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This time, Ella threw back her head and laughed. “Alright, alright already. I get it. You got a taste of stardom and there’s no turning back. We might as well hit the road because you’re on your way to being famous. Am I right?”
“Nope.”
“Nope?” Ella found his gaze once more. It was as if an entire conversation passed between them in that moment. He felt herheart, he heard her desires, he knew what she wanted, and it was the same thing as him.
“Nope,” he confirmed. “We’re not going anywhere if I can help it. We’ll stay right here in Copper Creek and grow old together. How does that sound?”
“That sounds nice,” she replied.
They’d gotten closer and closer to the point that their noses nearly touched. Her eyes fluttered shut and he took one last step to close the space between them.
“So… this is really happening…” a voice interrupted them.
Ella broke away from him, a gasp tearing from her throat. Taven stood at Lucas’s side, a contemplative expression on his face. Then he glanced at Lucas and sighed. “Seriously, man? Her?”
Lucas felt the heat boiling within him, ready to explode. He wasn’t about to let Taven tear a rift between them a second time. But before he could put his friend in his place, Ella stepped forward.
“Yes.Seriously. Apparently, you don’t have a knack for reading a room because what he just did on that stage couldn’t have been clearer.” She took Lucas’s hand in hers and held onto it so tight that he nearly lost all circulation. “If you can’t support him, then you can’t consider yourself a friend. That goes for making snide comments about me. You’re an adult. Act like it. Preschoolers have better manners than you do.”
Lucas bit back a laugh at the shock Taven wore. When his friend set that surprised look on him, all he could do was shrug and say, “You heard her. I would be careful what you say next.”
Taven’s jaw tightened as he shifted his focus to Ella. “You better not break his heart. I’m not very good at picking up the pieces, but I’ve done my fair share of retaliation.” With that threat hanging in the air, Taven muttered something about finding his date as he wandered off.
Lucas watched him go, chuckling as he turned to Ella. “That was… unexpected.”
“I don’t know what got into me,” Ella laughed. “I just… I couldn’t take it anymore.” She winced, turning into him and pressing her face into his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“If you didn’t do it, I was going to. He needs to know where he belongs. And as it stands, he could use a refresher on manners.”
She laughed into his shirt, peeking up at him.
“Now, where were we? Oh yeah…” Lucas dipped low to brush a gentle kiss to her lips. “Better than I remembered,” he murmured, then kissed her again.
EPILOGUE
Six Months Later
Ella
“Where is that sheet of drywall?” Ella called. “I thought you said you were going to bring it right away.” She glanced over her shoulder, not surprised to find the room empty.
Lucas had enlisted a couple of his brothers to help with the house renovation. The crew they’d used on the barn wasn’t as easily swayed to help this time around.
Her father had approved of renovating the old home on the same property as the barn, but had he denied her request to keep the house for herself. But that didn’t matter. As her relationship with Lucas continued to get more serious, she had a feeling that they’d be finding their own place in the near future. From the sound of it, Lucas was hoping to stay close to home and help his brothers with the ranch.
Ella sighed, turning fully from the wall they’d been sheet rocking. “Hello? That drywall? Is anyone going to bring it to me? We’re nearly done for today.” She moved toward the door and out onto the porch. It was one of the first things they’d fixed up—mostly so they didn’t worry about falling through the floorboards as they entered the house with their supplies.
One of Lucas’s brothers sat on the steps and his eyes cut up to meet hers when she stopped in the doorway. “You looking for Lucas?”
She held a hand to shield the afternoon sun from getting into her eyes as she stared out at the supply trailer. “Yeah. He said he was getting me a sheet of drywall. Have you seen him?” Her eyes dropped back down to look at Mason. “I thought you were all heading out an hour ago?”
Mason lifted a book he held in his lap. “I was just doing some reading. Lucas said he’d take me to town so I could get the next book in the series.”
Ella couldn’t find the words to the sudden jumble of thoughts that accosted her. Lucas had a brother who liked to read? She knew Lucas had a hard time in school when he was younger. She’d assumed most of the Keagan children experienced the same thing. Apparently, one was able to find joy in literature.
She settled down on the porch beside him and motioned to the book. “What are you reading?”
Mason turned over the book, showing the cover. There was a man in a space suit standing beside a cat on what appeared to be Mars. He chuckled at her blank expression. “I know it’s weird. I like the science fiction stuff the most, but I do read other things, too.”
