Page 5 of A Montana Secret Admirer (Sagebrush Ranch Sweethearts #4)

CHAPTER FOUR

“Something was left at the door for you,” Jane sang as Serenity entered the kitchen.

Glancing toward her sister, Serenity moved farther into the room and right for the coffee maker. She hadn’t slept well last night. She wanted to say it had something to do with being in an unfamiliar house, but that would be wrong.

Her issues were with a specific cowboy.

Turning, she faced her sister, who had something behind her back and an amused glint in her eye. “What is it?” Serenity asked.

Jane pulled out a beautiful yellow flower with a flourish. It was larger, and it resembled a lily, but that wasn’t what it was.

Serenity’s eyes locked on the flower, and she took a step toward her sister with curiosity. “How do you know it’s for me?”

Jane waved a small card in the air. “This has your name on it.”

Snatching the card, Serenity looked closer. Sure enough, in small, block lettering, her name was written. She flipped the card over… but nothing. Serenity glanced up at Jane. “Who brought it?”

Jane shrugged. “It was there when I got up this morning. Noah left a little bit ago, and he almost stepped on it.”

“No one saw anything? How are we going to find out who left it?”

Her sister let out a laugh. “If they wanted you to know, then they would have said something.”

Serenity frowned. She didn’t like not knowing. Whoever sent it might have ulterior motives.

Another laugh from Jane drew her attention. “Stop worrying about it so much. I mean, look at it. It’s a yellow lotus. Yellow means friendship, right? I wonder if someone sent it to you to make you feel welcome here.”

Serenity stilled. That actually made more sense. Reese had said they could be friends. It was possible that he’d given her the flower. A small smile tugged at her lips. It was a sweet gesture. There was only one problem. Why wouldn’t he just sign his name?

She brought the flower to her nose and inhaled its perfumed scent.

Then she moved to the cupboard with the glasses.

Filling one with water, she glanced once more at the flower.

Yellow meant friendship, but flowers in general could mean more.

She’d have to figure out if that was Reese’s intention.

That shouldn’t be too difficult. She’d be seeing him today, after all.

With the flower situated in some water, Serenity went about the rest of her morning, getting her sons ready for the day while letting her thoughts drift to the flower and how sweet it had been to give her something so full of life.

When her boys had their fill of breakfast, she took them out to the barn in search of Reese.

They didn’t have a set time to meet, and if he wasn’t ready, then she’d take them for a walk instead.

Upon arriving at the barn, her boys darted down the long aisle.

Serenity followed after them with a bright smile on her face.

She let her fingertips trail along the stall doors and walls that separated them from the animals.

Then Reese materialized as if out of nowhere.

Her heart leapt into her chest at the sight of him. There was just something about the way he could fill out the jeans and t-shirt combo he seemed to prefer. Today, his shirt was a deep green color, and it made his skin glow.

Nope. She wasn’t even going to go there.

This summer was not meant for her to find love.

She was taking care of her sons and helping them continue to heal and move on from the loss of their father.

They needed to understand that life could go on, no matter how much they still loved and missed the man who had fathered them.

Her heart twinged with the loss of him, but not nearly as much as it had when the wound had been fresh.

Reese flashed her a smile as he unloaded rope from his shoulder and hung it on a hook. “Hey, guys. What are you doing out here so early?”

“I want to ride a horse today,” Jessi said as firmly as he could.

Reese chuckled. “Well, we do have a horse I think would suit you. She’s a little old, but that just means she’s not up for running. Super sweet, too.” His eyes were on Serenity even as he spoke the words to her son. This was for her benefit, and she appreciated it more than he would ever know.

“I think that sounds like a good fit, too,” Serenity confessed. “We’ll be ready whenever you are.”

He pulled out his phone and checked the time. “I was thinking we could start right after lunch, if that works for you.”

Jessi frowned. Tegan was too busy studying the rope that Reese had hung up to seem to notice.

“That works for us,” Serenity assured him. “We don’t want to keep you from your work.”

“You’re not,” he said—albeit a little too quickly. “I don’t mind the shadows. They can see what I do on a daily basis.”

Tegan perked up at that. “Do you know how to lasso cows?”

“Sure do,” Reese chuckled. “But right now, I’m making sure all the animals are getting their breakfast. And that means all the animals. You know, I could also use some help with something, if you boys think you can handle it.”

Serenity watched the interaction with curiosity. They’d been with him for a couple minutes, and Reese hadn’t mentioned the flower. He hadn’t even looked at her any differently than he had the day before. It didn’t appear he knew anything about it.

Then again, she hadn’t brought it up, either. He might be waiting for her to ask him about it.

Reese’s voice drew her from her thoughts, and her eyes widened at what he’d said.

“Wait, you want them to collect the eggs from the chicken coop?”

His smile widened further. “Why not? Most kids their age love that sort of stuff.” Then he moved closer and covered the side of his face that the boys could see with his hand. “As long as the chickens aren’t the spawn of the devil himself.”

She blinked. Then he laughed, and she couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips.

“But seriously, our chickens like kids. I’ve only ever seen them chase down one person.”

“Who?” Serenity asked without thinking.

“Leo. My brother,” he clarified. “For some reason, those chickens do not like him.” He chuckled as he appeared to relive a particular memory and shook his head.

“Yep, those chickens are happy with nearly every other individual, but him. He refuses to go anywhere near that coop unless he absolutely has to.” Reese turned to the boys.

“What do you say? Want to see where we get all the eggs?”

Jessi seemed more interested than Tegan, but her oldest didn’t argue.

The boys wandered ahead as she fell into step beside Reese. She glanced at him several times, wondering how she could bring up the flower without it sounding obvious. “How many people work here?” she asked.

He glanced up at the sky in thought for a moment. “I dunno. Two dozen?”

“And most of them are family?”

“A little over half, I’d say.”

She nodded. “And how many of them are single?”

He slowed and stared at her in a way that had heat blooming beneath the surface of her skin. She laughed to cover up her embarrassment but failed miserably. Especially when he murmured, “Why, are you looking?”

“What? Goodness, no.” She could feel her blush deepening. Gah! How was she supposed to bring up the flower without sounding like an idiot now? And if it wasn’t him? What would he do if he found out someone else was interested in her?

“No…” he drawled.

She covered her face with her hands. “It’s nothing. I was just curious.”

They’d made it to the chicken coop, and she watched as Reese shifted his focus to her boys like nothing had happened. He taught them how to reach beneath the chickens who were still seated on their eggs and where to look if there weren’t any in the nesting boxes.

“It’s like an easter egg hunt!” Jessi exclaimed with excitement.

Reese chuckled, and his eyes locked with hers. Warmth spread through her middle. Every time he looked at her like that, it was made even more clear that he was attracted to her.

The thing that bothered her was the fact that she was attracted to him, too. She simply knew she wasn’t ready for more. She looked away, focusing instead on her boys. After they’d gathered all the eggs, they set off toward the main house where they were to store the eggs in their kitchen.

Serenity’s thoughts shifted again to the flower, and she attempted another tactic. “The landscape here is beautiful.”

He glanced at her again. “I’m sure it’s different than the city, but for the most part, you’ll find everything that grows out here will grow anywhere in Montana.”

She nodded. “True. I’ve always loved going to nature parks. The flowers are my favorite.”

No reaction. Not a single twitch of his eye or tug from his lips.

“Do you know if there are any botanical gardens around here?”

He pursed his lips. “No, not that I can think of. But there is a floral shop in town. And there are parts of this property that have loads of wildflowers.”

She frowned. No lotuses, then. They grew in muddy waters, not dry pastures. And based on the look of the lotus she’d received, it wasn’t something farm grown and sold in a shop.

“Something wrong?” Reese prodded.

Serenity shook her head. Nope. She wasn’t even going to mention the lotus.

That was too much detail. If Reese had anything to do with it, he would have shown signs.

Based on how at ease he was talking about this, she could almost guarantee he had nothing to do with the flower she’d been given.

She offered him a smile as they reached the house. “I’m good. Just thinking.”

“Anything I can help with?”

Once again, she shook her head. “I’ll be taking the boys on a walk before lunch. We should watch for those wildflowers you mentioned.”

“My mother has a lot of vases at her disposal. Tell the kids to gather their favorites, and you can enjoy them back home.”

“I’ll do that,” she said with a genuine smile. The idea wasn’t half-bad.

The rest of the day went off similarly to the day before. Serenity stood behind the enclosure made for horse riding lessons and watched as Tegan continued to improve his riding abilities. Then she held her breath as she watched her baby boy do the same.

True to what Reese had said, Tabitha the horse was as meek as they came. She slowly ambled around the perimeter without a care in the world and no desire to move any faster. Each and every time Jessi rounded the side where Serenity stood, he beamed at her like he had won the lottery.

Seeing that smile on his face brought her more joy than she thought had been possible after losing Finn. He would have loved to see their boys learning this new skill. And perhaps he was watching from somewhere nearby.

The warmth that enveloped her at that thought lingered. It was moments like this one when she sensed him that she thought she might be capable of moving on and finding someone new—merely because she knew he would have wanted her to be happy. To live a life alone at such a young age wasn’t ideal.

Her eyes inadvertently drifted toward Reese when he rounded the corral with Jessi this time. Those hazel eyes looked greener today than usual—likely due to that green shirt he wore. They sparkled with something she couldn’t put her finger on, too.

She shifted her focus to her son and hoped her expression showed him just how proud she was at his progress. By the end of the day, everyone was tuckered out and ready for bed—just in time for Serenity to catch the last fleeting rays of the sunset.

Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, she nudged out of the house and onto the front porch. Her bare feet padded along the smooth, worn wooden planks of the porch until she made it to the edge of the steps and took a seat.

Tonight, the colors weren’t as vibrant, but it was just as beautiful.

There were swatches of clouds in the sky giving it a more variegated look.

She took in a deep breath then exhaled. The floral scents along with freshly cut hay wafted toward her.

Reese hadn’t been joking when he’d said there were plenty of wildflowers in the surrounding areas.

They’d managed to pick some of the brightly colored ones on the property, and those now rested in a vase on the kitchen table.

Tana had been overjoyed by the boys’ insistence that the flowers be presented to her.

But if Serenity wanted to be honest, she figured the kids were only buttering the surrogate grandmother up for sweets.

Tana had promised cookies tomorrow, and the way the boys’ faces lit up made it clear they would be planning another flower retrieval outing in the future.

A twig snapped to her right, and her head swiveled to find a surprised Reese emerging from the shadows. When he caught her looking at him, he grinned. “I didn’t realize this was a habit of yours.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the sunset when she didn’t make any comment.

“Oh… yeah.” Serenity tightened the blanket around her shoulders. “There’s something peaceful about watching the day coming to an end, you know? Like all the tension can melt away with the sun lowering behind the horizon.” A soft smile touched her lips.

She was vaguely aware of Reese shifting. He bent over and examined something on the ground then straightened and came to sit beside her. His legs brushed against hers, and he turned his attention to the sky.

Serenity peeked at him out of the corner of her eye before silence fell over them. It was a companionable sort of quiet.

It was nice.

Serenity leaned over and wrapped her arms around her legs. Neither one of them had to speak right now, and that made the experience even better. Her thoughts started to wander into dangerous territory the longer they spent together. Having Reese at her side made her long for something more.

She couldn’t tell if that was because of the inherent loneliness she experienced after Finn’s death or the strange comfort she had from Reese’s proximity, but it wasn’t hard to imagine a reality where she could be with this man.

No, not this man.

But someone .

It was the first time Serenity had considered such a thing since Finn’s passing, and it was far less terrifying than she thought it would be.

As if against her own will, she glanced once more toward Reese.

No. It would be too complicated to jump into something with him. He was her sons’ teacher. And there was the matter of that secret admirer she’d caught the attention of. Perhaps it was time to open her heart up to something new.