“It’s perfect.” When she hugged him, he bent to kiss her, wanting her to know what he was feeling.
When they pulled away again, Avery said, “I have to get going. I’ll meet you at the altar in a few hours. Let’s try to get there this time.” She went up on tiptoe for another kiss and held on longer than he expected.
“You okay?” He pulled back and tilted up her chin with a finger. Tears shone in her eyes.
“I’m scared that something is going to happen. I never want to be taken from you again.”
“No one ever will,” he promised her. “I’ll walk you to the manor, then come back here.”
“Okay.” She gratefully took his hand.
When they stepped outside, however, they found the other women of Base Camp had gathered there.
“We’ll walk Avery to the manor,” Savannah told him.
“I’ll watch to make sure you make it,” he assured Avery and passed her over to her friends, but she had already relaxed. It was hard to hold on to any fear in a day as brilliant as this one. The sun in the blue sky above them beamed down. The whole world seemed scrubbed brand new. Mr. Smith and Owen were behind bars awaiting trial—they couldn’t hurt them now.
He watched the gaggle of women in their colorful gowns trail up the path to the manor. Maud and James were still helping with the wedding, but they’d decided to hold it here at the ranch this time. None of them wanted to leave it much these days, too enamored with the idea it was theirs now for good.
A half hour later, he was back in his tiny house when a knock on the door announced Sue’s arrival.
“Looks good in here,” she said, standing stiffly in the living room when he ushered her in. He noticed her gaze resting on the fan. She nodded in approval, and he stifled a smile. He wouldn’t tell her it was Avery who’d put it there.
“It’s nice to have the house all finished. Glad it’s still here, actually,” he admitted. It still stopped his heart when he thought about Montague’s bulldozers ready to flatten the home in which he’d meant to share his life with Avery.
“You cleaned up outside, too,” she observed, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows down the slope.
He nodded. They’d done their best to smooth out the gouges in the land from Montague’s heavy machinery. By the end of the summer, he was sure the scars from the bulldozers would mostly fill in.
“So now it’s all yours.”
“All ours,” he corrected. Or it would be. Riley was working with a lawyer to create a trust in which to hold Westfield ranch in perpetuity. It was complicated, and he was sure someone would spell out the terms and conditions to them eventually, but the takeaway was that he’d live here at Base Camp forever—they all would.
“You’ve built something good here.”
Walker nodded. He knew Sue wished he’d concentrated his attention on the reservation. “I haven’t left, you know. I never did. My heart is always at home.” And now that he was in Chance Creek for good, he meant to spend a lot of time in the place where he’d grown up, renew all his old connections and forge new ones. He might have found a different place to live, but the home of his ancestors would always be important.
“Bring some of this energy back to us” was all Sue said, and he knew she understood that he would. They all would. His friends here were ready to share their knowledge with anyone who asked—and he knew Sue would ask. She was already talking about the possibilities of training her students to be ready for a green energy economy. Every time she visited Base Camp, Boone and Jericho cornered her to share ideas about joint projects and school initiatives.
He found himself more drawn to the bison herd than ever, studying them at all times of day until Hope joked that he was going to be competing for her research dollars.
“Just wondering what makes them so peaceful,” he told her.
“I wonder about that, too. I think it’s the same thing with most animals. They’re just themselves, you know what I mean? A bison doesn’t try to be anything other than a bison, and he takes life one minute at a time. He gets stirred up when there’s a reason to be stirred up and shakes it off when the danger has passed rather than ruminating on it endlessly.”
That sounded right to Walker.
“Guess it’s time to shake it off and start enjoying the moment,” he said.
“Exactly.”
“I heard from Elizabeth,” Sue broke into his thoughts, dusting off a speck of dust from his blue Revolutionary War uniform jacket. “She and Gabe are planning a wedding for next spring. At the reservation.”
He could tell she was pleased. “That’s good.”
“You should have heard her. Proud as anything. Says Lawrence Energy is being investigated based on the information she presented at the hearing.”
“She should be proud. She did a brave thing.”
“So did you.” Sue lifted her chin, and he knew that was the extent of the praise he’d get from her.
“Cab says those men who grabbed Avery will see jail time—a lot of it.”
She nodded her approval.
“I like that Gabe,” she added. “He says he’ll bring Elizabeth home every few months. Says Montana is good for her.”
“He believes in family,” Walker guessed.
Sue nodded. “He is a good man.”
As soon as Gabe had announced that he was Elizabeth’s fiancé, Walker wondered how he’d ever missed it. His love for Elizabeth had been evident in a hundred ways.
“I’m glad they found each other.”
Sue stepped back and looked him over approvingly. “Your father should be here. I feel him close by this time of year. He loved summer when he was a boy.”
“I wish I’d gotten to know him better.”
Sue shut her eyes but didn’t allow her emotions to carry
