Page 53 of Tessa and Nash

Rose’s eyes glitter. “You’ve been humming.”

I glare. “I don’t hum.”

Dallas drifts in from the kitchen, calm as a fence post. “You hum.”

“Everybody stop talking,” I mutter.

Tessa’s hand slides lightly onto my forearm.

Just a touch.

Just enough.

My shoulders ease without my permission.

Mom steps closer and extends her hand to Tessa. It’s the handshake of a woman who has held this ranch together with stubbornness and grit and sheer will.

Tessa takes it without flinching.

They hold each other’s grip for a beat too long, both of them measuring.

Then Mom’s face shifts into what kinda might be approval.

Relief hits me so fast it almost knocks me backward.

“Well,” Mom says, “you’re welcome here.”

Faith bounces on the balls of her feet, seconds from combusting. “Okay. How long have you been engaged?”

“We’re… newly,” I say, because that’s a word, apparently.

Rose squeals. “Did he propose in some dramatic way?”

“No,” I say quickly.

Tessa answers at the same time, “It was private.”

Her voice is calm. Her smile is easy. She slides her hand into mine as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

My brain short-circuits.

Her hand is warm. Her fingers fit. And my whole body goes tight and hot. I squeeze back before I can stop myself. Tessa’s thumb strokes once over my knuckle. A tiny movement. A quiet signal.

Boone appears in the doorway, a shadow made of shoulders and suspicion. He takes in the scene in one sweep: Tessa, the ring, our joined hands, and his gaze lands on me.

Boone doesn’t react the way normal people do. He just looks.

And he might as well be reading my insides.

“Congratulations,” he says.

Dallas leans against the counter, Lila half hidden behind him, watching with those sharp little eyes she uses on strangers. Dallas’s expression stays calm, but his eyes are awake.

Too awake.

Ellie slips into the room behind Rose, peeking around her mom’s side. Her gaze goes straight to Tessa’s ring.

“Is that real?” Ellie asks.