Several beats of silence passed before he said, “We’re almost out of cocoa crispies, so I need to go to town again this weekend.”
“Didn’t you buy three boxes just last week?”
“We like them,” he said. “What can I say?” He added a chuckle to his question, and it sounded a tad bit forced to Ginger.
She shook her head and stood up. “All right. I’ll look at my schedule. We’re moving into harvest season.” She extended her hand toward him to help him up.
“Already?” He put his hand in hers, and for one breathtaking moment, she thought he’d pull her onto his lap and kiss her. How much she wanted him to do just that surprised her and made her legs tremble.
He stood too, still looking at her.
“Yeah,” she said, though she barely remembered the question. “We’ve got peas and carrots already in the gardens. We’ll be setting up the beaver traps and we’ve got bird blinds to build. Our tour groups start this weekend, and summer is a very busy time on the ranch.”
“You need a lot of help then,” he said.
“Always,” she said. “Though you taking the riding program has helped Spencer be able to get more done with the agriculture.” She smiled at him, because she was glad he was there. He had to know that. “I can try to be less demanding.”
He shook his head as they walked down the aisle toward the rectangle of sunlight. “It’s not necessary, Ginger.” He paused on the threshold between being in the stable and out of it. “You do a great job here.”
“Thanks.” She watched him, sure there was more he wanted to say. But he didn’t say it.
He tipped his hat and said, “Well, I have work to do. I’ll catch up with you later,” before he walked away.
Ginger watched him go, though she had plenty of work to do too. Spencer came out from another aisle of the stable, and he and Nate started talking. They laughed and went inside together, and Ginger did like that the two of them got along so well. She was never quite sure what kind of man she was bringing back to the ranch when she got someone in the RRC program, but Nate seemed to be the cream of the crop.
She liked him, even though she’d tried not to. Still, she coached herself to go slow, because she wanted to get to know him before anything serious happened. Really know him, not just think she knew him, the way she had with Hyrum.
The alarm on her phone went off as she walked back toward the homestead, and she looked at it. Lumber flashed at her, and she glanced up, her pulse prancing through her now.
“Shoot.” She broke into a jog, because if she didn’t meet the Anderton brothers and give them specific instructions for where to deliver the lumber she’d bought for the bird blinds, it would end up on the front lawn.
She arrived at the same time the delivery truck pulled around the corner, and she waved her hand at them to get them to stop. Michael Anderton rolled down his window and stuck his elbow out. “Heya, Ginger.”
“Hey, Mike. We’re taking this down the same road you did last time. All the way to the last bird blind.”
“Jump in and show me.”
Ginger wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn’t. “All right.” She circled the truck and climbed in on the other side, which caused George Anderton to slide into the middle of the bench seat. She didn’t care, as long as it wasn’t her.
She’d been out with Michael a couple of times, and sometimes he forgot their relationship had never really gotten off the ground.
“How’s your momma?” she asked George, proud of her Texas manners.
“She’s convinced we’re all about to die,” he said with a chuckle. “She’s been hoarding toilet paper, and she won’t drink anything anyone gives her.”
“Oh, wow,” Ginger said, something in her chest releasing.
“Are you going out to the bay festival in a couple of weeks?” Michael asked.
“Uh, maybe,” Ginger said. “Depends on how much we get done here.” She did enjoy the beachside music festival held every year in Sweet Water Falls, which was located near the water. Not the Gulf itself, but an inlet, where islands dotted the waters and created bays.
Falling Oak Bay was the closest one to the ranch, and the site of the festival every year. Ginger hadn’t missed it in at least a decade, maybe longer. She always said she’d maybe make it to something when Michael asked, but this year, she could see herself dancing barefoot on the sand with one very serious cowboy who used to be in prison.
Did Nate dance?
For some reason, she couldn’t imagine him doing something like that, and a smile touched her lips at the very idea of him holding her while they swayed to a ballad.
“Here?” Michael asked, pulling her from the beautiful daydream with his somewhat reedy voice.
“No, keep going,” she said. He always tried to drop off the lumber in the most convenient location for him. He kept going though, and Ginger directed him all the way down the road to the last bird blind. “Here.”
“We’re really far out here,” he said, peering through the windshield. “You sure this is still your land?” He grinned at her and got out of the truck before she could respond. It wasn’t a question that needed a response anyway.
She got out too, her phone chiming as she did. It was Nick, and he’d said, Can I take Nate to town tonight for steak and seafood? He says he’s never been to Maddox. Can you imagine?
Ginger shook her head at her cousin. He really was innocent about a lot of things. Just you and him?
And Spencer and Connor. Maybe Bronco if he’ll stop texting Katie.
“Oh, Katie,” Ginger said, making a face. Her brother really could pick out some of the worst women to date. And she’d thought his last girlfriend would definitely be the worst. Then he’d brought Katie Holbrook to the ranch, and the woman had obviously thought he was taking her to get a salad and that the ranch would be the dressing.
Ginger had never seen such a look of disgust. She’d never been back to the ranch, and Bronco bent to her whims.
So can we go? Nick asked. Nate said we had to ask you.
Yes, she sent back. Go. Have fun.
She wanted to go and have fun too, but she knew better than to invite herself. Number one, she’d never gone on their steak and seafood excursions before. Number two, maybe Nick could stop at the grocery store and get the cereal Nate wanted.
See if you can get his cocoa crispies while you’re in town, she sent next, the deafening crash of wood on wood alerting her to the unloading process happening on the other side of the truck.
Okay, Nick said. Thanks, Ginger.
She stuck her phone in her pocket and rounded the truck to find a pile of lumber that would take her hours to sort through.
“Just need your signature right here,” Michael said, sliding up to her with a clipboard and a pen—and that smile that told her she wasn’t going to like what he said next. As she signed, he asked, “What are you doin’ tonight? Wanna grab a drink or a bite to eat?”
“Oh, I can’t,” she said, making her voice sugar-sweet. “I just made plans with my brother.”
“Oh? What’s Bronco got himself into this time?”
“Well, he’s dating this woman who’s just all wrong for him. So I need to talk to him about her.” Not entirely a lie, and she had just made plans to talk to him about Katie. Just now. Just the moment Michael had asked about going out with him.