AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You better,” Edith said, but Jill only had eyes for Slate. She watched him nod with his cowboy hat toward the back door, and she hopped right to following him, her glass of sweet tea firmly clenched in her fingers.
She didn’t care that it was still hot outside, despite the sun being almost all the way down. She took a drink of her tea and was instantly refreshed.
“Here’s the farm,” he said, using the box of cookies to sweep the landscape in front of him.
“Where’s your grandfather?” she asked.
“He wasn’t feeling well,” Slate said, that frown appearing between his eyes again. “You’ll have to meet him another time.”
“Did you…?” She paused but decided that she had to ask. “Did you have a good visit this afternoon?”
“Yeah,” he said, blowing out his breath. “You know? It wasn’t bad.” He looked at her, everything tense in his face softening. “There’s a great place to watch the sun set on the other side of that barn. You want to brave the walk in this heat?”
“To that barn?” Jill indicated the one probably fifty yards away. “I think I can do it.” In her flirtier days, she’d have dared him to beat her there, and then she would’ve raced him, giggling and flirting until they jostled for a spot to watch the sun go down. Hopefully, he would’ve grabbed onto her at some point, and then she’d end up holding his hand and leaning into his side as another day went to sleep.
Today, though, she just went down the steps from the back porch and started along the cobbled path that led out to the farm. The grass grew in between the stones, and Jill found the whole scene before her full of charm and small-town goodness.
She paused when she got to the barn, which was painted red and white, just like the happily-ever-after movies she watched at Christmastime. She smiled at Slate as he opened the door, and she didn’t let him take more than a few steps before she joined him. She couldn’t hold his hand as he carried his tea and the cookies, but the moment she could, she was going to try. Oh, yes, she was going to hold this handsome cowboy’s hand again tonight if it was the last thing she did.
