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He wore his Sheriff deputy dress clothes, and he had lines from shoulder to heel. He moved right into Cherry’s side, a broad smile on his face despite her less-than-excited reception of him. “Howdy, Lee,” he said.
“Charlie.” Lee shook the man’s hand. “This is Rosalie Reynolds.”
“Howdy, ma’am,” Charlie said, reaching to shake her hand too.
Awkwardness rained down on the porch, and Lee broke it by saying, “Ford says you brought a dog.”
“Sure did,” Charlie boomed like bringing a dog to a wedding was the greatest thing a man could do.
“It’s a puppy,” Cherry said. “I told him Travis was going to kill him with his bare hands.”
“He’s tied up out back,” Charlie said, throwing a hard look at Cherry, who didn’t react at all. Rosalie wasn’t sure if they were together or not. Lee had said Cherry was single, but Charlie had his arm around her waist possessively. “That’s all right, right, Lee?”
“You gonna leave ‘im there?” Lee asked. “Because Cherry’s right. You bring a dog to Trav’s ceremony, and I can’t promise you I can hold him back.”
Rosalie looked at Lee to see if he was kidding. He sure didn’t seem to be, and Rosalie wondered what she’d gotten herself into.
“I’m gonna leave ‘im there,” Charlie said. “Should we get goin’, baby?” He nudged Cherry forward, and they started down the steps. Rosalie turned and watched Cherry go, noting she too wore a dark purple dress. Hers was lighter and moved more as she walked, and she looked more casual and country than Rosalie did.
“Let’s go meet Ford,” Lee said. “Then we best be gettin’ over to the farmhouse. I don’t need Trav at my throat either.”
“You don’t get along with your brothers?” she asked. “I thought you did.”
“I do,” he said. “Us getting at each other is how we tell each other that we care.” He went through the front door and swept his hand in front of his body to indicate the house. “This is my place.”
He had dark red wine-colored couches made of leather, with a puffy blue and white blanket thrown over the back of them. Matching couches, with matching blankets. Rosalie didn’t know what to think.
Not a single thing sat out of place, and surely he had a cleaning service come out here to maintain this. A computer and desk sat in the kitchen instead of a table, and he had two barstools at the island. He moved to the sliding glass door in the back and whistled through his teeth.
A dog instantly started barking, and Lee yelled at it. To her surprise, the dog quieted as she took in the black appliances, which contrasted with his lighter wood and white countertops. The walls on the inside of the cabin matched those on the outside, as if she could see one side of the logs on the exterior and the other side on the interior.
She caught Lee looking at her, and she said, “I love your cabin.”
“Do you?”
“Yes,” she said, giving him a smile. “The fireplace is great, and there’s so much wood.”
“My granddad built it,” he said. “He and Grams lived here until they passed. Then I moved in. Eventually, once my mama and daddy are gone, I’ll live in the farmhouse.”
“It’s gorgeous too,” she said, still amazed at this place. “Your farm must do really well.”
“We do pretty well,” he said just as Ford came flying into the house.
“Ford, slow down,” Lee said, and the boy complied.
“Did you see the pup, Dad?”
“Yeah,” Lee said with plenty of weariness. “I saw ‘im.”
“We could get a dog like that,” Ford said. “He’s so smart, Dad. You should see all the stuff Charlie’s taught him.”
“Charlie’s a cop,” Lee said, then he shook his head as if trying to shake away this argument. He crouched down in front of his son. “Listen, bud. Remember I told you I was goin’ on a date with a pretty lady last night? That I had to come get you late because of that?”
Ford’s eyes moved from Lee’s to Rosalie. She smiled at him and lifted her hand in a wave. “Yeah,” he said, focusing on his father again.
Lee stood and faced Rosalie, his hand now tucked into Ford’s. The very sight made Rosalie’s heart melt into a gooey mess right there behind her ribs. Without her chest, it would’ve leaked out and all over his pristine wood floors.
“This is her,” he said, grinning at Rosalie. “Rosalie, my son, Ford. Ford, this is Rosalie. She has a little girl and a rabbit at her house.”
