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"Good," he picked her hand up from his thigh and pressed a kiss to the back of it. "And once the guests leave and hunting season is over, maybe we can think about taking another trip. Someplace more exciting than Billings."
"I'd like that."
They continued in companionable silence until they reached the mailbox marking the driveway to her house. As they pulled in, Colleen frowned at the sight of an unfamiliar black pickup truck parked in the circular drive. "I wonder who's here?"
"That looks like my dad's car." He shrugged. "Maybe he and my mom came for a visit."
He took her suitcase out of the back seat and carried it up to the steps for her. Through the screen door, Colleen could make out the sounds of conversation coming from the kitchen.
"Want to come in and say hi?"
A little knot formed in her stomach as he paused, contemplating his answer. She knew what he was thinking. If she arrived home from her out-of-town trip with JT carrying her suitcase, they would be silently admitting—to their parents, no less—that they were seeing each other.
"Sure," he finally said, and followed her through the front door.
Her mother and Robert Osborne were seated at the kitchen table, and it looked like Robert was guiding her mother through a stack of paperwork. They were so engrossed they didn't hear Colleen and JT walk in the room.
"Hi, Mom," she said.
“Hey, Dad," said JT.
They both looked up from the paperwork with equally startled expressions. She saw something else in her mother's eyes—guilt?—which gave way to a surprised smile when her gaze drifted to Colleen's hand, clasped firmly in JT's.
Eileen stood from her chair. "I thought there might be something going on between you two, all those nights spent out at the ranch."
"Huh," was all Robert said. "Definitely a better fit than that city girl of yours."
"Thanks, Dad." Colleen could hear the eye roll in JT's voice.
"What's all this?" she gestured to the pile of paperwork in the center of the table.
Her mother's smile stiffened, and she flashed a look at Robert. This time the guilt was plain on her face. "Well, honey, Robert just came over to discuss the possibility, of maybe, at some point—"
"Stop beating around the bush, Eileen. I came over to present an offer for the Lazy Creek to buy you all out."
Colleen's brows pulled into a frown. "What? Mom, no. We talked about this. And I got the check from Gregory so we don't need to worry about the bills anymore."
"Honey, if we take this, I can pay off the mortgage with plenty left over to pay you and your brother back."
She shook her head. "Mom, we've already been over this. Liam and I don't care about being paid back. And now that we can pay off the last of the bills, I'm going to be just fine."
"It's a very generous offer," Robert said.
"Dad, what the hell?" JT snapped.
"What? You said yourself it wouldn't make sense to expand the cattle business if we didn't have the access to the creek their place provides. And when I found out Eileen was having trouble, we realized it could be a win-win for everyone."
Colleen wheeled on JT. "How could you do this? How could you use that information against us?"
JT held up his hands. "I had no idea about this, I swear."
"What do you mean you had no idea? You were there with your uncles and your brother when we discussed expanding the cattle operation," Robert blustered.
JT turned to Colleen, his eyes beseeching, pleading with her to listen. But behind that was something else.
Guilt.
As plain as it had been on her mother's face.
