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He raised an eyebrow at her as he leaned back next to her. “I think I’m going to sit here and think on it a bit.”
A laugh escaped her. “Good idea. I’ll join you.”
Their hands were next to each other’s on the bench between them. Luke shifted, and the side of his hand brushed against hers.
He looked out over the valley and let out a small sigh. “You have a great laugh.”
Kaylee swallowed, the compliment catching her off-guard. She expected him to say something about ranching or how pretty the view was. A quiet, “Thank you,” was all she could muster in reply.
“It’s been nice to have some laughter around. To hear it on the farm again. Not that Dean and I don’t josh around and have a good time. We do. And Emma is adorable. But I guess, I mean, you know, a woman’s laughter.” He continued to stare out at the sky, but his pinkie looped over hers. “It’s nice. I like it.”
She didn’t know what to say. Her brain couldn’t function enough to produce words. All she could think about was the pressure of his finger as it rested over hers. It was the smallest movement, the slightest touch, but it was a huge action that spoke volumes.
Luke’s voice had dropped to a whisper, but she heard his next words as if he’d shouted them through a megaphone. “I like you.”
Terrified to move her hand, she didn’t want to ruin this moment. It felt important. Like more important than anything that had happened to her in years.
This was the kind of massive romantic gesture she wrote about, but those things didn’t happen to her. Sure she’d held a man’s hand, but this one tiny touch felt like something so much more. Like it was a question or more like an offer. And she knew her response could make or break this one special instant of time.
What would Sassy do?
Okay, Sassy would probably grab Luke by the collar and plant a kiss on his gorgeous mouth. But no amount of channeling her heroine could make her do that. But maybe she could still do something. Something a little Sassy with a splash of Kaylee.
Her mind threw out ahere goes nothing, but this wasn’t nothing.
Here goes everything.
She curled her pinkie around his, locking their two fingers in something as close to an embrace as she could get. Then she forced her lips to move. “I like you too.”
She hadn’t realized how tense his shoulders were until they loosened as he relaxed against the bench.
They didn’t say anything more, didn’t even look at each other, just sat there, pinkies linked and looking out over the view of the valley.
She wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, could have been five minutes, could have been ten. She would have stayed for hours, until her hand cramped and her arm fell asleep, but apparently Cooper had other ideas.
He’d been laying at Luke’s feet until a ground squirrel poked its head out from between the rocks. The dog leapt up and chased the squirrel back into its hiding spot then trotted back to Luke and Kaylee. He jumped up onto the bench between them, breaking their connection, as he wiggled his butt and tried to lick Luke’s face first then Kaylee’s.
“Come on, buddy,” Luke said, wrapping his arm around the dog. “Settle down.”
Cooper wiggled and squirmed some more, squashing himself into a tight circle between them and laid his head on Kaylee’s thigh. He peered up at her with big brown eyes that expressed how truly sorry he was.
“Aww, he’s so cute,” she said, ruffling the fur around his neck. “I’ll forgive you anything, Cooper.”
Luke gave the dog’s head a scrub with his palm then pushed up from the bench. “We should probably head back. I need to get Max brushed and get cleaned up before we head into town for the rodeo.”
“Yeah, sure.” Kaylee stood and brushed the dust from her jeans. She could have sat there with Luke all day. Not just because she was loving his company,andalmost holding his hand, but because she wasn’t ready to face getting back on the horse again. Her heart thundered just thinking about it. The only good thing about it was having Luke’s arms wrapped around her as he held the reins. Thatalmostmade up for the terror of getting back in the saddle.
The rodeo stands were starting to fill up later that night as Kaylee and Luke found an empty spot in the bleachers. Their hands were full of fry bread tacos and napkins, and they each had a bottle of pop tucked under their arm.
“I’m kind of glad I lost the bet so I got to choose where we ate. You’re gonna love these things,” Luke told her, taking her pop and setting both bottles on the concrete by their feet. “They’re greasy and messy, but man are they delicious.”
“Then it seems like I won all the way around.” Kaylee peeled back the foil and inhaled the scent of chili powder and fried dough. She wasn’t sure about them when Luke suggested the idea, but her mouth watered as she watched the guy ladle chili and cheese on the flat bread then fold it in half like a taco. Taking a tentative bite, she groaned at the burst of flavor.
“Told ya,” Luke said, grinning around a mouth full of fry bread.
“I’m not sure you’ll be able to talk me into that fried cheesecake you mentioned, but this is amazing.”
She settled in next to him, aware of how close his shoulder was to hers as they watched the rodeo come to life in front of them. She’d just taken her last bite when the announcer’s voice boomed through the loudspeaker welcoming them to the Bartlett Annual Rodeo.
