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“We do trust you,” Justin spoke up. “And we all have respect for the law in this house.”
I was pretty sure by his tone and the look he gave his niece that the last part of his message was aimed squarely at Janessa. I saw her bristle and was worried she might speak out again—not that I could really blame her, of course. She was just trying to do what she thought was right for the ranch and her animals. That certainly wasn’t a crime.
“This meal was so good,” I said, maybe a little too loudly. Definitely not a smooth transition to a new topic, but whatever. “I hope everyone saved room for peach cobbler, though. It’s a recipe from Janessa’s grandmother, isn’t that right?”
Janessa gave me a look that was somewhere between irritated and amused. “That’s right,” she said, finally. “I just hope we did it justice, because my granny’s peach cobbler was the best I’ve ever tasted in my life.”
“It sounds amazing,” Boone said, giving her a warm smile.
“I can’t wait,” Cade added.
Yeah, those two had it bad for her. God, it really was written all over their faces. I loved seeing it, though. Janessa deserved that kind of happiness, especially after the past twelve months. Losing her parents, cutting college short to come back and take over the running of the ranch with the help of her uncle, and now all of this craziness with poisonings and fires and not knowing who she could trust in town anymore… yeah, she deserved a break.
“I think dessert sounds like a great idea,” Prescott said, finally smiling again after the tense conversation. “And if I know you, Janessa, you’ve done your grandmother proud.”
We could all agree on that point, at least.
And cobbler.
Thank goodness—and Granny Thoreson—for the cobbler.
* * *
Dinner was great. Dessert was even better. And afterward, walking around the Thoresons’ ranch at sunset with my two guys?
Heaven.
“I have to admit,” I said, looking up at my guys on either side of me as we walked hand-in-hand down by the horse stables. “I never thought I’d say it, but this place is really starting to grow on me.”
Both guys looked at me with expressions that were equally surprised and amused. I’d honestly never really been much of a “city girl,” but I’d made no secret of the fact that there were still a few luxuries of city life that I’d been missing during my stay in Bliss.
Like having food delivered from my favorite restaurants.
Or being able to see a movie without driving forty-five minutes to a town large enough to support a theater.
Or buying my clothes from a store that doesn’t also sell live fishing bait.
Just the little things.
“That’s music to my ears,” Cole said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “Are you really considering a move, beautiful?”
“You know we’d be the first ones volunteering to help you settle in,” Prescott added. “But yeah, I didn’t even realize something like this was even on your radar.”
“Well, it wasn’t really on my radar until—”I met the two of you. I started to think about the future. I realized how good we were together. “Until recently. But the more I think about it, the more I could see myself living in a nice little farmhouse with a couple of acres. Maybe with a few chickens. Maybe even a horse.”
“A few acres, hmm?” Prescott smiled and looked over at Cole. “A couple of horses? Some chickens… interesting…”
I looked from Prescott to Cole and back again. “Why do I get the feeling there’s some sort of inside joke happening right now? What am I missing?”
Cole’s cheeks flushed a little, but he was smiling when he looked at me. “My family owns some land a few miles from here. It’s nothing like Triple J or the other big ranches in the area, but it’s still a nice little spread. We have some horses. Cattle. Pigs. Chickens.”
“Really?” I felt the excitement bubbling up inside me. “You’ve never mentioned any of those things!” Then I frowned as another thought hit me. “Is it not something you’re interested in? Is that why you’re a lawman instead of a rancher?”
Not that it was a big deal to me either way. My fledgling dream of living in a farmhouse and having a few cute animals had only even been in existence for a few days. But Cole and Prescott had definitely been a part of that dream. A big part.
I could make some adjustments, though, depending on whattheirdreams were.
“Nah, it isn’t that I don’t want to be involved with the ranch,” Cole said as the three of us stopped to look across the pasture where the horses were lazily grazing. “I’ll inherit a piece of it someday, and I’ll be proud to take care of it and hopefully pass it down myself, eventually.”
