Joel had just finished his drink when the saloon doors creaked open. He didn’t think much of it—until he saw them. His grip on the glass tightened just slightly before he let out a quiet exhale, eyes tracking their movements across the room.

He hadn’t seen them in months.

They didn’t look much different—maybe a little more tired, maybe a little less sure of themselves. But damn if it didn’t stir something in him. Something he didn’t quite understand.

Joel tipped his glass at them, his voice gruff but even. “Didn’t think I’d see you ‘round here again.”

He didn’t say he missed them. Didn’t ask where they’d been.

But the fact that they were here? Sitting just a few feet away?

It meant something.