“It is. Shiny and brand-new.” Jack tightened his embrace around Diane’s shoulders, and pointed a finger across at Luke and Kelli. “Took a page from their book and finally managed to sweet-talk my woman into getting hitched without any pomp and circumstance.”
Diane curled against him, and pressed her hand with the ring against his chest. Diamonds flashed bright enough to blind. “He surprised me on the way here. We stopped in this cute little chapel before we even hit the airport. The next thing I knew, we’d said I do, and the deed was done.”
Kelli snickered lightly. “So to speak.”
Diane shook a finger. “You’re such a naughty girl.”
Beside Kelli on the couch, Luke grinned hugely. “I’m glad it turned out well for you. You have no idea how much trouble we got into with our impulsive let’s hold a wedding right now moment.”
“Really?” Ginny frowned. “Who gave you trouble? I thought it was super romantic that you guys called in Mr. Fields and said your vows down by Heart Falls. Heck, you even had wild horses as witnesses.”
“That was part of the problem.” Kelli wrinkled her nose. “None of them offered their signatures. We ended up doing a bit of a repeat, just to make everything solid and legal.”
“Okay, that makes sense. The government always causes problems.” Ginny folded her arms over her chest, coffee cup cradled in her free hand. “I thought maybe someone in the extended family had given you grief, which, hell no.”
“It worked out okay in the end,” Kelli assured her. “I still count the vows by the waterfall as our real ones.”
“Remember, we didn’t have you here to defend us,” Luke teased. “That means we had to follow the rules.”
If Ginny hadn’t been sitting on the arm of his chair, Tucker never would’ve even noticed. But with her body in contact with his, the very slight stiffening of her spine was as loud as a shout.
Jack turned his attention fully on Tucker. “Luke told us about your wild drive to get here. We’ve always enjoyed our time with Ashton when we’ve visited. Is your uncle okay?”
That he could answer easily. “Other than being confused why there’s a message on my phone that’s not on his, he’s fine. We spent yesterday afternoon getting caught up. I don’t know where he gets his energy from, but I sure hope it runs in the family. I want to be hightailing it around everywhere when I’m sixty. Mysterious text messages in the middle of the night, notwithstanding.”
“He’s lucky to have you,” Diane said softly. “It’s good to know you got family willing to come and back you up at the drop of a hat.”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s the best type of family,” Tucker agreed.
It wasn’t his imagination. Ginny kept getting more and more uncomfortable perched on the arm of his chair. While he answered questions about his job at the stables and listened to their plans for the next couple of weeks, he wondered what was going on.
It had to be a part of that thing that they talked about before. The whole figuring out where they fit in. They’d both been gone for a long time, but while this had been an important place to him while growing up, it was Ginny’s home.
He let the talk swirl around him until his stomach protested loudly enough that they all heard it, and with laughter following him, he made his way to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat.
He had time. Two weeks—although it seemed he wouldn’t get to spend as much of it with Luke as he’d hoped, not with his friend and Kelli needing to entertain their guests.
Still, Tucker was at Silver Stone. Somehow that made things better. When Ginny snuck beside him, stealing a muffin off his plate, he decided enjoying the time with whoever he could would not suck.
Ginny excused herself as soon as the brunch dishes were cleaned up. “I’m heading over to the main house.”
“We’ll be there for supper,” Kelli promised. She gave Diane a shake of her head. “It feels strange to plan to leave you here by yourself.”
“Girlfriend, Jack and I having a simple Christmas dinner by ourselves? That’s one of the best gifts you could give us,” Diane insisted. Then she looked slightly sheepish. “And by simple, I mean we bought everything prepackaged and prepared, so before you go, show me how to use your oven.”
Laughter continued behind her as Ginny made her way outside, striding quickly down the path to the edge of Big Sky Lake.
She’d walked for under a minute before she realized the snow crunching underfoot seemed exceptionally loud, which made her glance over her shoulder.
“What are you doing?” she asked Tucker, following in her footsteps.
He shrugged and caught up with her. “Not sure. Just wanted to give them some time together.”
They walked silently for a moment. The itch at the back of her neck kept getting bigger. Ginny absolutely hated feeling this way.
Screw this. She needed a mental reset.
The truth was she’d spent the past three years facing her fears and getting the next thing done. Simple things like dealing with language issues, or tougher ones like showing up at remote farms for jobs that weren’t what they were supposed to be.
Being uncomfortable and uncertain had been part and parcel of her life for a long time. She needed to use that to her advantage. Yeah, the ranch might be her home, but it was as good as a foreign country right now.
She knew how to deal with new places better than the current tangle in her gut would declare.
The other matter making her blood boil could be shoved aside for a little longer.
Impulsively, she bumped against Tucker. “Want to do something fun?”
His stern expression was back in place, but a hint of interest was there. “Dare I ask?”
Oh, she hadn’t even thought about that kind of fun. Which really was quite a travesty considering she’d meant the question when she’d asked him the night before. At some point, she hoped sex was back on the table. “Nothing dirty.”
His face relaxed slightly.
“Yet,” she added.
His exasperated sigh was delicious. “Ginny.”
“Let’s go see Dustin. If he’s not there, let’s go see your uncle.”
“And if he’s not there?”
She threw her hands in the air. “You and your damn agendas. If we can’t find either of them, we’ll go see the kittens in the barn. Because there’s always kittens in the barn.”
He stood, hands jammed into his pockets and a thoughtful expression on his solemn face. “Let’s skip Dustin for now. He’s got a friend visiting. I know you want to touch base with my uncle, but I spent four hours with him yesterday.”
“So, kittens?” she asked brightly.
He dipped his chin. “Kittens.”
Climbing into the hayloft, the well-worn ladder smooth under her fingers, Ginny took her time. Savoured the sensation, because this was one of her earliest memories. The sweet scent of hay, a touch of an itch at the back of her nose from the ever-present dust.
The sharp poke through her jeans as she crawled on hands and knees toward one of the favourite nesting places from years gone by.
“Bingo.” Tucker’s deep rumble sounded nearly in her ear, his strong body inches away as he leaned close to peer into the gap between bales. “Oh, that’s a pretty batch.”