“Yes, it would,” Pearl agreed. “And of course, we don’t have any issues with you asking Stevie to share the place with you. She’s practically like family already.”
“Thanks to both of you, and for the pie, Mama,” Cody said.
Pearl handed him a key ring with two keys on it. “We won’t say a word about it until she says yes, and, son, I’m so excited for both of you.”
“Me too,” Sonny said. “It’s way past time that you started putting down those roots you mentioned. And Stevie is a good woman to help you with that.”
Cody gave them both a hug and whistled all the way to his truck. He went by the barn and stopped by the corral where Maggie and the crias were. He used a length of baling twine he found in the barn to tie one of the keys around Dixie’s neck. She fussed about it at first, but when Maggie came over and loved on her, she accepted it a little better.
“You be a good girl and don’t lose that. I’ll be back tomorrow to get it back from you,” he said as he petted Dixie on the head.
When he arrived back at the bunkhouse, Stevie had cleaned up the table and divided the cobbler into two dishes.
“I waited to have dessert with you,” she told him. “Want a glass of milk to go with it?”
“That sounds great,” he answered.
“How’s your dad? Vitals all right?” she asked.
“Well, damn it!” he said. “We got to talking, and I forgot to check him. I’ll do it tomorrow after church. They were sitting on the porch…” He told her about it being the anniversary of their first date.
“That is so sweet. That’s the kind of relationship I want.” Stevie brought out two tall glasses of milk to go with their dessert.
“Me too,” Cody agreed.
* * *
The next morning, Stevie managed to listen to the minister’s sermon on being at peace with yourself, with God, and with your family—at least part of the time. Not even God could have found fault with her for stealing glances at Cody and being almost giddy with happiness that she had finally made her decision. She had even called Rodney that morning and told him she’d be staying in Honey Grove. Now it was done and finished, and she was ready to sink a root or two into the ground.
At the end of the service, Mia and Beau were the first to step out into the aisle. They looked so darned cute together that Stevie had to work hard to keep from sighing.
“Mama, I’m going to Beau’s house for dinner today,” Mia told Addy. “He came to our place last week, and he and his grandpa have invited me to their ranch today. I’ll be home in time to help with evening chores.”
“Have a good time,” Addy said.
“Thank you, Miz Ryan,” Beau said and smiled. “I can’t wait to show Mia around our place, and if I’m late getting her home, I’ll help her do the chores.”
“How about I help you with your chores at your ranch, and then you come home with me for supper and maybe watch a movie this evening after you help me with chores?” Mia asked.
“I’d love that,” Beau said and smiled again at her.
They went on ahead of the family, shook hands with the preacher, and were already gone by the time Cody and Stevie made it out to the parking lot. Not a single cloud floated in the sky that morning, and warm sunshine had melted most of snow that was piled up at the four corners of the lot and had looked like small dirty mountains the week before.
“See y’all at the house?” Jesse called as he put Sam into the car seat, and then reached to take Taylor from Addy’s arms.
“We’re going out to dinner today.” Cody raised his voice above the noise of more than a dozen vehicles leaving. “See y’all later.”
“Oh, so we’re going out?” Stevie asked when Cody opened the door for her and she had gotten into the truck and fastened her seat belt. “The new smell is still here.”
“Have you ever bought a brand-new car?” Cody asked as he slid behind the wheel.
“One time, and I brought it with me when I came back to Texas, but I learned real quick that I needed a van to do my work,” she answered. “So, I traded it in. The van wasn’t exactly new, but it was in good condition. A vet had owned it before, so it was already tricked out with bins I needed. The tires needed replacing, and you know the rest of that story. Where are we having dinner?” she asked again.
“Sonic,” he told her, and drove out of the parking lot. “I thought we’d go over to Bonham and have burgers and fries.”
“That sounds great, but this is not our fourth date,” she told him.
“All depends on how you look at it. It could be our fourth if you count it my way. First was breakfast at the diner. Second was when I kissed you the first time, and third was last night when we decided to stay in Honey Grove,” he told her. “That would make this our fourth, and it’s also your first ride in my new truck, so we’re celebrating.”
“You had me at a hamburger and fries. Who cares about counting?” she laughed. “Are you still happy with your decision to stay in Honey Grove?”
“Are you?” he fired back.
“Yes. I’ve already called Rodney, so it is now set in stone,” she told him. “I’m going to get in touch with Bobby Blalock tomorrow morning and tell him he can tear the house down as soon as all the stuff is out, and I’m at peace with that too. I also decided I want to do the packing myself so I can make decisions about what to save and what to throw in the trash.”
“Sure you are ready for that?” he asked.
“Yep,” she answered.
“Then I’ll help you,” Cody said. “Together, we should be able to take care of it in a day, and I can hook one of our cattle trailers onto the truck and bring it all to the ranch.”
“Thanks,” Stevie said.
Driving from Honey Grove to Bonham when there was no snow on the roads took only fifteen minutes, and the Sonic was right off the highway. Cody pulled into a place and rolled down the window, hit the red button, and a voice came through the speaker. “Welcome to Sonic. I’ll take your order when you are ready?”
Cody glanced over at Stevie. “Were you serious about a burger?”
She leaned across the console and raised her voice. “I’ll have a double bacon cheeseburger with no onions, double fries, and a large chocolate shake.”
“Is that all?” the voice asked.
“No, just double that order,” Cody said.
“Your total is on the screen. Cash or credit card?”
“Credit card,” Cody said as he slid his card into the slot.
“Thank you, sir. Your order will be right out.”
“Are we going for a long drive when we finish eating?” Stevie asked.
“We can, if you want to, but I have something I’d like to show you back at the ranch,” Cody said.
“And then a nap?” She covered a yawn with her hand. “I didn’t sleep so well last night. Probably from worrying about telling Rodney no on the Australia offer.”
“Regrets?” Cody asked.
“Not a single one, but it was pretty nice of him to recommend me for the job, and I hated to disappoint him,” Stevie answered.