thought back to the last few months, the journey that she’d been on, the one that had ultimately led here, which was so very painful. And she realized she would do it all again. Every time. Exactly the same.
Because however it came out in the end, it had led her to this place, where she had decided to be brave and honest. Where she had decided to heal regardless of what he chose to do.
“Someday you’ll understand.”
“No. I’m not interested in that kind of thing. And when I am, I’m going to choose a nice man who has nothing to do with any of this.”
“With any of what?”
“I want to leave the vineyard,” Cricket said. “I realize this isn’t the best timing. But I want to tell you... I want my own life. One that’s totally different from this. I never wanted to be here. Mom and Dad never cared about what I did and...”
“I think Mom does care,” Wren said softly. “But I think, like Creed, she’s wounded. And sometimes she doesn’t know how to show it.”
“I’m not wounded,” Cricket said, defiant. “I’m going to find a place with people who aren’t. Present company excluded. It has nothing to do with you and Emerson. I might want a ranch. I want you to buy out my share.”
Disappointment churned in Wren’s chest. The idea of Cricket leaving the winery was painful. Another loss, but...
Her sister needed her chance. Her chance to find herself, like Wren had found herself.
“It’s okay, Cricket. You have to find a place that makes you happy. You have to find your path.”
Privately, Wren knew that it wouldn’t be as smooth as her sister was imagining. But she also knew Cricket would have to find it for herself. And maybe... Maybe Cricket would find a nice, simple relationship. An easy kind of love. But somehow Wren doubted it. Because Cricket was too tough and spiky to accept anyone soft. To accept anything less than the kind of love that moved mountains inside her.
And that kind of love didn’t come easy.
But if Cricket needed to believe she could find a love that did come easy, then Wren wasn’t going to disabuse her of the notion.
Because just like Wren’s own situation, no one could do it for Cricket. She would have to fight her way through on her own.
“And what’s your ideal man?”
“One who isn’t half as much cowboy drama as yours and Emerson’s dudes. I’m going to get a job at Sugar Cup. I’ve already decided. I’m going to serve coffee while I build my ranching empire. And I’ll meet a nice guy.”
“I didn’t think you were interested in meeting anybody.”
“I’m not,” Cricket said.
“So there’s nobody in particular that you like?”
“We shouldn’t be talking about me.”
“I prefer it to thinking about myself,” Wren said.
“No,” Cricket said. And she sounded so resolute that Wren wondered if she was lying. “I think love should make you feel sweet and floaty. I don’t think that crushes should make you angry.”
“Oh,” Wren said. “Sure.”
Sweet summer child.
But again, her sister was going to have to figure all this out for herself. Just like Wren had.
And honestly, even though Wren felt like she had figured a lot out in the last few months, she also didn’t know how her story was going to end.
But she supposed that was the real gift. She had learned, through this series of changes, that while chapters of one’s life would come to a close, there was always a chance to make herself new. To make her life into the best version that she could.
And she would carry that hope with her.
As long as she was here, she would have a chance to change for the better. The hope of better was what made one brave. It was what made everything worth it. And so, she would continue to hope, no matter how dark it seemed.
If that realization and her baby were the only gifts she could ever get from Creed, then she supposed they would have to be enough.
Twelve
“All right,” his brother’s voice came behind him. Creed braced himself for what would come next. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
He turned toward Jackson and scowled. “What’s it to you?”
“Plenty. Because it’s beginning to impact on my life, and I don’t like that. You’ve been scowling around here for more than a week. It’s a pain in my ass. Does it have something to do with your wife?”
He gritted his teeth. “She left me.”
“What the hell did