“It’s coming partly from three beers giving me false courage, and partly from a letter I saw on your counter the other day.”
Shit. He really needed a filing system. First Jess, now Decker.
Decker looked straight at him. “Do you want to leave, Cole? Because if you do, I’ll get behind you one hundred percent. I didn’t choose to go, but at least I had the chance. You didn’t. And if you want to go, I get it. I do. I’ll miss the hell out of you, and I’ll do everything I can to get you back here, but I get it.”
Cole took a long swallow, then locked his eyes on Jess, who was still deep in conversation with Kyla. “I thought I did.”
“But?”
“But—I don’t know, Decker. I resented the hell out of you for years for being gone and leaving me here. But that was before I knew the truth about why you left, so believe me, I’m not holding onto that resentment anymore.”
He took a deep breath, gathering courage. “I don’t know if I like the direction things are going here. Maybe that’s why I made that inquiry in January. I feel like we’re losing the ranch to the tourists, and some days, I just want everybody to leave so we can have our home back.”
“I know.” Decker nodded. “I get it.”
“You and Kyla—I mean, you’re a great team, and you have great ideas, but I think I started to feel like the third wheel. That sounds totally middle school, but you know what I mean. When you first came back, suddenly we were a team again, working to get this ranch back on its feet, working to know each other again. And it was working. We were making it.”
“And then Kyla.” Decker raised his eyebrows.
“Who I love like a sister. You know that. But the dynamic—changed. It wasn’t so much the Driscoll brothers anymore. It was Driscolls plus one.”
Decker nodded thoughtfully. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“I don’t know. How do you bring up a conversation like that, right? And I hadn’t figured out my own screwball head yet, so I didn’t want to bring anybody else into it until I had.”
“So where’s your screwball head sit right now?”
Cole slugged his beer, looking at Jess again. God, she was just so damn beautiful. So many layers to figure out, and he wanted to be the one to do it. He couldn’t bear the thought of somebody else doing it.
And he wanted to do it here. At Whisper Creek. He wanted to show her all of the hidden magic the ranch held—wanted to ride to the waterfall, tell silly stories, dance under the moon—with her. Through her eyes, it felt like he’d started to rediscover what he loved about Whisper Creek.
He took a deep breath. “My screwball head wants to stay right here, Decker. Maybe someday that’ll change—I can’t predict that—but for right now, and for any future I can see right now, I want to be here. Here.”
Decker tipped his chin toward Kyla and Jess. “And I assume you’ll be working to convince someone else to make that same decision?”
“With everything I have. Yeah.” Cole nodded, more sure about this than he’d ever been about anything in his life.
Decker reached out and clapped Cole on the back, then shoulder-hugged him. “Meet me in Dad’s office tomorrow morning after breakfast. Let’s figure things out.”
“Okay.”
“First, though”—Decker pointed at Jess—“go figure things out with Jess.”
Cole sighed, blowing out a breath as he clinked his bottle with Decker’s. “Wish me luck.”
“Hey.” Decker caught his arm as he started to walk away. “A little advice.”
Cole raised his eyebrows, but stopped himself from making a smart-ass remark.
Decker looked over at Kyla and Jess, then back at Cole. “Whatever’s in here”—he put his fist to his heart—“just tell her. Don’t be an ass like I was. Don’t wait. Don’t let her go. Do not let her go, or you’ll spend the rest of your days wishing you’d told her when you had the chance.”
—
“Hey, cowgirl.” Cole slid into the chair beside Jess, putting his arm around her shoulders and planting a soft kiss just above her ear. “Did I mention how gorgeous you look tonight?”
Jess shivered from the sensation of his lips on her skin. “You might have mentioned it once or twice.”
“All right, then. I see I have a few more times to go, then.” He winked as he picked up his champagne and leaned