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“I understand, though. He was protecting you.”
“There are times people need to be given the benefit of the doubt.” I was talking as much about her mom and my dad as I was about Press.
While I wanted to get the conversation we needed to have over with, I didn’t want to have it over the phone. As much as I wished it weren’t necessary, I was relieved when he insisted my mom and him cut their trip short. As Tryst had said, whatever had happened was big enough that it stood between Sera and me. Once everything was out in the open, I planned to confess my feelings for her and hoped she felt the same.
Press made it obvious he wanted to come along, but it wasn’t necessary to take two cars, so he’d be following us needlessly.
“I’ll see to it Sorcha invites you to dinner,” I offered.
“Tonight?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
The drivefrom Seahorse to Butler Ranch took a little over thirty minutes. When we pulled up to the main house, Jada Yáñez and her mother were sitting on the front porch, talking with Doc’s parents.
“Sorcha, give the girl a moment to breathe,” Laird called after his wife when she rushed down the steps and over to the SUV.
“You could be more hospitable,” she shouted over her shoulder at him. “Come and get their bags, for goodness’ sake.”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Butler. If you tell me where they should go, I can manage,” I said.
“It’s Sorcha, Noah Ridge, and my Laird can help.”
I figured there wasn’t much point in arguing with her, especially after Laird took Luisa’s bag and motioned with his head for me to follow with her mother’s.
“Best to let Sorcha get everyone feeling comfortable,” he said when we got to the first of two Scottish-style stone cottages, both two-storied replications of the main house. “Sorcha and I are right next door, if the ladies need anything,” he added.
“Oh, I thought Naughton lived in one of these.”
“He did, but when he married and the baby was born, my wife insisted they move into the main house. She says it’s less upkeep for her in the smaller one, but I know what she was really after was for Naughton and Bradley to stay on here and raise their family.”
“They have one child, right?”
“Aye. A boy they call Charlie. But another’s on the way.”
“Congratulations. That’s wonderful news.”
“Mark my words, soon your mother and father will start pestering you to give them grandchildren.”
“No doubt.” I chuckled and followed him inside.
There was a time, not long ago, when those words would’ve felt like a knife to my heart. Now, instead of thinking about Alex and Maddox, Sera was the first person who came to mind, and I wondered if she wished to have a family. It was one of so many things I had to talk to her about. However, until I was sure she wanted this attraction between us to turn into more, I’d curb my enthusiasm.
“There are three bedrooms on the second floor. We’ll put all the bags in the largest and let the ladies decide who will stay where. When they do, you can move them.”
I smiled and nodded.
By the timewe returned to the porch, Sorcha and her daughter-in-law Bradley had brought two platters of food.
“Can I help with anything?” I asked.
“Aye,” Sorcha answered. “You and Laird can get the rest.”
I followed the grumbling man into the house, where there were two more platters plus one tray holding plates, napkins, and utensils and another with a pitcher of lemonade and glasses.
“There’ll be no going hungry if my wife has anything to say about it.”
“You’re both very generous.”
