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“Why not?”
He folded his napkin and tossed it on the table. “Where I come from, it’s… well, it’s different. Some of the smartest people I’ve met here would be seen as no-account rednecks down there.”
“Good thing you’re here, then.”
Austen hitched forward, leaning his elbow on the corner of the table closest to me. “I think so. Even with all the annoying things that have been happening, I’m glad to be here.”
I rested my chin on my hand and smiled. “By ‘here,’ are you still talking about the town?”
“I was kind of referring to this table, right now.” His eyes wandered over my face, and his expression warmed. “I was starting to think you’d never give me the time of day. What made you come over tonight?”
“I guess I decided…” I tilted my head and quoted that note, the one I had already memorized. “… maybe it was time to take that chance.”
His brows lowered, and he smiled politely. “Which chance?”
“Well…” I gestured between us. “You said you wouldn’t intrude, so it was up to me to say something.”
Austen’s gaze grew misty, and he nodded slowly. “I don’t recall saying that, but…”
“In your note. The one in my box.”
“Ah! The note! That’s right.” He frowned and looked thoughtful. “I sort of forgot what it said.”
“I didn’t. It was the sweetest thing anyone’s ever given me.”
Austen leaned back in his chair. “Better even than flowers?”
“Muchbetter than flowers. It was sincere and beautiful and…” I took a sip of my ice water and thought for a second. “And it made me realize how much I’d missed. I’ve probably dated too many deadbeats because I’d gotten to the point that nothing impressed me anymore. But your note did.”
His expression had turned somehow fragile, curious, and maybe even bemused, and he sighed a gentle, “Oh.”
“So, I guess that’s it. Everyone has their thing. I didn’t realize it, but apparently, I’m all about pretty notes and poems and fanciful ideas of old-time romance. You know, the fairy tale bit.”
“Knights in shining armor,” he supplied.
I gave him a half smile. “I guess so. Does that make me cheesy?”
“It makes you beautiful.” He held out his hand in the space between us, his fingers curled to catch mine. When I cautiously rested my hand on his, he lifted it to his lips. “I hope you give me a chance to saddle that white horse for you, Jess Thompkins.”
My heart started beating faster. “You don’t need a white horse. Just speak to me from your heart like you did in that note. That’s all I really want.”
His hand clasped mine. “Can I see you again tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
Dusty
“I need help. Bad.”
I sighed at Austen’s voice on the phone, but I rubbed my eyes and tried to keep the impatience out of my voice. He wasn’t my favorite person this morning. “What’s going on today?”
“Dude. It’s Jess.”
Cold fever swept through me.Not Jess. Please, not Jess.I’d waited too long one time too many, and now when I’d finally worked up the nerve to ask for her love, she’d gone and fallen for Austen. I swallowed and drew a shaky breath. “What about her?”
“It’s so wild. So, after you left last night, she stayed for a while, right? We talked a lot, and I reallyreallylike her.”
I felt dizzy. Numbly, I reached back to feel for a hay bale and dropped shakily onto it. He couldn’t be after Jess. Not her! I’d help him with anything he wanted. I’d spend all my spare time helping him get his ranch into shape and get a good start. But I couldn’t just watch him sweep in and steal her.
