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CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Cherry couldn’t believe she was once again in her car, driving south. Lee had insisted she come for the weekend, that he needed her help.Desperately neededwere the words he’d used. She’d asked him several times to tell her what he planned to do to get Rose back into his life, but he’d steadfastly refused to tell her.
Just come to the farm, please, he’d said.I only need you on Saturday afternoon. Please.
Cherry couldn’t say no to Lee, not when he asked her so nicely. Not when he was so heartbroken and when Rose was so perfect for him.
A heavy weight settled around her neck, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold it. Lee knew how much she wanted to find someone she could spend the rest of her life with. She’d made a huge mistake by asking Charlie Mortimer to attend Travis’s wedding with her.
She wasn’t getting anywhere with Dr. Freeman, that was for dang sure. No amount of hair straightening seemed to make him think of her as more than a secretary, and Cherry was tired of flirting with the man and getting nowhere.
Jed Forrester hadn’t stopped texting or calling her, and a new kind of warmth moved through her as she navigated off the freeway and started to slow down. She couldn’t believe she’d kept talking to him, especially as he possessed one of the saltiest personalities she’d ever encountered.
He had helped her immensely at Travis’s wedding in May. He’d allowed her to show up at his cabin late at night, with glassy eyes and a blubbering explanation about Mama in June. He’d held her in his strong, warm arms for a good twenty minutes while she’d wetted his T-shirt with her tears.
In July, she’d done nothing but flirt with him at the family and friends picnic, and everyone in the family had noticed. Only Lee had said anything to her about it, and Cherry had denied everything when it came to Jed.
Right now, she couldn’t deny the way her heart thumped and bumped in her chest as she pulled into the parking lot where they’d agreed to meet for a late lunch. She’d insisted on this location, because neither of them knew anyone in Casper, a smallish town halfway between San Antonio and Sweet Water Falls.
She didn’t see his truck, and she came to a stop in the stall and put her sedan in park. She went over August, when she’d seen Jed at Will and Gretchen’s wedding. She hadn’t invited him specifically to be her escort or guest, but they’d sat beside one another, and he’d definitely held her hand when no one was looking.
Now that September had arrived, and Cherry was going to Sweet Water Falls for Lee, she’d suggested this date. She didn’t think she’d be able to see Jed otherwise, and for some reason she couldn’t name, she wanted to see him.
A truck pulled up beside her, and she recognized the hulking black beast. Jed Forrester sat behind the wheel, and his personality matched his vehicle. He raised his hand, a glorious smile on his face.
He was gorgeous, with dark hair and eyes, his beard salted with gray and a hint of red. She didn’t think two redheads should ever get together, because she already carried enough fire in her veins for the both of them. Jed had no problem saying what was on his mind, and somehow, Cherry liked that about him.
Sometimes. When he was talking about something on his farm, or someone besides her.
She got out of her car and clicked her fob to lock it behind her. Jed laughed as he came around the front of his truck in a jog, and Cherry couldn’t help smiling at him too.
“Howdy, pretty lady,” he said, wrapping her in a hug right there in the parking lot. They’d been talking a lot over the past four months, and while they only saw each other once a month, Cherry hadn’t minded.
She held him too, the width and strength in his shoulders evident beneath her touch. “How was the drive?” she asked.
He pulled back, a frown already between his eyes. “I don’t get why we couldn’t have met closer to town.”
“I didn’t want to run into anyone I know.” Cherry didn’t want to have to explain again, that was for sure.
“Are you embarrassed of me?” He stroked her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. She’d straightened it for him that morning, as Cherry always took great care to put herself together completely before she left her house.
“No,” she said, thinking of all the jagged edges inside her. She felt like an old house on a great piece of property. People would come see the house to determine if they wanted to purchase it, and they’d say things like, “She’s got great bones. She just needs a little work.”
Or, “With a little elbow grease, she’ll be perfect.”
Or, “The land is fantastic, but the house needs a lot of work.”
She knew she needed a lot of work. New plumbing and an updated roof. She had a lot of preconceived notions about men—especially cowboys like Jed—and no one she’d ever been out with had been able to convince her that she was wrong.
Jed kept his head down as his hand slid along the side of her neck to the back of it. He wore a small smile as he said, “Good. I’m not embarrassed of you either. Of us.” He looked up, and Cherry found desire swimming in his eyes.
Charlie hadn’t looked at her like that for a long time, not even during the wedding. Dr. Freeman hadn’t either. She was faceless and nameless to him.
Not to Jed.
“Cherry Cooper,” he whispered. “Am I your secret boyfriend?”
“No,” she said, leaning into his arms. She grinned up at him too. “You’re not my boyfriend.”
