Page 29 of All in with the Maverick Montana

Amy nodded. Bronco was great, especially now that a lot of her family had settled there, but there was something to be said of a place where everyone would know her name and not just because she was a Hawkins sister.

Josh fit here so perfectly, and she couldn’t help wishing that she’d fit here, too. Someday. When she left Bronco, she didn’t think Tenacity would be somewhere she’d want to stay for long. It was supposed to be a pit stop on her road to heartbreak recovery. But now, well… Josh’s hand lingered near hers, and Amy thought about how easy it would be to take it. To lace her fingers through his.

She wondered if he’d pull away. If she was being too forward. Reading too much into this.

“Back to the ranch for you?” she asked as they wandered down the sidewalk, neither of them seeming to be in a hurry.

He nodded. “Back to the store for you?”

She shrugged. “I might pop by. See how things are going. Might also just go back to Faith and Caleb’s and call my mom since it’s been a while. She likes her regular updates.”

Josh laughed. “Mine, too. My only excuse right now is she’s on a cruise with my dad. So reception isn’t great.”

“Oh, where are they traveling?”

“Alaska,” he said. “They’d been saving for the trip for a while, and I want them to enjoy these years as much as they can. While they can. My dad’s got pretty bad arthritis, which acts up a lot.”

“Is that why you ended up taking over the ranch?” Amy asked.

“Partly,” Josh said. “Also because, well… I was a little bit of a surprise. My mom was pretty convinced she couldn’t have kids, and then I showed up when she was almost forty. My parents like to joke that I ran them ragged for those first twenty years.”

“I doubt that,” Amy said. “A quiet thing like you?”

Josh smirked. “You didn’t know the terror I was when I was young. Anyway, by the time they were pushing sixty, they were already feeling ready for retirement. I was old enough to take on the responsibility by then, so I took over and my parents rented a small place just outside of Bronco to be closer to my dad’s rheumatologist.”

“Well, I hope they’re having a great time.”

“Me, too.” He stopped walking. Amy hung back, looking at him. “There’s something I’ve been wondering.”

“What?”

“Do you think… Is there a time limit on you staying with Faith and Caleb?”

Amy raised her brow, a bit surprised by his question, wondering if he was asking for the reason she thought he was asking. “Despite what my sister might say, she loves having me here. So I don’t think so.”

“You got any designs on leaving?”

Her pulse raced. “Why? Would that inconvenience you?”

“Someone’s gotta keep Bitsy on the straight and narrow, and she’s clearly not listening to me.”

“Right. The horse.” Amy couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her face. “Any other reason I should stick around?”

Josh took a step forward. They were close, maybe too close, and she looked up into his eyes. They were deep brown, with flecks of hazel. She could have counted each striation.

“Because I want you to?”

“Is that a question or…”

“No.”

“No what?”

She could smell his soap and see the stubble along his jaw, and she lost her breath suddenly, looking at his lips.

Josh was gazing at her like he might just lean down and close the distance. But then a horn wailed, and the spell broke. Amy sucked in a sharp breath. Had he really been about to kiss her?

Josh was now glaring at a pickup truck that had stopped on the side of the road. Two men hopped out of the truck and came over to greet them.