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“It wasn’t so bad,” Amelia smiled. “I loved having kids in the house, and I’m really excited for grandkids now.
“Hopefully, we’ll get some girls,” Ranger chortled. “We need some estrogen in the house.”
“What you complaining about, Dad?” Beau laughed and then looked at me and then Olivia. “That’s my parents’ way of hinting that they want us to get married and have kids.”
“A personal ad in the paper for a mail-order bride seems like a little bit more than a hint.” Olivia wiggled her eyebrows.
“What would you have done?” Beau looked at her with a curious expression.
“What do you mean?” Olivia was confused. “Do you mean would I have put an ad in the paper if I wanted grandkids?”
“No,” he shook his head. “If you’d seen the ad in the newspaper that my mom placed, would you have responded?”
“Oh, hell no,” Olivia burst out laughing immediately. “Sorry, Lucy. No offense.” She gave me a wry grin.
“No offense taken,” I laughed.
“What if Beau’s photo had been in the ad?” Amelia asked slyly, and Olivia blushed as she looked him over.
“Well, then maybe,” she admitted.
“Now, that’s what I like to hear,” Beau grinned, looking very pleased with himself.
And I had the weirdest feeling in my stomach. Did Beau and Amelia prefer Olivia over me? My best friend was gorgeous, sassy, funny, and intelligent. She also wasn’t coming off as totally desperate, like me. Maybe Amelia was starting to think she’d made a mistake by sending for me. Maybe she didn’t want me as a daughter-in-law after all.
But I didn’t have time to feel too sorry for myself because I suddenly saw Austin standing on the front porch. He was back. I almost jumped out of the car before it stopped completely. And I had to ensure that I didn’t go running to the front porch like an excited little kid. I didn’t want everyone questioning what was going on.
“Austin’s back,” I stated the obvious as he stepped off the porch and walked towards us. He was wearing a white cowboy hat and a pair of snug jeans, and I swallowed hard as I took in his handsome appearance. He was so sexy and gorgeous.
“Wow,” Olivia looked impressed. “He’s quite the snack.”
I shot her a dark look then noticed that Amelia was watching me closely. Oops, she was going to wonder why I was looking so pissed off at Olivia’s comments.
“He’s single as well,” I said painfully, willing Olivia to back off.
“Hey, guys.” Austin walked over to the group and spoke generally, but his eyes were on me.
“Hi. You’re back?” I said hopefully.
“I am,” he nodded and then handed me some wildflowers. “I saw these in the field as I rode back. I thought you might like them.”
I looked at the blue and yellow petals and grinned. “They’re beautiful. Thank you. I’m really touched.”
“They’re called forget-me-nots,” he said softly.
“Could I ever?” I almost whispered, not believing we were having a moment here in front of everyone.
“Come on, children. Let’s go and wash up and then eat.” Amelia took Ranger’s hand as they walked past us towards the house. “Beau, you show Olivia her room,” Amelia said.
“Sure, Mom,” he nodded. He and Olivia exchanged a smile and walked into the house behind Amelia and Ranger.
Austin and I looked at each other for a moment and then followed. “I’ll see you later,” Austin said with a small smile, and I nodded, sad that we had to hide our feelings for each other.
As I made my way to my room, I realized that I was thirsty and wanted a drink. I decided to go to the kitchen to get some water but stopped in the doorway as I realized Amelia and Ranger were in there having a private conversation.
“It is quite obvious to me that they are falling in love,” Amelia sounded excited. “I see a wedding in the near future.”
“Now, now, Amelia. Don’t rush things,” Ranger answered. “We can’t force anything.”
