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She found Trey and Beth Dixon standing just outside the front door. Beth reached up with her good hand and ran it through her hair. Tam could see Trey’s face, but not Beth’s.
“This is not charity,” he said. “Can you please not argue with me about everything?”
Beside her, Blaine tensed, which caused Tam to do so as well. He stopped toeing them back and forth too, and the farmhouse seemed to hold its breath.
“I’m trying,” Beth said. “This is very hard for me.”
“I know.” Trey’s eyes stormed as he looked at Beth. “It was hard for me to come here too, Beth.” He looked past her and saw Blaine. His eyes widened, but Blaine put one finger to his lips.
“I meant to say yes yesterday,” Beth said, and that took Trey’s attention straight back to her. “I was so surprised when you asked me out, and I was saying no, I didn’t need you to help with a babysitter for TJ. My dad can take him anytime.” She reached up, her hand hovering between her and Trey.
“You said no twice,” he said, his back straight but his head down. It was clear Beth wanted him to take her hand, but he didn’t.
“The second one was that it wasn’t okay for you to leave.”
Trey looked so hopeful, and Tam wanted to yell at him to take the woman’s hand. He finally did, and he lifted it to his lips, where he pressed a kiss to her wrist. He said something else to her that wasn’t loud enough for Tam to hear, and he gathered Beth into his arms.
A soft smile touched his lips as his eyes drifted closed, and Blaine leaned his head down. “He’s been telling me about this woman he’s liked for months. Guess I know who it is now.”
“He likes her so much,” Tam said, finding the scene in front of her so sweet. “They’re so cute. Look at them.”
“I’m lookin’ at ‘em,” Blaine said, pushing against the deck with his foot again. “Tam, I think we should go look at rings.”
She looked up at him, shock traveling through her body. “Really?”
“Really.” He smiled at her. “What are we waiting for?”
Tam didn’t know what he was waiting for; she was waiting for him to ask her. She kissed him, but it only lasted a few seconds, because Trey said, “Stop kissing, you two. You’re not here for a romantic interlude in the swing. There’s work to do.”
She grinned at Trey and stood up. “Yes, sir,” she said. “Where do you want us?”
16
Blaine pulled into the next jewelry store, peering up through the windshield at the sign. It seemed to have been knocked askew, and the fact that it was located in a strip mall next to a chicken restaurant didn’t ease his mind.
He couldn’t believe he’d told Tam they should go ring shopping. His heart hopped around in his chest, almost like it was trying to flee.
She’d been extraordinarily busy the past couple of weeks, because fall seemed to be the time that cowboys wanted new gear. Harvests were getting pulled in; pregnant mares were well into their gestation periods; fields were prepared or almost prepared for winter.
Late autumn was when the cowboys around Bluegrass Ranch made sure all the fences were ready for possible snow too. All the roofs on all the buildings serviced. Tack got inspected and thrown away if it was worn out, new items purchased, and everything cleaned.
If a cowboy or a cowgirl wanted a new custom saddle, they ordered from Tam. If they wanted new saddlebags, they ordered from Tam. If they had a significant other who would like anything made out of leather for the upcoming holidays, they ordered from Tam.
She was always slammed from September to February, her workload actually easing after Valentine’s Day and through the summer.
She hadn’t brought up ring shopping again, as she’d been working seven days a week. Blaine often went to her shop and sat with her while she sculpted and sanded, threaded and sewed, carved and created.
He was plenty busy around the ranch, as their annual yearling sale approached. Stands were getting rebuilt and refinished, buyers were being invited, and the horses were getting prepped.
Spur, Blaine, and Cayden had plans to start going through their stock and deciding what to sell and what to keep. They made a lot in sales every year, but they also kept horses, trained them, and entered them in the big races too. Plenty of money there as well.
He’d finished her porch project, but he hadn’t shown it to her yet. Neither of them had spoken about diamond rings or engagements or a wedding.
Today, he’d told her he needed to pick up some lumber for one of the barns on the ranch, which was one hundred percent true. He’d also collected a load of lumber for her front porch, and he’d decided to scope out the top three jewelers in Dreamsville. They could go to Lexington if she didn’t see anything in town she liked, and while Blaine didn’t know what kind of ring Tam would like, he hadn’t been able to determine which store was best besides his overall impressions from the outside.
This one was definitely at the bottom of his list.
His stomach growled though, so he got out of the truck and approached the store. He’d see what the customer service was like, and then he’d get a chicken sandwich. Perhaps this place did have all the details right.
