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Chapter Ten
Jill dashed over to the stable, scanning for Jess along the way. She was supposed to have the horses ready for the sunrise ride Jill had planned for Slate’s birthday. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, though Slate didn’t know exactly why he needed to meet her on the back deck at the Annex at six o’clock either. She’d asked him to be there, and he’d said he would be.
The past couple of weeks since their first date had been easy and casual with him. He’d asked her out to dinner for his birthday, and they had a date that night. She wanted to be the first person to see him in the morning, and the last to see him at night, for his birthday. That was part of her gift for him, actually.
He’d said going to dinner with him would be the best gift, but Jill had done a little investigative work. She’d put Hannah on the task of learning Slate’s favorite treat, and she’d done that by cozying up to Luke.
Jill had thought perhaps Luke’s crush was on Hannah too, as his face lit up whenever she took him a bottle of lemonade. Hannah had dismissed the idea with a laugh, saying that Luke glowed like a Christmas tree whenever anyone came around with food of any kind.
She hadn’t reported anything to Slate about that, and Luke was set to meet with his parole officer for the last time next week.
She hadn’t heard anything more about the cabinetry apprenticeship in Lubbock—from anyone. Not Luke. Not Slate. It was like those texts didn’t exist, and she was eternally grateful that she hadn’t said anything to Slate and ruined their first date.
Luke had told Ginger he’d stay on at the ranch until the cabin construction was done, and that was a few more months. After that, he hadn’t made any promises. For some reason, Jill considered Luke and Slate a pair, and she suspected if Luke left the ranch, Slate would too. She’d lain awake for far too long at night worrying about it, actually.
They approached the stable, and Jill put the thoughts of Slate leaving the ranch from her mind. He was still there right now, and she had the pan of cinnamon rolls she’d asked her mother to make in her hand. She just needed the horses.
“Jess?” she called, trying to remember who Jess had said she’d saddle that morning and what row of the stable they lived in.
“Row seven,” Jess called, appearing a few seconds later at the end of the row. “I have Scalloped Potato and Aladdin ready for you.” She breamed like a shining star, and Jill couldn’t help smiling at her.
“Thank you.” She broke into a jog and followed Jess down the row.
“He’s going to love it,” Jess said. “Don’t worry.”
Jill didn’t say anything. Jess had a way of knowing how Jill felt without her saying anything, and she had been worried that this was all stupid. She could just send him a text and drop off the cinnamon rolls at a decent hour.
She simply wanted to do more than that. She wanted to make him feel special, because Jill believed everyone should feel special on their birthday.
Not only that, but she still hadn’t kissed him yet, and she was really hoping for that to happen today. Maybe this morning. Maybe tonight. But today.
“You get Aladdin,” Jess said. “He’s ready for you.”
“Thanks,” Jill said again. She handed Jess the pan of rolls and swung into the saddle.
“I need to go see your mom,” Jess said, looking up. “These look amazing.”
“She’s doing so much better now too,” Jill said, taking the baked goods. “We should go while Slate and Dallas and Luke are in Austin.”
“That’s a great idea.” Jess’s face lit up. “But I’ll have the kids, and Ginger will be down three cowboys.”
“Hmm, yeah.” Jill frowned as she thought. “We could take the kids. My mom won’t care as long as they wash real good before they go inside. She’s still a little compromised in her immune system, but she won’t be on chemo then.”
“And we go on Sunday, just for a couple of hours. We don’t work all day Sunday anyway.” Jess wore hope in her eyes. “Do you think she’ll make those apple fritters if I ask her?”
Jill laughed and reached for the reins Jess lifted toward her. “Yes, Jess. She will.”
“Let’s do it,” Jess said. “The kids and I are going to stay in the Annex while everyone’s gone anyway. It’ll be fun.”
“Deal.” An alarm went off on Jill’s phone, and she quickly silenced it. “I have to go. Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need it, but good luck,” Jess said, waving as Jill nudged Aladdin to get him to go. The horses plodded along, and sunlight had started to fill the sky already. It was still on the gray side of golden though, and there would be plenty of sunrise left to see in only five minutes.
She thought about her chat with her mama the last time she’d been there. She’d texted to ask her to make cinnamon rolls for Slate, and they’d talked about him.
Her mother was concerned about his past, as Jill supposed she should be. Jill had simply told her that even good people make mistakes, and all people can change. She believed Slate to be one of the good men and someone who could change.
Mama had said, “I trust your instincts, Jill. Be smart with him, though.”
