No one in the family—or anyone who’d been around for the past four years—believed Sierra and Max would actually get married. In fact, the plans for the non-existent wedding had stopped years ago.
But Sierra worked the weekend tours, and she helped with Connor, so Ginger respected her. She loved her because they were related, but sometimes Sierra could pull a diva card out of nowhere.
“We’ll see if she actually does,” Emma said, scanning Ginger. “How are things with Nate?”
“Fine,” Ginger said with an air of coolness. She didn’t make direct eye contact with Emma as she approached the door, and her best friend fell back into the hallway.
“Must be,” Emma said. “You’ve gone to The Green Dragon by yourself for five years. Wouldn’t even let me come so you didn’t have to be alone on your birthday.”
“I’m never alone on my birthday,” Ginger said, pausing in front of Emma. She had gorgeous dark hair that had a natural wave, not like the too-tight one Ginger had put in her hair with a curling iron. Emma’s big, brown eyes looked at Ginger, practically begging her for all the details.
It seemed that everyone around the ranch knew Ginger and Nate were something. They just didn’t know how serious it was. Ginger herself didn’t know that either, though she’d felt herself slipping more and more the past couple of weeks.
Everything Nate did and said made her foothold on reality a little less sure. She wanted a fantasy life with the strong, handsome cowboy, and the towheaded little boy. She could admit she loved Connor, but going all the way there with Nate…Ginger still had a tight grip on those reins.
“You always make me an amazing cake and a delicious dinner.” Ginger smiled at Emma and leaned into her for a hug. She did love this other woman, who had been by her side for the past ten years here on the ranch. Emma had started as a teacher’s aide, bringing first and second graders to the ranch to do the Monarch butterfly classes.
She loved horses, and soon enough, Ginger had pulled her from the school system and onto the ranch, where she’d been ever since. Ginger didn’t trust anyone more than she did Emma, and they worked incredibly well together to make sure Hope Eternal Ranch thrived under any circumstances.
Emma held her tight and breathed in deep. “Okay, but I know you and Nate are something serious, even if you won’t admit it.”
“I never said I wouldn’t admit it,” Ginger said.
“You’ve never even admitted that you’ve kissed him,” Emma said with a laugh, pulling away from Ginger. “And I don’t get why. We all know you have.”
“Maybe I just don’t want to talk about it over dinner,” Ginger said.
A new light entered Emma’s eyes, “Great. I’m going to get a ton of butter pecan ice cream, and you’ll come to my room tonight. Ten o’clock. Wait. Nine. And then we’ll chat.” She turned and started down the hall before Ginger could protest.
When she finally did, Emma just waved over her shoulder. “Nine o’clock,” she said, disappearing around the corner. That was that. Ginger would go, because she’d always talked to Emma about her boyfriends.
Boyfriend.
Was that what Nate was? Would he classify her as his girlfriend?
She hoped so.
Several minutes later, she sat in the truck as Nate helped Connor onto the seat. “Slide over, bud. All the way.”
Connor did, and Ginger helped him with his seatbelt. “How’s the little cowboy?” she asked. Nate slammed the door, so she didn’t hear the beginning of what Connor said, but it didn’t matter. The boy had been dipped in magic, and then gold, and she couldn’t imagine a better child than Connor.
“You guys hungry?” she asked as she pulled through the garage and circled the house instead of backing out into the driveway.
“I am,” Connor said, bouncing a little on the seat. “Uncle Nate wouldn’t let me eat breakfast.”
“Is that so?”
“No,” Nate said, somewhat crossly. He wore a displeased look on his face as he gazed at Connor. “That is not true. You ate French toast, Connor. And bacon. I wouldn’t let you eat a Twinkie fifteen minutes ago, because we’re going to lunch with Ginger.” He looked at her from across the cab. “For her birthday.”
She sucked in a breath and dang near drove them into the fence post. She corrected sharply, throwing them all to the right. Nate started laughing, and Connor said, “Whoa there,” like a real cowboy.
“Who told you?” Ginger asked.
“Nick,” Nate said.
“I’m going to kill him.”
“Why?” Nate’s gaze on the side of her face was too heavy. “What’s the big deal if I know it’s your birthday?”
“Yeah, don’t you want any presents?” Connor asked in his innocent little boy voice.
“Yeah,” Nate echoed. “We could’ve gotten her so many presents. Now we’ll just have to settle for what we can find at the mall.”
“No,” Ginger said. “I don’t want presents.”
“Who doesn’t want presents?” Nate asked.
“I don’t,” she said. “My friends throw me a big birthday dinner with cake every year. I just want Chinese food and good company.”
“You don’t like your friends?”
“I love my friends. They’re just…loud.”
“The mall is loud,” Nate said.
“But it’s not the ranch,” Ginger said, finally letting herself look at him. “So, to the bank first? Chinese second? Mall third?”
Nate nodded, a curious look on his face still. Thankfully, Ginger had to look away to check the traffic before she pulled onto the highway.
“You gotta be good,” Nate said in a mock whisper to Connor. “She said she wanted good company.”
“What’s company?” Connor asked back, and Ginger’s face broke into a smile.
“It’s who you spend your time with,” Nate said. “So she wants to spend lunch with us, but only if she likes us.”
“She likes me,” Connor said. “Does she like you, Uncle Nate?”
Ginger looked at Nate then, and he looked at her. “Yeah,” he said with a wide grin. “I think she does.”
“Then we’ll be good,” Connor said, satisfied now.
“And I’m buying lunch,” Nate said.
Ginger shook her head, but she wasn’t going to argue with him. If he wanted to buy her lunch, that was fine. Perhaps she could use the topic of who paid to find out if they were dating, casually walking in the mornings and kissing each other, or what kind of labels he might use if he introduced her to say, his mother.
Or how she might introduce him to her sisters, both of whom were coming that night. Her heartbeat picked itself up and threw itself down, causing a slight echo in her pulse.
She and Connor waited in the car while Nate ran inside the bank for a few minutes. This was definitely his shortest trip to the institution, and he came out a few minutes later with an envelope he tucked into his backpack.
At the Chinese restaurant, he insisted on sitting beside her instead of across from her, and as Connor colored all over the animals that comprised the Chinese New Year, Nate slipped his hand into Ginger’s and leaned real close to her. “Happy birthday,” he said. “What would you wish for?”