Page 19 of A Montana Secret Admirer (Sagebrush Ranch Sweethearts #4)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“You look nervous.”

Reese shot his brother a dark look.

“What? You do. What’s the big deal? It’s not like you haven’t taken her out. Twice.”

Reese wasn’t going to even give a response to Leo.

He didn’t know anything when it came to finding the one person who was made for him.

He was still dealing with the fallout between Jane and Kat.

Apparently, they were in a stalemate. Kat wanted to come out to see the property, but Leo was dragging his feet.

He kept going out of his way to avoid setting up a date.

“Seriously.” Leo draped his arms over the island in the kitchen, his eyes following Reese as he packed up the picnic they’d be taking with them. There was a smirk on his face that just begged to be wiped off. “I don’t get why you’re so worked up.”

Reese slowed and stared hard at his brother. “Do you remember that girl you had a crush on? Mindy something or another?”

Leo’s expression went slack. “I was seven.”

“Yeah, well, I would assume that the feeling is about the same.”

“You’re telling me that you feel like a child when you hang out with her? That’s probably not a good thing.”

Reese slammed a Tupperware container of sliced fruit on the counter with a little more strength than was required, causing his younger brother to startle.

“No. I’m saying that I have about as much control over the situation as you did.

I have to travel a delicate line with her.

She’s got a history, and kids. I say one wrong thing and?—”

“If it’s that bad, then maybe it’s not worth it.”

“And what would you know about that?” Reese snapped. “It’s not your situation to worry about anyway.”

Leo held up a hand. “Wait a minute. You know that Mindy and I hit it off for at least a week.”

Reese couldn’t help the smile that tore across his face nor the laughter that spilled from his lips. Leo had been in relationships since his crush on the girl from his first-grade class. Not many, but some. They never really lasted long, however, and maybe that was the cause of his confusion.

After a moment, Reese sighed. “I can’t explain something to you that you’ve never experienced before. Serenity? She’s…” He looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “She’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I love who I am when I’m with her—her boys, too. She’s… it for me.”

Leo let out a whistle. “That’s deep, man.”

“Yeah, it is.” Reese gave his brother a pointed look.

“One day you’re going to find someone who makes you feel things that you’re not prepared for.

She’s going to drive you crazy in her own sort of way, and you’re going to have to accept that there is no controlling how you feel.

When that time comes, you’ll know that you’d do anything to ensure that the two of you find happiness. Together .”

“That’s pretty heavy for a third date, don’t you think?” Leo murmured. There wasn’t any teasing or ire in his voice this time. He actually sounded concerned—thoughtful, even.

Reese heaved out a breath, but it did nothing to ease the tension he felt in his shoulder or his chest. “Yeah, it is.” He could admit that. Yes, this was only the second official date they’d have under their belts, but he’d been spending more than enough time with her, simply getting to know her.

Serenity was the sort of woman who wanted to show strength. For her sons. For her family. For herself. But it was hard to always be strong and she didn’t let people in easily, and it was a miracle she’d allowed him to get as close as he had under the circumstances.

“Well, good luck.”

Reese found his brother’s searching gaze. “Thanks.”

“Where are you taking her?”

He’d been thinking about it a lot. Originally, he’d planned on going dancing, but he’d come up with something else. There was one place he thought would speak to her more than the others, and there was a chance that she’d finally realize that he’d been the one leaving her flowers if he did.

Then again, she might chalk it up to a coincidence and refuse to see the truth for what it was.

“You know that pond out on the side of the property Bo hasn’t been using? The side he hasn’t decided how to develop yet?”

Leo’s brows creased, and a thoughtful frown appeared. “No. There’s a pond?”

“Yeah. I guess not many people go out that way very often. I stumbled on the pond by accident.”

“Cool.”

They fell into an awkward sort of silence. Leo seemed to be consumed with his own thoughts for several long moments before he glanced up at Reese again. “Do you really think there’s someone out there for all of us?”

“Yeah, I do,” Reese murmured.

“But I thought you weren’t interested in settling down.”

Reese put the last of the picnic supplies into the bag he was loading.

“I say a lot of stuff I don’t mean. I think it was more of a way for me to…

” He sighed and scrubbed his jaw. “Avoid disappointment.” He’d never admitted this out loud.

Not to anyone. “You know how much I dated. You know what it’s like not finding the connection that you know in your heart you want to have. ”

“Yeah, I know.” Leo straightened, cocking his head as he rose to his full height. “And Serenity… she does that for you. She has that connection that you’ve been hoping for.”

“Yes,” Reese said firmly. “I couldn’t imagine having anyone else in my life but her.”

His brother nodded. “Well then, I guess… good luck?”

Reese chuckled wryly. “Thanks.”

The ride out to the pond felt longer than usual.

That was probably due to the fact that he couldn’t shake the unease about Serenity putting two and two together.

She was intelligent. There was a slim chance that she wouldn’t know exactly what this meant.

The big question was whether or not he wanted to shrug it off or confess everything.

He still couldn’t decide.

Serenity held tightly to the reins, still clearly uncomfortable with riding. She hadn’t been raised with horses, so that was understandable. However, she’d been on the ranch for several weeks. She’d ridden a handful of times—but all within the confines of a corral.

She tossed him a strained smile to which he winked. Her smile relaxed somewhat, and they continued on their ride.

“What did you tell the boys?”

“Hmm?”

“Where you were going—what did you tell them?”

“Oh, right.” She squirmed in her seat, and her face scrunched a little. “I begged Jane to take them to town for the day. They’re going to see a movie and go out to dinner. Maybe they’ll hit up the park. I told them that I was going to relax and take a ‘Mom day.’”

He nodded thoughtfully. While it would have been nice to have this budding relationship in the open, he could understand her hesitancy.

Those kids had gone through a lot in the last year.

From losing a parent to uprooting their lives for the summer by coming here.

It was probably for the best that they didn’t become witnesses prematurely to their mother moving on with her life.

“Where are we going?”

“You asked that before,” he chuckled.

“And you haven’t given me answers.”

“I told you. A picnic.”

She scoffed. “Seeing as you’re practically laden down with supplies, should I be worried that we’re going to be spending more than just an afternoon out here together?” She nodded pointedly to the guitar bag on his back.

He laughed. “It’s just a guitar. I brought a book, too, if you would rather read.”

This time, she stared at him with curiosity. “You brought a book?”

“Three, actually.”

She laughed. “Three books. And what are they? Do you know what kind of books I like to read?”

“Well, two of them are romance. The other is an adventure of sorts. If that’s not a good enough variety, then I guess we’re just going to have to write our own story.” His tone was playful, and the way she smiled at him only confirmed that he was on track to getting everything he wanted.

“Any news on that course you were looking into?” she asked.

“Not really. I gave Bo the information so he could look into it. Jane, too. They have a waitlist for signing up for it—apparently, it’s a pretty prestigious program.”

“Are there prerequisites?”

He loved how invested she seemed to be with his interests. No one had bothered to ask him what mattered to him beyond the surface level. “I don’t know, actually. I wasn’t thinking ahead that far.”

Her smile was reassuring. “I’m sure they’d let you know if you needed to do something before attending.”

She was right. And honestly, he could have done a little more research to find out what he’d have to do to attend. He hadn’t, and there had been one very specific reason as to why.

Serenity.

He was loving his summer too much—loving spending time with her, loving teaching her boys about the life of a cowboy, loving it all.

Why would he want to mess any of that up by taking off and going across the country? The answer was simple. He wouldn’t. Reese had finally gotten Serenity to lower her defenses just enough that he had the chance to win her over. There wasn’t anything worth the risk of losing that opportunity.

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you have plans for after this summer?”

She frowned.

“Meaning, was there a job you were going to go back to?” He couldn’t believe he’d gone this long not asking about her own plans.

“I… I haven’t worked since before Tegan was born.” The tone of her voice reeked of embarrassment. “I didn’t finish college, and we started our family so early… I was a stay-at-home mom.”

It was subtle. The way she ducked her head away from him as if she could hide how disappointed she was in herself.

“Hey,” he murmured, pulling his horse closer to her. “There’s no shame in that.”