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Her face fell.
"Dad wants to show it to Cort."
"Like he knows anything about running this place." She rolled her eyes.
"Still, if Big Brother gives his stamp of approval, maybe it still has a chance."
"You never know, miracles may happen."
His phone buzzed on his desk. He looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was Liam. "I better take this."
Paulina gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and left.
"How'd it go?"
JT blew out a heavy breath and leaned back in his chair. "It's not totally dead in the water, but if you have any projects come up in the next month, don't turn them down on my account."
"Sorry to hear that. I don't know how you do it, working with family like that."
"More and more lately, I'm wondering how I do it, too."
He hated to admit it, but lately he was wondering if he'd made the right choice in coming back here. When he'd made the decision five years ago, it had seemed so clear—there was nothing else he could imagine doing with his life. But now that reality had settled in, he wondered if he could face the constant frustration and having to fight tooth and nail to change even the smallest of things.
"Not to sound morbid, but eventually they'll get too old to interfere."
"Funny, your sister said the exact same thing the other night. I just don't know if I have it in me to sit on my hands for the next twenty or thirty years. I'm a patient man, but not that patient."
"So, you and my sister… how's that all going? You sure looked cozy the other night."
"Is this the part where you warn me off her again?"
"Nah. Tried that already, and it didn't work. Besides, for the first time in a long time she actually looks happy again. So what the fuck do I know? Just don't go all agro and desperate like you did with Melanie."
JT winced at his friend's choice in words, but of course, he was right. Desperation was exactly what had fueled many of his decisions when it came to Melanie.
JT hung up and reflected that it was that urgency, that desperation, that was missing with Colleen.
With Colleen, everything felt comfortable, easy. Maybe it was because he knew he had to take his time and not rush things with her. Maybe because he didn't feel like he had to sell her on the ranch and the small-town lifestyle. Maybe it was because after what he'd experienced, he'd learned to let things unfold in their own time, the way they were supposed to.
All he could do was focus on the present, and appreciate that Colleen was with him now, rather than worry about a time in the future that she wasn't. All he could do was focus on the time they spent together, enjoy the small victories and baby steps they were making in their relationship.
Like the fact that ever since she'd kissed his cheek and let him hold her hand at the dance, she'd been more open about them being together. No more furtive touches and secret glances when they were out in public. Now she regularly squeezed his arm, held his hand, and gave him a kiss hello when he walked into the bar, uncaring of who was watching.
And then, of course, there was their trip to Billings coming up in two days. As a romantic destination, Billings was far from the top of his list, but they might as well be going to Paris given how much he was looking forward to it.
He was falling in love with her, no doubt about it. And though she would never in a million years admit it—yet—the way her face lit up when he walked into the room, the way she clutched him to her at night and slept curled in his arms, told him she was right there with him.
His patience was paying off, he could feel it. He just hoped that, unlike with his family, that patience would pay off a hell of a lot sooner.
Colleen sat in the passenger seat of JT's truck, her clammy hands twisted in a knot in her lap. They were parked in front of a ten-story building where Colleen's lawyer's office was located.
"It's going to be okay," JT said and reached over to cover her hands with his.
"I know, it's just paperwork, right? Nothing to be nervous about."
But they both knew the paperwork wasn't what she was nervous about. Her heart was racing, her stomach was churning, and her hands were cold and sweaty because she would be seeing Gregory in person for the first time since she'd moved back to Big Timber.
After their split, when she was still working at the hospital with Gregory, she would see him—and Angela—several times a week despite the fact that they all worked in different departments. Every time, it had been like a punch in the gut. Colleen remembered what a victory it felt like the first time the encounter didn't send her to the bathroom to cry.
