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Her gaze flew to meet his. “Like a…?”

“Not just like a date, but actually a date.”

“Oh.”

Not a resounding response, but better than he’d expected. “I meant what I’ve said before. I want to get to know you better, and I think — I hope — you might be a tiny bit interested in that, too?”

“Maybe?”

Maxwell touched her arm. “I’m not sure what I’ve done to make you so hesitant, but I’ll take the maybe. Because I’m in.”

“I thought you’d probably forgotten all that by now.”

He let his fingers trail down to her hand before tangling them with hers. “Not a chance. I just didn’t want to scare you and make you shy away.”

A tiny smile poked at her lips. “Like Echo.”

“Sort of like her, yes. But far more important than any horse could ever be.”

“Don’t let Weston hear you say that.”

Maxwell chuckled. “Pre-Paisley, you’d be right, but I think he’s come around to realizing human relationships supersede equine. At least one human relationship.”

“He and Paisley are cute. They’re so different from each other.”

“They really are. I don’t know if she told you, but she chased Weston down for well over a year before she caught him.”

“She told me.”

Maxwell laughed. “Of course, she did. Paisley has no trouble talking to anyone about anything. If I didn’t want to spend time with you so much, I’d suggest that you take her to Jewel Lake to visit artisans. She’d love it.”

“She would.” Eryn’s eyes searched his.

Her fingers were still twined with his. He squeezed a little. “I’m not giving her the chance. Not this time.”

“Okay.” Eryn straightened and tugged her hand free of his. “I’ll ask Nadine and get back to you.”

“Sure. You can catch me at mealtime, or you’ve got my number.” Not that she’d used it since arriving at the ranch. “I look forward to spending the day with you.”

“Thanks. Do you know if my dad is doing okay at his job? Weston says he’s fine when I ask.”

“Then he’s fine. Are you worried about him?”

“All of this…” Eryn’s gesture seemed to take in all of Sweet River. “It still seems like a dream sometimes. Like I’ll wake up and find myself in my old bed back in Gilead. Only, that was going to end, either way.”

“It’s not a dream. Or, if it is, I’m in it with you, and thankful to be there.”

“That’s good.” But she sounded tentative.

“No one’s going to take this opportunity away from you and your father, Eryn. You’re here, secure, until or unless you choose to go elsewhere.” He waited until her gaze met his. “And I’m hoping and praying that never happens.”

“Amelia…”

Why did she keep bringing up her twin’s name? Maxwell didn’t care about Amelia. They’d only been kids when they’d had their brief moment. It hadn’t lasted long and certainly hadn’t been deep. What 13-year-olds knew anything about real love, anyway? Not a single one.

I love you, Maxwell.

Yeah, well, he hadn’t said it back. Not like she wanted. He’d never said those words to anyone besides his mother. His relationship with Dad certainly wasn’t based on interchanges like that. A thump on the back and a thumbs-up was as affirmative and mushy as Dad got. As for his brothers? Ha! Not a chance.