Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch, #1)

by Lyla Sage

“Wes?” I called. “Yeah?” “You didn’t ask me why I came home.” “I don’t care why you’re here, only that you are.”

Awwwwwww

Emmy’s truck—a baby-blue 1991 GMC Syclone—was out front. I remember when she bought it. Her dad had bought Gus and Wes their first cars, but not Emmy. She’d told him not to. Who the hell turned down a free car? She did her ranch work and waited tables at the Main Street Diner to save up for it. She loved that ugly truck at first sight. I liked that she still had it, but I was surprised it was still running.

Cbarley Crockett says- "she drove a blue pickup truck. Boy she loved it though it really wasn't much. Kinda like the way she loved me."

If giving me shit made her smile like that, I’d have no choice but to let her do it as often as she wanted.

“Keep your eyes on me, okay? I’m going to take care of you, Emmy.”

I didn’t even eat red meat.

Can't relate

I didn’t need to “try it.” I literally grew up on a cattle farm. But we weren’t at a point in our relationship where I felt like I could talk to him about my sensory issues—especially if his response was going to be “Just try it.”

Just kidding I totally can relate

“What’s that?” She pointed at his shirt, and like an idiot, he looked down. She flicked her finger back up and hit him in the nose.

My dad does this basically every day lmao

“We’re going to start from the beginning.” She tilted her head at me. “We?” “Yeah. I teach people how to ride, Emmy,”

Fucking stop I'm sobbing

I wanted her to get back on the horse, and I wanted to be the one who helped her. I wanted her to be able to do what she loved.

When it came to Emmy, I was playing with fire, but I would happily walk into the flames for her. And I’d have a smile on my face the whole damn time.

“What do you need, sugar?”

It was like, now that he knew, the whole situation didn’t just exist in my head—it was real. The pain it caused me was real. The aftermath was real. And if the fall was real, the rise could be, too.

He put his hands on my waist first, which was not how you helped someone get on a horse. We both knew that, but I didn’t care. I could get on Moonshine myself, but I wanted him to touch me.

You broke fifteen seconds in a race last year. It is a no-brainer.” How did he know that? “Yeah, and I’m currently averaging like five minutes to make a circle,” I argued. “Just a slight difference.”

“You’re not going to hound me about why I’m giving up my career or tell me I’m making a mistake?” “No,” he said. “Honestly, I’m curious about it, but the only person who needs to feel good about your decision is you, Emmy.”

“You know, if you don’t like the road you’re on, you can always pave a new one.” “Who said that? Robert Frost?” Brooks smiled and shook his head. “Dolly Parton,” he responded. “Ah, God herself,”

Teddy loved chaos, but she could handle it. Teddy was the queen of rolling with the punches, or, when the situation called for it, punching right back.

I couldn’t believe the universe was so big, and I got placed on this random floating rock at the same time as Clementine Ryder.

That could’ve been one of those moments. The ones that seem small but turn out to be big. The ones that change the course and alter your path. I wanted that. A new path. I wanted him.

We stared at each other, and I decided this was the moment. Not the moment that could’ve been if I hadn’t closed the door on him, but a better one—a moment both of us chose to come back for.

He was wearing denim on denim. What an asshole.

Hey now I do this too

Emmy Ryder might have been in like with me, but it was then that I knew I was falling in love with her.

“You know when I came home, and you were here, I was so happy to see you, and I knew you were happy to be home, but the moment I saw you, I knew my baby girl was sad.”

Why am i already crying

“Dad, are you okay?” “Yeah, Spud. More than okay. I’d be happy for you wherever you went, but I’m happy you want to be here.” My dad had never tried to keep me in Meadowlark. When I told him about my plans, he went along with them and supported me wherever he could. I wondered how hard it had been for him to watch me go.

When something was literally called the tractor supply store, people would assume it only carried tractor supplies. Those people would be wrong.

Tractor Supply has EVERYTHING

My dad never talked like this. “Why don’t you talk about her more?” It took him a second to answer. “When she’s in my head, I can keep her safe.”

I am not okay

“Did she ever regret it? Staying here?” I asked, voicing my biggest fear to my father: that I would regret staying here. My dad looked at me thoughtfully, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. “You know, I don’t think she did. When she left her hometown, she was searching for something. I think she found it here.” “What was she looking for?” “The things we’re all searching for: love, support, purpose.” “And she found that in you?” “And in the mountains. And in August. And in Weston. And in you.” I felt tears prick in my eyes. Who was cutting onions in this fucking coffee shop? I’d never really cried for my mom, but today I cried for the man who’d lost her.

SO NOT OKAY

But now, I was proud of myself and my accomplishments. I was also content. And no, it had nothing to do with Brooks. He was just a bonus. There was something about Meadowlark.

Just like the kitchen slow dance he surprised me with a few days ago. We’d both had a long day, so when I went over there, I wasn’t expecting anything. I just wanted to be with him. But when I walked in, he had already made dinner for us, and Luke Brooks knew his way around the kitchen. When we were cleaning up, the small speaker he had in the living room started to play a slow Randy Travis song. He threw the towel he was using to dry dishes over his shoulder and grabbed my hand, pulling me to him. He put one hand on my waist and used the other to intertwine our fingers. We swayed together in the kitchen, and I could’ve stayed in that moment forever.

This is everything i could ever want

It was the small moments like those where I could see him clearly. Yes, he was absolutely a t-shirt mutilator, but he wasn’t arrogant, irresponsible, or careless. He was thoughtful and protective.

Riding through Rebel Blue Ranch was one of the best feelings in the world. The mountain landscape was made of greens, browns, and yellows. Against the backdrop of the blue sky, it created something that felt so otherworldly. There was no other way to describe it.

“You can do this, Emmy. We’re going to take it slow, but I know you can do this.” “How do you know?” He cupped my face in his hands. “You’re Clementine fuckin’ Ryder.” I laughed at that, and a single tear sneaked out of my eye. He caught it before it could fall, wiping it off my cheek. “Sugar, you deserve to go out on your own terms. Just because you got dusted doesn’t mean you’re done.”

I am not exaggerating when i say i would die for this man

Luke pulled me down the walkway, getting me to his truck as quickly as possible. Once we were there, he pressed me against the driver’s side door and kissed me hard. There was something different about this kiss. It meant something. I just didn’t know what. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine. “What was that for?” I breathed. “No one’s ever stood up for me before,” he said. His words cracked my heart wide open. Luke Brooks, and his big heart, deserved so much more than the people in that house. He was kind, hardworking, and sincere.

“Thank you for coming with me, Emmy.” “I’d go anywhere with you,” I responded. I meant it.

It was the only rodeo sport where horsemanship wasn’t judged—it was all about the time—but

This is highkey not true but I'll let it slide. Every rodeo sport is about time

You know in the action movies, when the hero and heroine kiss right before the battle, and all of the sudden they’re ready to take on the aliens or the mutated monster or whatever? I understood that now.

“She loves you, too, you know.” The thought of that terrified me, but it also made me feel like the luckiest man alive. I didn’t really know how to be in love, but I knew I wanted to be with Emmy in every way I could. I wanted the kitchen slow dances, nights out with shots, rides through the mountains, hot sex, afternoon naps, and two-lane highways with the windows down. I wanted it all. “How do you know that?” “She asked for you.” Teddy shrugged. “Emmy never asks for anything. She just puts her head down and deals with things in the only way she knows how, by kicking shit around in her own brain. But she asked for you.”

In barrel racing, the most efficient way to make the clover-leaf pattern that was required was to go to the right barrel, then the left, and then the center.

You can go left, plenty of people do??

I didn’t care that my family and nearly all of Meadowlark were watching. Luke wasn’t my secret. He was just mine.

“He’ll get over it.” “I don’t know if he will,” I responded. “I do. Emmy came home broken, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who helped her put herself back together. “Thank you,” he continued, “for taking care of my baby girl.” “She can take care of herself,” I said. “I know she can, but you made sure she didn’t have to do it alone.”

Amos is the book dad of all book dads i love him so much

It was weird thinking about how I’d known Emmy for nearly my entire life, but we had just been living our lives semi-adjacent to each other. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without her. I was so caught up in her. I loved her. Deeply.

I think both of you bring out each other’s soft side.” “What does that even mean?” “Some love stories burn hot and fast, but you two are more low and slow,” she said. “It’s a strong and steady kind of love.” She

Luke gave me one of my favorite smiles, the one that brought out the crinkles around his eyes, and I fell into his arms once again. Home sweet home.