AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She didn’t quite believe him, but she wasn’t going to argue.
“So this is it.” Simon whistled when the Bannon Ranch came into view.
Nova hadn’t been here in a long time, but it looked the same as she remembered it—and it was still a busy place. People and horses moved to and fro across the giant yard, and one dog ran around as if he were in charge.
“Thank you for the ride,” she said as soon as the truck stopped. She put her hand on the door handle.
“Are you sure? You really want me to just leave you here?”
Was he angling for an invite? “You want to stay with me?”
His eyes widened in something like horror. “Not really, but...”
Oh, so maybe he was just worried about her. “I’ll be fine.” She got out of the truck and turned to face the main house. That had to be where Brooke lived now, right?
Nova had been friends with Brooke Winding since they were toddlers. They had briefly reconnected in church over the last few weeks.
Nova had been kind of bowled over by the fact that Brooke had married a Bannon. That seemed to go against everything she knew about her old friend, but love was a weird thing sometimes. They hadn’t had much chance to talk in church, and that was more her fault than Brooke’s. She didn’t like being around the Bannons. They made her feel somehow less than, and she didn’t have the energy for that right now.
No one was paying her any mind, as if strange women showed up in their yard all the time. She didn’t want to be so presumptuous as to knock on the front door, so she strode toward the barn, trying to look purposeful, and hoping to run into someone who could help her locate Brooke.
A handsome man with long, dark, silver-flecked braids stepped out into her path. His worn cowboy hat somehow made him look regal. “Can I help you?”
She smiled brightly, trying to look like she belonged there. “Hi, my name is Nova Silvernail and I’m an old friend of Brooke’s. I just got back into town, and I was wondering if she was around.”
The man looked somewhat amused, but he was hard to read. “Let me go check.” He held up one finger. “One minute.”
She watched him walk toward the large main house and then subtly trailed him. She didn’t want him to worry that she was going to follow him into the house, but she didn’t want to stand there twiddling her thumbs either.
The man went inside, and Nova tried to be patient as she waited.
She didn’t have to wait long.
The man reappeared and waved her inside. By the time she reached the door, Brooke had filled it. She had a toddler in one arm, and she wrapped the other arm around Nova, pulling her in for a hug and a squeal. “It’s about time you came to visit!” Brooke released her and shut the door before waving her into a living room with too many people in it. Nova managed to suppress a groan.
“Nova, you remember Finn and Grace.”
Finn smiled.
Grace smiled at her and held up her left hand. “We’re married now!”
Wow, it seemed marrying a Bannon was the thing to do these days. “Congratulations.”
“And this is my stepson, David,” Brooke said.
The lanky teenager looked far too old to be Brooke’s stepson, but Callum had been quite a bit older than them—maybe even the same age as her Gunner.
Brooke offered Nova a seat. “It’s awesome to see you, but I don’t have much time. I’m riding into Rapid with Callum in a little bit. We could plan for some other time, though?” WhenNova didn’t immediately answer, Brooke added hastily, “I know you’re busy, so it doesn’t have to be soon.”
Nova cleared her throat. “I would love to get together, but I’m here this morning because I...” She really didn’t want to do this in front of an audience, even a small one.
Brooke’s eyes questioned her.
“I just wanted to ask some advice.”
“Okay!” Brooke said brightly. “About what?”
Finn rubbed his hands together and said, “I give excellent advice.”
