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They were all very certain in those things.
And for some reason, more and more, Jace wasn’t.
He had never been one to wallow in uncertainty. Or even entertain it. You couldn’t do that as a bull rider. You needed a clear eye, a firm grip and some big balls. And he had all three, thanks. It wasn’t uncertainty, more a feeling of the world shifting, and it being harder to plant one foot in Lone Rock and one in the rodeo.
A sense that he was going to have to pick.
Maybe it had to do with Cara buying the hotel. Watching her commit to this life so deeply.
“And you’re spending the night with her?” Boone asked, a sly smile curving his lips.
“I spend the night with Cara all the time.”
He ignored the looks that he got from all of his brothers. And he ignored the fact that it was a lie. He and Cara had camped occasionally together when they were kids and hadn’t really done that as adults, but, whatever.
She was his friend.
And really, more like a sister.
He could still remember the first time he’d ever met her. Crying but angry. So angry. And he had just loved that spirit. That great fighting spirit that she had.
It had drawn him to her right away.
And it had just made him want to... Protect her. Protect her in a way that he had never been able to protect Sophia...
“Oh yeah. Adult sleepovers?” That question came from Kit, who got an elbow in the chest from his wife.
“No,” he said. “Because we’re friends. And unlike you assholes, I actually don’t see it as a conflicting thing to have a platonic friendship with a woman. Because I see her as a whole human being and not a sex object.” His sisters-in-law, Juniper and Shelby looked at each other, and then they applauded.
“Thank you,” he said to them.
“Our husbands are animals,” said Shelby.
“And jackasses,” said Juniper.
“I know that,” said Jace. “I really don’t know how the two of you put up with them.”
“They’re hot,” said Shelby.
“Well,” said Jace, frowning. “That kind of bums me out. Next time, don’t take it there.”
“Sorry,” said Shelby, grinning.
“The point of the story,” said Jace, “is that she thinks the place is haunted.”
“And you don’t?” Flint asked.
“I don’t believe in that shit. You can’t tell me that... I mean, come on.”
“There’s a lot of things in the world that can’t be explained,” said Kit. “I would never presume to know whether or not there were ghosts.”
“I would,” said Jace. “I presume it. You can’t see it, you can’t measure it, you can’t prove it.”
“You can’t disprove it,” Boone pointed out.
“Oh, shut the hell up, Boone,” said Jace. “That’s not a valid point and you know that.”
“Seems valid enough to me.”
