Page 24 of Micah

Real friends.

The kind who stay.

The kind who don't disappear when life gets messy.

The kind I secretly hope might save me a seat at their table.

I know.

It's ridiculous.

I'm a grown woman.

But every Friday when the Jersey Iron Ranch crew walks through my front door...

A tiny part of me wishes they aren't just here for burgers and beer.

I wish...

Just a little...

That maybe someday I might belong with them too.

Chapter 3-Micah

I tell myself I'm only going for the beer.

That's the lie.

The truth?

I'm going because she's there.

I kill the lights inside the cabin and lock the front door behind me. The security system arms automatically with a soft chirp in my earpiece, every sensor on the property reporting green across my phone before I even reach my SUV.

Satisfied, I slide behind the wheel.

The engine turns over with a quiet growl.

Ahead of me, Sawyer's pickup rolls out first, Bit waving through the back window before Benji follows in his truck with Esme laughing about something I can't hear.

Married life looks good on both of them.

Sawyer spent years pretending he didn't need anyone. Then he met Bit and just a few weeks ago they flew off to Vegas and tied the knot.

Benji damn near destroyed himself believing a lie. Then Esme came storming back into his life and he learned the truth.

Now?

Hell.

You couldn't pry either man away from his wife with a crowbar.

Good.

They deserve that.

I drop my SUV into gear and fall in line behind them.