River gave herself completely to the feel, touch, and kiss of this man.

  Chapter 18

  River pulled the tape gun over the flaps of the box and ran her hand down the side. “There. That’s the last one.” She stood and stretched her back, amazed she’d been able to pack everything of hers and her girls in only two days.

  Of course, her back was paying a heavy price, but she’d rather work for twenty hours straight than live in a sea of boxes.

  “Knock, knock.” Ty’s voice filtered down the hall and spurred River into motion.

  “Down here,” she called and stepped out of the bedroom. She drank in the sight of him in his jeans, that belt buckle and cowboy hat, his blue, short-sleeved shirt. His muscles flexed as he smiled and drew her into an embrace.

  “Moving day,” he murmured.

  “Moving day,” she confirmed, a blast of nerves hitting her. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe because she’d never purchased a house on her own before. She and John had rented until he finished law school, and they’d bought their house on the east side of Vegas together.

  “So.” He exhaled, stepped back, and glanced into the bedroom. “How much are we lookin’ at?”

  “Not much,” she said. “I sold all my furniture before coming here. We only have boxes of clothes, some kitchen stuff, little things.”

  He edged past her and scanned the bedroom fully now. “This alone will fill my truck.”

  “Kids have a lot of stuff.”

  “This your room?” He nodded down the hall.

  “Yes.”

  He cast her one last look before moving that way. He whistled. “Women have a lot of stuff.”

  She laughed, the merriment in the sound pure and absolutely thrilling to her. She hadn’t been this happy in two years, since she discovered her husband’s infidelity, since he’d refused the marriage counseling.

  She quieted and found Ty leaning against her bedroom doorframe, a silly smile on his face. Still, it could light a fireworks show, and she found herself returning the grin. “What?”

  “I like it when you laugh.”

  “Stop it.” She turned away and slipped into the girls’ bedroom to pick up a box.

  “Stop what?” He came up behind her, his cologne making her head swim a little. Her grip on the box slipped and she righted it.

  “Making fun of my laugh.”

  He stacked two boxes and lifted them. “I wasn’t making fun of it.” He gave her that heated look that made her stomach feel like marshmallows. “I really do like it.” He left her in the wake of his masculinity, his cowboy boots striding down the hall and out the front door.

  River tucked her hair behind her ear and tried not to find him so attractive. But it wasn’t just that. She was holding onto the edge of a cliff, her fingers scrabbling for purchase, her strength to keep herself from falling all the way in love with Ty failing her.

  He returned as if summoned by her thoughts. “Hey, you game to go to the church fundraiser with me next weekend? The ranch is donating five bull calves, and I’m bringin’ ‘em down.”

  “Only in Montana could you auction off bull calves to raise money for a church.”

  Ty scoffed. “Not true. I’m sure they do it in Texas too. Utah maybe.” He picked up two more boxes and flashed her a grin that made her knees go weak. “You gonna bring that box out to the truck or just stand there lookin’ pretty?”

  “Just stand here,” she called after him, eliciting another chuckle. A vein of delight squirreled down her spine and she followed Ty outside to his truck.

  “Hey, River,” Jodi said. “You remember my husband Jason.”

  “Of course.” River handed the box to Ty and then introduced him to her friends. “They’re keeping the girls while we move today.”

  Ty shook hands with both of them and laced his fingers through River’s. “Thanks for your help.” He focused one of his grins on them, and Jodi practically swooned. River stifled her giggle and tucked her arm around Ty’s waist.

  “Well, let’s not waste Jodi’s generosity.”

  Jodi scoffed at the same time she extended a bag of cookies toward River. “Fresh-baked. I told Hannah she could help with something later today.”

  “Oh, how sweet. Thank you.” River accepted the cookies as her mother exited the house with a box and a very pronounced sniffle.

  River exchanged a glance with Ty, said, “Excuse me,” to Jodi and Jason, and went to intercept her mother.

  “Mom, I’m moving less than two miles away.”

  She nodded, s
hort little bursts of movement. “I’m just gonna miss you, that’s all.”

  “I know.” River took the box and handed it off to Ty. She hugged her mom. “You’ll see me everyday. You’re my babysitter, remember?”

  Her mom wiped her eyes. “I know.” She gave a half-laugh, half-sob. “I’m being silly.”

  “You’ll have more time to spend with Milton.”

  “You’re right. And I know you need to be on your own.”

  River nodded, empathy passing through her. “Love you, Mom.” She turned away as her own emotions snuck up on her. She didn’t truly have any sadness about leaving her mother’s house. Her daughters could make new friends in her new neighborhood, and the town wasn’t that big. She’d see Jodi at church, just like she always did. And River liked going to lunch with her girlfriends just fine.

  “All right.” She wiped her hands on her shorts. “Another box.”

  Several hours later, she lay on the second-hand couch Jodi had given her, every muscle in her body protesting all movement. Ty held his phone to his ear, ordering food for dinner as she’d complained she didn’t have the energy to go out.

  “Your mom’s keepin’ the girls overnight.” Ty lifted her ankles and sat on the couch, repositioning her legs across his lap. “Chinese food is on the way.” He glanced around as River let her eyes drift closed. “I can’t believe you moved everything and then unpacked it all in one day.”

  “Not all of it.” She pointed lazily into the kitchen, where four packed boxes still sat on the counter. She had no kitchen table, no bar stools. But she had a bed for herself and one for the girls, and she had enough to shower, get ready, go to work, and order pizza until she felt up to unpacking the dishes and cookware.

  Ty started rubbing her feet, and a moan of pleasure escaped her throat. “You’ve had a long day,” he said quietly, his strength and steadiness so alluring. “But I have some news to share with you.”

  She opened her eyes, her interest piqued. “Go on, then.” He looked like a little boy on Christmas morning, his smile the thing that lit the lights on the tree.

  “Jace gave me the foreman job.”

  River sat up and flung her arms around Ty, squeezing him tight. “That’s great, Ty.” She skated her lips down the side of his face in search of his mouth. When she found it, she formed her lips to hers and kissed him congratulations.

  After several long moments, he chuckled. “I wanna have good news every day,” he said, his voice a bit scratchy. Definitely sexy.

  She kissed him again, letting go of the ledge she’d been holding onto and letting herself fall all the way in love with Ty Barker.

  Ty started every day in Jace’s office, an hour later than he usually went up to the range. Though he was getting more sleep, he didn’t have as much energy as he used to. He wanted to start the day with the sunrise not a folder detailing the supplies the ranch needed or the nutritional needs of the cattle for the upcoming winter. And the Thursday payroll was torture, just like Jace had said it’d be.

  But Ty didn’t mind so much. Sure, he thought week after week of Thursday payroll would take it’s toll, but for now, Ty was just excited to be doing something different, learning something new.

  “You’ll want to spend time getting to know the men,” Jace said one morning near the end of September. “Talk to them, work alongside them, never act like you’re higher than them.” He moved down the row of troughs, dropping the purifying pellets the cattle needed. Ty followed him with the testing kit to make sure the pH was correct.

  With winter approaching, everything on the ranch had switched into high gear. The harvest was almost in, with cowboys heading out to the fields from dawn until dark, which made for a thirteen-hour work day. Jace had taught Ty how to rotate the men through the shifts so that they only worked their eight hours, but the efficiency of their time stayed at its peak.

  Jace reached the end of the row and turned back to Ty. “Let’s go check in with Caleb.”

  A flurry of nerves swarmed Ty’s chest. “How’s he doin’ with all this?” Caleb hadn’t acted any different during lunchtime, but Ty’s available minutes to sit around and eat had seriously dwindled.

  “He’s just fine,” Jace said. “He didn’t put in for foreman.” He cut Ty a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. “Six others did, but Caleb wasn’t one of them.”

  Surprise traveled through Ty. “He didn’t? But he would’ve gotten it.”

  “Probably,” Jace said. “He started here the year before you; he has seniority; he’s a great cowboy.”

  “Why didn’t he put in for foreman?”

  Jace pushed open the feed barn, where they’d find Caleb down in the small office where he worked to keep the cattle healthy.

  “Said he didn’t want it. Something about how he liked workin’ with the herd, usin’ his agricultural degree.” Jace checked each stall as they passed, but Caleb didn’t have any cattle in for testing. “Mornin’, Caleb.” He leaned in the doorway of Caleb’s room, where he leaned over the waist-high table in the corner, studying something.

  “Morning.” He didn’t turn around.

  “Ty’s here to find out what you do.”

  “I know what he does.” Ty edged into the room too, sweeping the papers tacked to the board above the table. “He manages the nutritional needs of the herd, addresses how to maximize the harvest, that kind of stuff.”

  Caleb grinned as he turned and leaned his weight into the table. “Yep. That kind of stuff. It only takes a few hours a day, though, so don’t take me off other chores.”

  “Caleb’s on a special rotation,” Jace said. “And you two will work closely together, so it’s important that you know exactly what he does. Not just ‘the stuff’ you think he does.”

  Ty nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching at the seriousness of Jace. Caleb seemed much more relaxed about the relationship between him and the foreman, but he did point to the page he’d been studying. “Field prep for the winter, so we can reduce the time in the spring it’ll take to get the hay in.”

  The charts seemed written in a different language, but Ty picked them up anyway. “Is this English?” He glanced at Caleb. “This looks like chicken scratch.” He chuckled as he tried to make out a word that looked like scrap metal but didn’t fit with the other words around it.

  “Give me those.” Caleb snatched the papers away good-naturedly and smoothed them back on the table. “So, you gonna move into the foreman’s cabin with River Lee?”

  Ty’s heart stuttered and seized. He didn’t want to talk about River Lee, not with Jace loitering nearby. He’d just been counseled to get to know his men, and the foreman had ears that were always listening.

  “No,” Ty said.

  “No?” Caleb shifted some papers, but Ty could tell he wasn’t looking at them. Not really. “Why not?”

  “We’re, uh.” Ty cleared his throat. “It’s not going that fast.” He met Jace’s eyes. “Plus, Jace said a winter wedding is torture, so there’s that too.”

  Caleb chuckled. “Sometimes you just want to get married, no matter what time of year it is.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Ty said. “But I don’t think we’re there yet.” Ty thought of the last time he’d spent time with River Lee. They’d held hands, talked about the girls, his new job, how things were going in her new house. They shared their lives with each other, and she’d even indicated indirectly that their future would be spent together.

  But he hadn’t asked about marriage, hadn’t mentioned anything to do with diamonds, nothing.

  After the girls had gone to bed, there’d been a fair bit of kissing. Kissing that had been passionate, prolonged, and powerful. He let River Lee set the pace, always. He shivered as he remembered the thrill of her fingers in his hair, her legs tangled with his, the heated, slow way she kissed him until she seemed drunk on the taste of him.

  “Not there yet?” Caleb asked, incredulity heavy in his voice. “Ty, you’ve never dated a woman longer than a
month. What’s this goin’ on? Four?”

  “About that.” Ty folded his arms. “That doesn’t mean anything, though.”

  Caleb abandoned his paperwork and looked squarely at Ty. “Of course it does.”

  “What does it mean?”

  Caleb looked to Jace, almost for permission. Jace lifted one shoulder and studied Ty again. Ty suddenly felt like they’d ganged up on him, that Jace had brought him out here for this conversation and not because of anything to do with the ranch.

  “Have you told her you love her yet?” Caleb asked.

  Ty scoffed. “I’m not in love with her.”

  “No?” Jace and Caleb asked together.

  Ty volleyed his gaze between the two of them, a significant trapped feeling descending on him. “I—I don’t even know what that feels like,” he admitted. But if he had to guess, he’d say it was a lot like how he’d felt with River Lee twelve summers ago.

  Caleb cocked one eyebrow and turned back to his table. “You’ll figure it out.”

  Jace’s radio went off, thank the stars. Nelson’s voice came through the speaker with, “Boss, there’s a fence down in grid thirteen, and the cattle have crossed the stream.”

  Jace exhaled heavily as he lifted the radio to his mouth. “I’ll send everyone I can.” He nodded at Ty. “Let’s go.”

  Ty followed his long stride back down the middle of the barn, back out into the sunshine, back to the business of the ranch. But his mind stayed on the thought of how he felt about River Lee.

  He hadn’t acknowledged his true feelings for her. Number one, he wasn’t sure what they were. Number two, if he admitted how he really felt, he wasn’t sure if he could keep the words under his tongue.

  He saddled his horse, rode up the mountain to grid thirteen, roped cattle and fixed fences. He went through the physical motions, all the while fighting with himself that he didn’t love River Lee.