The weeks unfurled like a ribbon caught in the wind—snapping, twisting, bright with motion. Wedding plans filled every corner of Isobel’s days, while the steady hum of construction rattled across Willow Haven Ranch.
Wren, already strutting like nothing had ever bucked him to the dirt, bore only a fading yellow bruise where the kick had landed. Isobel, braver than she ever credited herself to be, kept her standing appointment with Dr. Brown, and each session peeled away another layer of fear until the nightmares that once strangled her sleep had nearly dissolved into memory.
Ryder had thrown money at the barn, yes—but money alone wasn’t what transformed it. He’d handpicked a crew like a man building an empire: the finest wood for a new floor, fresh wiring snaking through the beams, plumbi
