The entire morning was filled with the goodness of hard, honest labour, followed by a sweet, dirty interlude that left Blake grinning for most of the afternoon.
He thought about all the blessings in his world and wondered—
A sense of foreboding hung over him. Like everything was too good to be true. Something was going to rush in and shake things up in a way he couldn’t anticipate.
Totally superstitious nonsense, but it felt so real. He paused before leaving the barn to head back to Jaxi and his family, stopping to rap his knuckles against the sturdy wooden frame of the man door for luck.
What they had was priceless—was precious. He didn’t want anything to change.
2
The time it took to drive to his home in the middle of the Six Pack land wasn’t long enough to give Jesse a solution to his problem.
The concern, he could honestly admit, wasn’t the fact the three people he cared most about in the world had been mad at him before he left the house that morning. Travis had been right—it was a silly thing to fight about, and Dare had been justified in calling him on sticking his nose where it wasn’t needed. That misdeed had probably been forgiven before his truck had even left the driveway.
Nope, if there was one thing he was absolutely certain about—Dare loved him unconditionally, even when he was an ignorant bastard. And both Joel and Vicki cared enough to call him on his bullshit.
It was like being wrapped in a warm blanket on this icy-cold December day to have that kind of gut-deep assurance in his world.
His problem—
Jesse stuck his hand in the pocket of his sheepskin-lined jacket and worried the envelope again. Half a dozen times that day he’d considered pulling it out of his pocket and showing it to Blake, but he knew better. Even as tangled as the out-of-the-blue offer made his brain, it was Dare he needed to talk to first.
And obviously, ignoring the proposal he’d received wasn’t the way to go. He thought he could put it off until the new year, but the information kept buzzing at the back of his brain, distracting him and screwing with his concentration.
Hell. Jesse knew better than to get between his brother and his wife, for more reasons than most.
What was worse, there was no reason to sit there suffering. No reason why he wasn’t telling Dare exactly what was bothering him.
The final approach up the road to Sunset Ridge added to both the deep sense of contentment and the concern dredging through every part of his body.
Nearly identical houses sat silhouetted against the skyline, showcasing the comfortable yet compact homes where he and his twin were raising their families. It was everything he’d ever dreamed of—to be living next to his best friend, head over heels in love with a wonderful woman who was more than his equal. A beautiful little boy and the excitement of discovering their family would be growing—Dare was expecting in July.
Jesse’s fingers tightened instinctively around the envelope, and he cursed. The urge to throw the letter away, or burn it, was so damn strong. Yet he couldn’t.
He pulled into the parking space next to Joel’s truck, a grin coming unbidden as he glanced over to find his brother sitting behind the wheel waiting for him.
They both got out, meeting at the shoveled walkway that led toward the houses.
Joel eyed him with amusement. “Well, that’s disappointing.”
Confusion hit. “What?”
“I asked Blake to make you shovel shit all day. Doesn’t look like I got my wish.”
Jesse used his middle finger to scratch the bridge of his nose. “Hope you had fun on lost-sheep duty. Find them all, Bo Peep?”
“Ass.” Only Joel was grinning. “Cassidy and Matt called in the Moonshine clan. We got the entire flock back into the lower pasture, plus all the fences fixed and gates shut. The rest of the season is going to be a piece of cake.”
That was good news. “I really like this business of working with the entire family,” Jesse shared honestly.
“It’s damn handy,” Joel agreed. “Although it’s going to take a couple of years to get all the cows onto the same season. I’m not looking forward to them dropping all the way from February till May.”
“One thing at a time,” Jesse said. It was one of the things he was working on with his programming. He met his brother’s gaze straight on. “I said it this morning, but I’ll say it again. I’m sorry. I butt in where it wasn’t my right. I’m glad you told me to fuck off.”
Joel nodded once. “Vicki and I were more pissed that you thought we would say such crappy things to each other.”
“That’s the part that threw me,” Jesse insisted. “You and Vicki—if anything, you’re way too sweet and gushy. You don’t toss words like knives.”
“Good to know we’ve got you fooled.” His brother shrugged. “Don’t kid yourself. We still screw up, and words get heated. But we don’t let it stick. I swear Vicki’s been taking lessons from Mom—”
A laugh escaped before Jesse could stop it. “Jeez, you too?”
Joel dipped his chin “The last time I was ticked off about something, she plopped down on the footstool by my chair and waited.”
“Which means you have to talk about it. Or you have to admit, ‘I’m pissed off and don’t want to talk to you right now,’ which is okay some of the time, but mostly sounds as if I’m about eight years old and pitching a fit.”
They both chuckled before Joel let out a long, slow sigh. “This is probably why Mom and Dad’s fights are virtually nonexistent.”
“Because he knows he can’t win?” Jesse teased.
“Can we?”
“More importantly, do we want to?” Jesse winked before turning toward the path that led to his house. “We’re on shift together tomorrow?”
“Six a.m. You drive. Vicki needs the truck to pick up supplies for the Christmas party this weekend.”
Another thing Jesse had forgotten about in his distracted haze. “It’ll be good to see the Whiskey Creek girls again.”
After a final solid thump on the shoulder, Joel turned away and headed whistling toward his home.
Jesse did the same.
Inside, golden light shone onto the wintry landscape and reflected off the walls to fill the cozy space. Both the heat and the scent of dinner welcomed him in.
“Daddy.” Enough noise for a platoon of kids rushed toward him. His son, wearing a teeny pair of cowboy boots and riding a stick horse across the hardwood floor.
“Hey, Buckaroo.” Jesse swooped down and nabbed Joey, horse and all. “Where’s your mama?”
“’puter.”
“Ah. She’s still working?”
“She’s done.” Dare rounded the corner, and here was the true welcome. She squeezed up against him, Joey cradled between them. “Hey. I didn’t expect you for another half hour.”
“Blake sent me home. Told me I needed to come apologize before you decided I had to sleep in the barn.”
“Horsies,” Joey exclaimed.
“Yes. The horses live in the barn. Daddy lives with us, even when he’s being—” Dare paused.
“Go on,” Jesse encouraged. “I not only want to hear what you say, but I want to know how you’re going to say it in a Buckaroo-approved matter.”