"About what?"
"Told her the brand project is good. That you're doing good work." He pauses, fork halfway to his mouth. "Told her I want you to stay the full two weeks."
My heart hammers. "What did she say?"
"Fourteen exclamation points."
Laughing, I steal a bite off his plate. He lets me. "Tucker."
"Yeah?"
"I'm falling for you. You know that, right?"
He sets down his fork. Steps between my knees where I'm sitting on the counter. Cups my face. Kisses me soft, slow. His thumbs trace my jaw.
"Yeah," he says against my mouth. "I know. Because I fell first."
My phone text alert goes off, and he growls as I turn to reach for it.
Mama he asked me to stay the full two weeks
My mother's response comes in four seconds.
Mija I already told your father. He says bring the cowboy for Sunday dinner
He's a rancher Mama
Bring the rancher for Sunday dinner. I'm making tamales
Grinning at my phone, I curl into Tucker's side on the couch while both dogs sleep at our feet. His arm wraps around me, pulling me close. His chin rests on top of my head.
"Your mom?" he asks.
"She wants you for Sunday dinner."
A pause. Then, quietly: "I'd like that."
Outside, the coyotes howl across the valley. The ranch house creaks in the wind. Tucker's heartbeat is steady under my ear, strong, unhurried. And for the first time in my life, I don't want to be anywhere else.
CHAPTER FIVE
TUCKER
Josie's call comes at six in the morning while I'm saddling up for the south pasture check. The phone buzzes on the tack room shelf. Her name on the screen. Something in my gut tightens before I even pick up.
"Have you seen what she posted?"
No hello. No good morning. Just Josie running hot about something, which is her default setting.
"Posted where?"
"Instagram. Her professional account. Tucker, it's incredible. The engagement is insane. The ranch photos are getting shared everywhere. Someone from Western Living magazine already reached out to me about a feature."
Pulling the cinch tight on Duke's saddle, I hold the phone between my shoulder and ear. "What photos?"
"The ones from this week. You feeding the herd at sunrise. The calf with 247. The fence line your dad built." A pause. "Tucker, there's one of you. Close up. Looking at the camera with this expression on your face. It's gorgeous. People are losing their minds over it."
My hand stops on the saddle horn. "She posted photos of me?"
