Chapter Twenty-Three

Jovy was up most of the night packing, shedding more tears, getting angry over shedding the tears. Eating the last of the death-by-chocolate ice cream in the freezer. No sense in it going to waste.

She didn’t want to leave Joyful. Didn’t want to leave Stone. She wanted to stay and work things out with him. He was the best damn thing to ever happen to her. The past few weeks with him had been amazing. The man was addicting, and she knew his feelings for her were just as crazy strong as what she felt for him. The only reason he’d pushed her away the other night was because of his sense of duty to his friend and his men. It’d hurt like hell. It still did, but she understood, and there was no way she would ever do anything to come between them. So she’d stayed away. Kept her distance.

And was slowly dying inside.

Brick had told her not to give up on his brother. She didn’t want to. God, she didn’t want to, but what choice did she have? Stone was responsible for a whole ranch full of veterans. He took that responsibility seriously. There wasn’t any room for her.

With a deep sigh, she pushed aside her pity party and stood, glancing at her tiny office. Bittersweetness rippled through her in a swift wave. She’d done better than expected. Enjoyed herself more than she’d expected. But it was time to leave.

The only thing she was taking was her laptop. Everything else was staying with the café for Cece and Blanche. They just needed to sign the papers she’d had legal fax over for her to relinquish ownership of V-Spot. And the new lease Stone had emailed during the night. She’d woken up to find it in her in-box that morning. She’d wanted to call him to thank him, even picked up the phone, but knew if she heard his voice, she’d break down. So she’d settled for a quick thank-you email instead.

Now the lease sat on the desk next to the contract, waiting for the women’s signatures. She called them into the office. It was time to sign everything over. To move on.

“Hey, Jovy.” Cece breezed in.

Followed by Blanche. “What’s up?”

“Just need you both to look these over and sign,” she said, doing her best not to tear up. Not that she was sad about the café. No, she was thrilled the women had decided to keep the business going. She was sad to leave her new friends.

Blanche signed without reading. No surprise there. “You’d never steer us wrong,” she claimed, pulling Jovy in for a hug. “Thanks for everything, Jovy. I’m going to miss you.”

“So am I,” Cece said, waiting for her friend to move so she could hug Jovy. “And thank you so much for this opportunity.”

“You two deserve it.” She pulled out of the embrace and smiled. “You’re the reason it was so successful.”

Blanche scoffed. “Bullshit.”

She laughed as she unplugged her laptop. She was going to miss the woman’s bluntness.

“Do you think you’ll win?” Cece asked.

Jovy’s heart squeezed. Her chances probably died with that bank withdrawal last week. But they didn’t need to know their hard work was for nothing. Although she didn’t consider investing in At-Ease and the veterans nothing. To her, they were everything. At least, they had been. “I don’t know. Guess I’ll find out today.” She shoved her laptop in her bag and tried to feign interest.

“When is your granddad due in?”

Cece leaned against the desk and nodded. “Wasn’t he supposed to meet your cousin at Dallas/Fort Worth and drive here together?”

Jovy glanced at her phone and frowned. “Yes, he called two hours ago when he met up with Ross at the airport. They should be here any minute.” Actually, they should’ve been there by now.

What was taking so long?

Cece leaned closer. “Are you going to say good-bye to Stone?”

The mere mention of his name caused a sharp, piercing pain in Jovy’s heart. She shook her head and suddenly became fascinated with wrapping up her laptop cord and stuffing it in the bag. “We said our good-byes a few days ago.”

Well, he’d said good-bye. She’d crumpled. It wasn’t pretty.

Cece covered her hand. “Is there no chance of fixing things?”

“Yeah.” Blanche jammed her hands on her hips. “I don’t know what he did, but that man is crazy about you, Jovy.”

She choked back a laugh and blinked away stupid tears. “He has a funny way of showing it.”

Blanche snorted. “That’s because men are stupid. It’s not his fault. He was born with a penis. For some reason, that means they lack common sense when it comes to relationships.”

“Amen,” Cece agreed with a grin. “We have to wave the olive branch in front of their faces.”

“Wave?” Blanche’s bark of laughter echoed off the walls in the tiny office. “Hell, some of them need to be hit over the head with the damn thing.”

Jovy laughed. She was really going to miss the two women.

The phone in her pocket started to ring. She fished it out, relieved to see her grandfather’s number. “Hi, where are you? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. We’re over at the At-Ease Ranch. Your landlords invited us for brunch. Come on over so we can take care of business, then dig into whatever smells so delicious.”

Jovy’s jaw dropped open while her heart raced out of control. No. No-no-no! She didn’t want to go there. Couldn’t go there. What in the world possessed the guys to do that?

Dammit. Now she didn’t have a choice. She was going to have to see Stone again.

As if in a daze, she said good-bye to the ladies, climbed into her packed-up rental, and drove out to the ranch. There was no way she was going to be able to eat. Not surrounded by all those memories. Or worse, being in the same room with Stone and suffering under his disinterested gaze.

God, she couldn’t do it.

The urge to turn around was so strong her hands shook. But it was too late. She was already at the end of the drive, and Brick and Cord were waving to her. Setting her shoulders, she parked the car and got out, praying her legs would hold her.

This was such a bad idea.

“Hey, Jovy.” Brick pulled her in for a quick hug, and she pretended it was the best thing in the world and that she wasn’t dying inside.

Then Cord took over. “Great to see you.”

“Great to see you, too,” she replied, really wanting to bolt.

But she’d lost her opportunity, because her grandfather and cousin came out of the house with Leo and Vince, followed by Stone. Her heart literally ceased beating in her chest for a full two seconds when their gazes met.

God, he looked as miserable as she felt. Great. The burning in her throat and eyes returned.

“Jovy.” Her grandfather grinned and pulled her close. “I’ve missed you, girl. How are you doing? Surviving the heat?”

Burying her sorrow, she drew back and smiled. “Yes, it’s really not much different from Philadelphia summers, except it starts earlier here.”

“Well, I didn’t miss the humidity,” her cousin said, moving close to take over the hug. “Sorry I got to go to paradise while you were stuck here melting, coz.”

She patted his back. “Paradise is what you make of it.” She’d found it in Stone’s arms. Melted there, too.

Her cousin released her. “I still feel kind of bad.”

“So do I.” Leo stepped forward, concern etched in his face, but he appeared a little more at ease than the last time she saw him. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault Stone was holding back, but we’ve come to an understanding.”

How in the world was she supposed to respond to that? And now everyone was looking at her, waiting for a response. Shoot.

She heard Cece’s voice in her head…hit him over the head with an olive branch.

A tree probably wouldn’t be enough at this point. Besides, she was standing in the freaking middle of the driveway and swore every last person at the ranch had come out. Talk about putting the poor guy on the spot. It was going to take some quick thinking on her part. She glanced at Stone, intending to let him off the hook, but the breath caught in her throat. He was staring at her with anything but indifference in his eyes.

Then he was walking toward her, gaze as determined as his steps. “Jovy, I’m sorry I was such an ass. You deserve much better,” he professed, stopping in front of her, looking as if he wanted to touch her, but he refrained. “I shouldn’t have left like I did Wednesday. I just didn’t want you to play second fiddle. These men are my brothers. I’ve been through hell with them. I’ll always have their backs.”

She opened her mouth to tell him she understood, but he placed a finger on her lips and shook his head.

“Please let me finish. You deserve to hear everything.” When she nodded, he removed his touch. Dammit. “I have their backs, but they have mine, too. Late last night, they sat me down and made me realize I can’t put my life on hold. Not for them. Not for anyone. Made me realize it’s okay to let others take over. Share some of the burden. To help. Pretty much implied they’d kick my ass if I didn’t.”

A smile twitched her lips. Kicking his ass would not be easy. But she was really, really liking where this was going. Hope now pushed some of the heaviness from her chest, and she waited, barely daring to breathe as he continued.

“I’ve also got your back, Jovy. If you’ll let me,” he said. “You came to Joyful and did the impossible. And no, I’m not talking about the fact that you made a bunch of meat lovers enjoy vegan food. I’m talking about how you breathed life into my world. You’ve brightened this place. This town. My life. I no longer just exist. You’ve made me a better man.”

Not possible. Nor could she stop the burning in her eyes.

“I know we can make a long-distance thing work. I like being with you. Who I am with you.” He lifted a hand to lightly brush a tear from her cheek. “I want to build gazebos for you.”

It was important for him to finish what he wanted to say. She knew this, but damn, the guy was making it so hard to keep quiet. So hard not to fall in a pile of mush at his feet. Her legs were seriously beginning to shake right now.

“Please give me a chance to make it up to you.” His gaze was so earnest it hurt. “What do you say?”

With everyone and their brother watching, she held his hopeful, anxious gaze and told him what she’d wanted since he started. “You had me at ‘Jovy.’”

A huge smile crossed his face, and as laughter surrounded them, he crushed her close. “God, I love you.”

She sucked in a breath and clung to him as every last ounce of sadness left her body with that admission. “I love you, too.”

His hold tightened as he kissed her temple. “I don’t deserve it, but damn, I’m so glad you still feel that way.” When he drew back, he cupped her face and stared into her eyes; all the emotion and openness he’d shown her over the past few weeks had returned to his gaze. “Thank you for understanding, and giving me a second chance.”

Then he was kissing her, softly, slowly, deeply, and as the hoots and hollers and whistles echoed around them, Jovy knew, really knew things were going to be fine. The love he’d professed, the emotions she’d seen in his gaze, all funneled into that sweet, powerful kiss full of so much promise for the future it shook her to her core.

Drawing back, he set his forehead to hers. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too. So much.” Elation sent another tear down her face he caught with his thumb.

“Well, I’m guessing Jovy has some things to fill me in on,” her grandfather proclaimed. “But right now, I’d like to announce my successor so we can all go inside and enjoy that wonderful brunch I smell.”

Murmurs of agreement filled the air.

“Jovy, Ross, this has been a very tough decision.” His serious blue gaze bounced between them. “You both deserve the position. You both have claim, but only one person can hold the CEO title, so this contest seemed the best way to determine my successor.”

Despite having already resigned herself to the fact that she’d lost, Jovy’s anticipation rose anyway.

Slipping his arm around her waist, Stone pulled her into his side and leaned to whisper in her ear. “No matter what happens, I love you. We’ll work it out.”

That in itself made her a winner.

“So, after going over the portfolios you sent last night,” her grandfather continued, “Ross had the best bottom line.”

“Yes!” Her cousin fist-pumped the air.

“But Jovy.” Her grandfather turned back to her and raised a brow. “Seems you left information about your investment into At-Ease and Foxtrot Construction out of your calculations. You only recorded the withdrawal from your account.”

“Wait.” Now her cousin frowned. “You mean we could’ve done that?”

Her grandfather nodded. “Yes.”

“But there wasn’t anything in the guidelines saying we could invest,” Ross remarked.

“There wasn’t anything in there stating you couldn’t, either.” Her grandfather smiled, delivering another of his lessons.

Jovy glanced at Stone. “You told him about the investment?”

“Damn right,” he stated. “And it’s a good thing, too, because you never let on how damn important V-Spot was.”

She squeezed his hip and turned her attention back to her grandfather.

“So in light of Jovy’s initiative, plus her bottom line, and the collateral of her investment into Foxtrot, I proclaim Jovy as the winner and new CEO of Larson Industries.”

I won? Her heart shot into her throat. This is what she’d worked for since her father had lain dying in bed. Her dream.

Stone kissed her temple. “I’m so proud of you.”

Then her grandfather stepped close to pull her into an embrace. “Congratulations, Jovy. I’m proud of you, and your dad would’ve been, too.”

The next few minutes were a bit of a blur. She shed a few tears, shared hugs with the Rangers and then her cousin.

“Congratulations, Jovy,” Ross said, smile genuine.

“Speech!” the crowd chanted.

She was happy and shaking and didn’t even know where to start. She returned to Stone’s side and smiled at everyone. “Thank you all so much. First of all, I have a confession to make and it’s been killing me for four weeks now. I am not a vegan. I love meat and if anyone tries to take another steak away from me at that table in there, you may lose a hand. Just sayin’. I’m gluten-free, not vegan, only did it for business.”

Laughter rippled through men, and Vince shook his head with a grin, while Stone chuckled and pulled her in tighter.

“There are a few other things you should know, too,” she said. “I came to Joyful not so joyful, having to embark on a seemingly impossible task. But I had a dream and a promise to keep, so determination kept me going all month. During those weeks, things changed. I discovered that Joyful wasn’t so bad. That the task really wasn’t so impossible. And that my dream, my promise, had changed.”

“I’m pretty sure I know what you’re saying.” Her grandfather winked. “But I have the feeling you’d better spell it out for everyone else.”

Jovy smiled. “I’m saying, thank you, Grandpa, but I can’t accept. I’m turning the position down.”

Shock rang through the crowd.

“Ross loves the company just as much as I do, and is almost as smart,” she said with a grin.

“Hey.” Her cousin feigned a wounded look, but his twitching lips gave him away.

She grinned. “He will make a great CEO, and I’ll rest just fine knowing the company is still in good hands, and that Mr. Met has things covered.”

Ross stilled, and the color drained from his face. “You’re going to make me get that hideous tattoo?”

“You bet your butt.” She slapped her cousin on the back and laughed.

“Jovy?” Stone turned her to face him, concern darkening his gaze. “What are you doing? What about your promise to your dad? You’ve worked so hard for this. The fact that you sacrificed it all without hesitation for this ranch last week means the world to me, but sweetheart, if you’re worried about us making a go of things long-distance, trust me, we’ll be fine. We’ll make it work. Please don’t give up your dream for me. I couldn’t live with that.”

By this time, tears were spilling down her cheeks, one after another. She swiped them away, then cupped his face. “Don’t you see, Stone? My dream has changed, but not the promise to my dad. He made me promise to do what made me happy, and for the longest time, running Larson Industries was what made me happy. Then I met you, and the men here at At-Ease, and now that’s my dream. That’s what makes me happy.” She drew in a ragged breath and smiled. “You make me happy, Stone Mitchum.”

Emotions filled his warm, gray gaze. “God, I love you,” he said again, then kissed her crazy amazing and deep. Just how she liked it. Her legs were shaking again and her pulse pounded out a wild, unruly beat. It was heaven. She wanted it to go on forever, but lack of air was making her ears ring.

It wasn’t until she heard her cousin’s startled gasp that she realized the real reason for the ringing in her ears.

Lula Belle.

Damn cow had the worst timing.

“Ah…Stone, you might want to take your woman in the house while we thwart your girlfriend,” Brick stated, already moving with Vince and Cord to intercept the charging cow.

Before Jovy could react, Stone swept her off her feet and carried her inside behind Leo, her grandfather, and Ross.

“Is it always this crazy here?” her cousin asked.

“Yes,” Jovy and Stone answered in unison.

And as their laughter mingled, she stared up into his handsome face, happier than she’d been in her life. Everything came full circle. Jovy was home. Where she belonged and wanted to be. Right where she’d started. Her very favorite place.

In her Ranger’s arms.

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