Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
It took a little while, but she eventually told us what had happened, how the hospital’s own policies of corporate profits and budget cuts had caused the understaffing issues. How in the end it had been a malfunctioning door lock that had failed to keep the shooter out, a door lock that staff had complained about several times but that corporate hadn’t approved the replacement for yet.
Silas sighed. “They’re going to get their asses sued.”
Camille nodded. “They’re going to deserve it, too.”
I could see the cost of Silas’s silence as he continued to hold himself back from pressing her to quit. Finally, she sighed. “I’m not coming back here.”
He stared at her for a beat as if making sure she’d meant what she’d said. “Really?”
More tears leaked. “It breaks my heart to say it because I love my job, love serving the people in this neighborhood, but I can’t work for this hospital anymore. And… I’ve been here six years, Silas. It’s long enough. It’s someone else’s turn. And I’ll find someplace else where I’m needed.”
He leaned over her and pressed another kiss to her wet cheek before taking a tissue and carefully drying her tears.
“Come to Majestic,” I said without thinking.
Silas turned to me. “What?”
The idea began to flesh itself out in my head. “Come to Majestic and help us upgrade our clinic. Silas and I have plenty of room. An entire ranch house. And if you don’t want to live with us, I have a tiny house you can live in.”
Camille looked from me to Silas and back again. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” Silas said with a grin. “He’s been trying to turn their clinic into a hospital for a long time. If we get the AdventureSmash deal, it’ll go a long way to helping get state funding because it’ll bring more tourist traffic to the area, and our need will be even greater than it already is.”
Camille met my eyes. I could see a familiar spark of excitement in them that Silas got frequently. “Silas is the king of finding funding for things.”
“He definitely is,” I said with a laugh.
She grabbed her brother’s hand. “You willing to work on this with me?”
Silas’s tension burned away like morning fog on Clara Peak when the sun hit it. “Hell yes, I am. You know I am. I would love the challenge, and I can’t think of anything I’d enjoy more than watching you in your element. You’d love it in Majestic. The people are amazing, and the whole area is beautiful.”
Camille reached out another hand to me. “And you, Waylon? That means you’d have to stay married to this guy…”
I took her hand and pretended to consider the question, puckering my face in an expression of distaste that fooled exactly no one. “I mean… I’ll have to think about it. Might really cut into my casual encounters—”
Silas laughed.
“—but on the other hand, it’s convenient as hell to have someone who already knows how I like my eggs—”
He rolled his eyes.
“—and I…” I bit my lip. “I do believe he’d look pretty fine wearing my cowboy hat, come to think of it.”
Silas’s gaze, intense as usual, burned into me.
“Kenji told me he makes a pretty decent First Gentleman, too,” Camille teased. “First one Majestic’s ever had?”
“Best one Majestic’s ever had,” I said softly, eyes still on this kind and loving man who’d picked me up at a bar in Vegas… and had never let me down. “What do you say, city boy? Do you want to stay married to me?”
“Stay married to Mr. Majestic?” His face broke into a grin big enough to build a future on. He slid an arm around my waist and pulled me close. “I do.”
EPILOGUE
SILAS - ALMOST ONE YEAR LATER
“Easy,” I warned as Camille tried balancing Love Muffin toffee bars, a slice of Pete’s famous BBQ chicken pizza, and a strawberry margarita from Dos Beckys’ table all in one hand. “You’re going to drop it all, and my hands are already full.”
“I’m still unclear on why you got three margaritas for you and Way,” my sister said, navigating past JoJo Reynolds’s screaming six-year-old.
“I told you. The third one is for ZuZu.”
“ZuZu’s at school in California.”
I shrugged and took a sip from one of the cups, nearly dropping the tiny plate of nachos balanced on top of one of them. “It’s Final Night. She’s here in spirit. Besides, now that she’s legal, she made me swear to have one in her honor. Who am I to disappoint a sister?”
Camille rolled her eyes as we caught up to Way. “There’s Dev. You can give him the extra one. Let it be his last hurrah before roundup.”
I reached out for Way to take one of the cups from me. “Oh, forgot to tell you, Way hired someone to help with roundup. He’s going to stay in the bunk room in the barn. Just wanted to let you know in case you see a new face on the ranch.”