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“Ah, I see. And Dave and Will, they like your dad?”
“Yep,” she said. “He raised them for a lot of years. The only thing that’s different is the last name.”
Kyle nodded, thinking back to yesterday about how she’d said his family was huge and loud. Hers wasn’t small by any means. Four siblings, plus her. Three of them were married with children, and that was more than his family. They’d be loud if they got all together too.
The difference was, his family worked and lived together all the time. They were constantly in each other’s business, and they had upwards of eighty guests on the ranch during peak season too. Plus the men and women they employed at the lodge, for activities, concerts, and to actually work the ranch.
So it definitely was a different barrel of monkeys at the Texas Longhorn Ranch.
The rest of the drive happened quickly, with easy conversation about her art lessons this week, and then she pointed to her right. “There’s where I work.”
He looked at the elementary school. The parking lot sat empty, but the golden brick looked well-kept. He smiled. “Fun.”
“And here’s your first real test,” she said, making a left turn. “Meeting Brewster.”
Kyle laughed as the car started bumping down a dirt road. “I’ve met your dog before.”
“At my house,” he said. “For two seconds. This will be different.”
“How so?”
“You’ll see,” she said, and she refused to say more. Kyle looked through the windshield for any sign of the black and white border collie, but he didn’t see him.
Maddy parked the car and said, “Let’s go,” before getting out. Kyle had no choice but to follow her—and pray he’d pass the Brewster test so he could meet her parents with confidence.
ChapterFive
Maddy had enjoyed the drive from Chestnut Springs greatly. Kyle didn’t seem nervous around her today, and she was glad for that. She hadn’t meant to make him nervous, and she supposed she could’ve texted or called to let him know she’d be on his ranch yesterday.
He didn’t love surprises as much as she did, and Maddy tried to rein herself in again as he joined her near the hood of her car. “Brewster is a good judge of character,” she said. She leaned back against the hood, but popped right back to her feet. “Ow. That’s hot.”
Kyle slid his hand along her waist and drew her into his body. He was hot too, but in an entirely different way. She’d worn one of her flirty sundresses today, along with a pair of strappy white sandals, and she hoped the outfit said “carefree and casual,” or “summer and sweet,” and not “trying too hard.”
Kyle had worn a pair of khakis, and she’d never seen him in anything but jeans. Ever. Maybe he was trying hard today too.
“Where is he?” he asked.
“You just have to whistle.” She grinned at him and put up her eyebrows when he finally tilted his head and looked down at her. His cowboy hat shaded them both they stood so close, and Maddy could tip up onto her toes, her mouth seeking his, and he’d kiss her. She’d tasted his lips before, and she found herself dying for a kiss again.
He didn’t lean any further, and then he raised his head, pulled his lips back, and released the loudest, shrillest whistle Maddy had ever heard. He’d demonstrated this for her on his own ranch after boasting that he could get all the horses, dogs, and pigs to come to him within a single second.
They had too. Okay, some of them had taken longer to trot in, but they’d all come as close to Kyle as they could get. He claimed not to spend much time out on the actual ranch part of the Texas Longhorn Ranch, but she’d teased him that he must, because he knew all of the animals’ names, and they clearly knew him.
In the distance, the sound of Brewster’s bark filled the air. He yipped in an irregular pattern, drawing closer and closer to her and Kyle. The front door opened about the same time her dog streaked around the side of the garage at the farmhouse where she’d parked.
“Come on, buddy,” she called, and Brewster barked over and over as he barreled toward them. Laughter filled the air, and it wasn’t only hers. Kyle laughed with her, as did Miles Rawlins.
“He heard you and took off for the sheep pens,” he said. “I had to tell ‘im you were out front.” He kept coming toward them, but Brewster had also arrived, and his whole body trembled with excitement. Maddy crouched down and stroked him, grinning and saying, “Oh, you’re the best boy, aren’t you? Yes, you are. Yes, it’s you.”
The dog kept trying to lick her as she petted him, and she rose to her feet as Miles’s boots crunched across the gravel. “Thanks for keeping him,” she said.
“I told you I’d take him anytime,” Miles said. His smile filled his whole face, and if Maddy had been fifteen or twenty years older, they might’ve made a romantic match. As it was, Miles lived and worked this farm with his two teen sons, his wife having been gone for quite a few years now. “He’s amazing with the chickens and donkeys.” He looked over to Kyle, and Maddy did too.
“Miles, this is my boyfriend, Kyle Stewart.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Miles stuck out his hand. “I didn’t know yous was from around here. I saw you play with another band once.”
“He’s a famous musician,” Maddy said, her voice inching up in pride.
