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Gina smiled to herself as she got started on a second batch of peanut butter cookies, her mind imagining the gift Blake might get her for her birthday—and it included diamonds.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Todd left his jacket hanging on the back of the chair. It wasn’t cool enough to warrant wearing it yet, though autumn had arrived in Chestnut Springs and on the Texas Longhorn Ranch. A sigh of relief moved through him, though his work never really ebbed and flowed the way it did for those who worked in the lodge.
Animals always needed to be fed. Crops always needed to be tended to. Machinery was always breaking down.
Today, though, Todd wasn’t going to deal with any of that. Today, Todd was leaving his cabin and going to one elsewhere on the ranch. He’d pick up Laura there, and their first stop of the day was brunch at The Sunflower Café.
He adored the eggs Benedict there, with country ham and an extra side of biscuits and gravy. His stomach hadn’t been well for the past twenty-four hours, and he prayed he could calm it enough to eat by the time they arrived at the café.
“You’re cool,” he muttered to himself. Laura had seemed just as interested in getting together off the ranch as he was. They worked together well, and she’d brought up their date a couple of times before he finally picked a date and approached her about it.
Everything that was hard for him to say out loud was easy to text, and Todd had gotten the date on the calendar through typing instead of talking. Laura didn’t seem to mind that, because they still talked plenty.
He saw her every day around the ranch, and he couldn’t wait to see what she’d wear to leave it. His heart thundered in his chest, the kind of thunder that hung in the Texas sky and grumbled for a full minute. He’d probably need to have that checked if it continued.
Outside, Azure lay on the porch, and the dog got to his feet as Todd came near. “Morning, bud.” He bent down and scratched Azure’s face and head, all the way behind his ears. “You’re gonna stay here today. You can get over to the barn and go out with Sierra. She’s runnin’ things today.”
He’d had to tell his youngest sister about the date, but he hadn’t disclosed who it was with. Sierra wasn’t stupid, though, and she’d guessed Laura on the first try. He did share an office with her, and he did text Laura quite often from the safety of his desk.
“How did you know?” he asked Sierra.
“You smile when she texts,” Sierra had said wearing her own smile. “It’s cute. You clearly like her.”
“Yeah.” Todd hadn’t seen any reason to deny it, and he told himself not to be too obvious as he drove past the family cabins and out onto the main ranch road. He went past the main lodge, the concert barn, the road out to the guest cabins, and finally turned onto another dirt road that led out to cowboy cabins. Two or three of them usually shared, and Laura currently lived with a woman named Josie Ross. She worked in the lodge as a Guest Relations Specialist, and she helped out in the evenings with any events that required parking or ushering.
Todd knew her well enough, as she’d been at the lodge about a year now. He pulled up to Laura and Josie’s cabin, wishing he could see through logs. He couldn’t, so he got out and made the quick walk up the steps to the door. He knocked, suddenly worried that it sounded too aggressive.
Only a few seconds later, Laura opened the door. “Howdy, stranger,” she said with a wide smile. She wore a pair of clean jeans, cowgirl boots, and a blouse the color of ripe strawberries. In fact, it had little black seeds all over it, and Todd could only stare at her.
Her hair had once again been clipped back on the sides, and she wore something on her face he’d never seen before: makeup.
“I must have two noses,” she said, stepping out onto the porch. “For how hard you’re staring at me.”
He blinked and backed up. “Sorry,” he said with a little shake of his head. “You look so great this morning.”
“Thank you.” She scanned him from hat to boot and said, “So do you.”
He turned, and they faced the world together. He suddenly felt strong with her at his side, and he said, “I thought we’d go to brunch at The Sunflower Café. Have you been there before?”
“Nope,” she said.
She wasn’t from Chestnut Springs, and Todd actually liked that. He’d get to share his town with her over time, and he held her door while she got in the truck. “It’s about twenty-five minutes,” he said.
“I have driven to town before,” she said.
Todd chuckled and got the truck moving. “Yeah, so I’m a little nervous.”
Laura turned fully toward him. “Why is that, Todd?”
He glanced at her. “Why am I nervous?”
“Yeah.”
“Because.” He tightened his fingers on the wheel and refused to look at her again. “You’re beautiful and smart, and honestly, Laura, you’re out of my league. I’m just waitin’ for you to realize it and prayin’ you don’t at the same time.”
She didn’t laugh the way he expected her to, and he finally glanced over to her. “I’m just happy to be going out with you,” she said. “You’re handsome and smart too, Todd. Maybe I’m the lucky one.”
