Page 8 of A Montana Secret Admirer (Sagebrush Ranch Sweethearts #4)

CHAPTER SIX

Serenity twirled the pale, yellow lotus flower stem between her fingers. The longer she stared at it, the more torn she became. The previous flowers had only had a card with her name on it. This one had come with an actual note.

Serenity,

If there’s one thing in life that I’ve learned, it’s that nothing is promised.

The future. Our dreams. Not even the people we care for.

That’s why I want you to live your life to the fullest. Continue to dream.

Don’t forget to love. Seek joy in every breath you take, because you deserve that happiness.

It wasn’t signed. It was simple enough, with no indication of who might have left it. For all she knew, it could have come from Noah. Or Jane. But neither one of them had confessed to the flowers showing up every night.

She’d been intent on watching the front porch after Reese had left, but then Jessi had a nightmare, and she’d had to help him fall back asleep. When she’d returned, the flower and the note had been waiting for her.

Serenity sighed as she brought the flower to her nose and inhaled. She was growing accustomed to receiving these flowers. Up until recently, her favorite flower had been a rose. Yeah, it was boring and unpredictable.

But now, she couldn’t say that. The American lotus flower was her favorite now.

Her thoughts drifted from the short note to the man who had stayed with her during the sunset. For a moment, she’d thought he might cross the line she’d drawn in the sand and kiss her. She hated herself for just how much she wanted it, too.

She closed her eyes against the memory, her body warming with the truth of it all. What would she have done if he had? Would she have given in and kissed him like her life depended on it? Or would she have pushed him away and escaped into the house?

There was no indication of where her heart was on the matter.

Then there was the reality that if she’d kissed him, then she could have very well messed everything up. They’d found a camaraderie between the two of them. Reese had become her friend.

She should’ve been surprised, but she couldn’t even bring that reaction to the surface of her mind. Hadn’t she told him she only wanted friendship? The surprising thing was definitely the regret she was feeling over wanting him to be more while at the same time being terrified of that happening.

“I’m a mess,” she mumbled to herself as she put the flower in the small vase with the others. The first one she’d received had definitely seen better days. It was on its last leg, and she plucked it from the vase to toss into the garbage.

“What was that?”

She jumped and whirled around to find Jane entering the kitchen.

She glanced at Serenity with a furrowed brow.

There was no way she hadn’t heard what Serenity had said out loud.

The house was big, but not that big, and Serenity had uttered her statement loud enough that anyone in the room would have been able to hear her.

“Nothing,” Serenity insisted. “What are you up to today?”

“Just heading to work. I have to get some things organized for the trip I have to take next weekend.”

“Trip?”

She nodded. “Going to New York. It’ll only be for the weekend, though, so you won’t get too bored without me.”

Serenity snickered with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know the meaning of that word. Not with the two boys I have underfoot.”

Jane smiled back. “Can you believe that Mom is already prodding us about starting a family? I swear. If I don’t have news of a new grandbaby soon, she’s going to start nagging Ruth, and she’s still pregnant with number three.”

They gave each other a knowing look. Their mother was the stereotypical grandmother. She wanted all the babies she could give love to. Ironically, she’d only had three daughters herself, and yet she couldn’t get enough now that she didn’t have to raise them.

“Yeah, well, at least I have a break from that,” Serenity mumbled more to herself than anyone else.

She’d always planned on having a large family.

She and Finn had started early on so they could have at least five kids before she started getting too old for easy pregnancies.

They were going to try for another just before the accident.

Her hand landed on her stomach at the memory, and when Jane moved up beside her with a touch on her arm, she was pulled back to the present. “I’m fine,” she insisted.

“I know. Just don’t forget that I’m here. Noah, too. If you need anything?—”

“You’re already giving me a place to stay and things to do this summer before the boys have to go back to school,” Serenity laughed. “I don’t think there’s anything else you can do.”

The way her sister continued to stare at her made it clear she wanted to say something.

Great. Another one of those talks. Jane had several of them.

There was the one about moving on and finding someone new, the one about getting out there and finding joy in a new job, and the one about being present for her sons.

Well, Jane didn’t have to deal with losing someone. She didn’t know what she was talking about. Until she lost Noah, she would never understand.

Still, Serenity would keep her mouth shut and smile throughout whatever lecture her sister wanted to give her because she didn’t want to alienate her. The last thing she wanted to be was ungrateful.

“Have you met anyone since coming here this summer?”

Reese immediately flooded her thoughts, and she stiffened. Did Jane know that Reese had been giving her more attention lately?

“The flowers.” Jane nodded to the lotus flowers on the table. “Do you know who they’re from yet?”

Was it bad that relief flooded her chest at Jane’s clarification?

“Unfortunately, not.” She hadn’t shown Jane the note, either.

She’d rather not have Jane go all private-investigator on her.

Whoever it was didn’t want to be found. “I don’t even know if the person leaving them is a guy. For all I know, it could be Tana.”

Jane tapped her finger on her chin for a moment. “I guess you’re right. Then again, I’ve never known someone to leave flowers multiple times for someone who they weren’t romantically interested in.”

Serenity shrugged. “Yeah, well, if they were, you’d think they’d say something. They haven’t even left me a note to tell me they find me attractive or intriguing. We don’t know why they’re leaving the flowers. Could just be a way to show solidarity.”

Jane tossed her a pained look. Serenity couldn’t tell if it was pity or acknowledgement of her loss. They’d already talked about Finn until there was nothing left to say. That topic was officially worn out.

“Just do me a favor, okay?” Jane finally said.

“What?” Serenity asked with a sigh.

“Don’t forget that it’s okay for you to move on.”

It took great effort not to roll her eyes at her older sister.

“I mean it, Serenity. You deserve to be happy. And Finn would want you to find that happiness, even if it meant meeting someone new and falling in love.”

“Jane—”

Jane held up a hand. “Just think about it. There are a lot of eligible guys around here. Despite this town being on the smaller side, guys seem to flock to the area for work. Go out. Meet someone. Test the waters. And if nothing comes from it?” She shrugged. “At least you tried.”

“Fine,” Serenity whispered. She only agreed because she knew Jane wouldn’t drop the subject. Just because she didn’t have someone to hold her at night didn’t mean she was lonely. She had her sons. She had her sisters.

And she had Reese.

Her cheeks flushed, and she turned away from Jane to hide her reaction to her own thought. A few minutes later, Jane had left. Serenity would be fine. She didn’t have to depend on anyone. All she needed was friendship. Nothing more.

Jessi’s small hand remained clutched within her own as they wandered through the ranch. He’d gotten up just as the sun was coming up, and he’d refused to go back to sleep.

It wasn’t lost on her that she’d avoided going out to see the sunrise and instead had insisted on fixing him a special breakfast of pancakes.

Now, they were trying to find each and every animal raised on this property. The Reese family had two large pigs, a flock of chickens, three goats, a small herd of sheep, and of course, the cattle and horses.

Presently, her three-year-old was fascinated with the large pigs that were sprawled out in the mud. He giggled as one lifted its head lazily to look at him. They hadn’t brought the animals breakfast, so it wasn’t a surprise that they weren’t getting much attention from the creatures.

Jessi pointed at the one closer to the edge of the pen. “What’s his name?”

“I have no idea, kiddo.”

“Can I name him?”

She laughed. “Sorry buddy, but I’d guess that he or she already has a name.”

Jessi frowned. “Oh.”

“His name is Bacon.”

Serenity gasped at the low voice directly behind her.

She hadn’t heard his footsteps approaching, but by this point, she’d recognize his voice anywhere.

It had a soothing sort of timbre to it… or at least it had until she started wondering what it would be like to kiss him.

Now it sent waves of shivers. The hairs on the back of her neck rose, but she did her best to school her features as she turned to face him.

Reese flashed her a smile then dipped his eyes to Jessi, who had his face scrunched up with the most adorable look of confusion.

“Bacon? Why would you name him Bacon?”

Reese grimaced and leaned closer to Serenity as he whispered, “Does the kid know where his breakfast comes from?”

Slowly, she shook her head. They hadn’t gotten around to telling him more than where chicken came from, and that had only happened due to Jessi’s question of why an animal had the same name as his favorite food.

Reese hiked up his pants at his knees and crouched down to face her son. He glanced up at Serenity, a question in his eye—one she could read plain as day. She nodded, and he turned his focus to Jessi. “Because that’s what he is.”

Jessi’s scrunched face pinched further. “Huh?”

Reese chuckled. “You know, chicken comes from chicken. Hamburgers come from cows. And bacon comes from…” He nodded his head to the pig. “Bacon.”

Understanding dawned on Jessi’s face, and his eyes widened with shock. Then he wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. Bacon comes from pigs?”

More laughter spilled from Reese’s lips, and he glanced up to share his amusement with Serenity. She smiled back before watching her son grasp this new information. Reese rose to his feet and stared down at her boy with a teasing grin. “Do you like bacon?”

Jessi glanced at the pig again, and Reese shook his head.

“No, I mean the food. Do you like to eat bacon for breakfast or on your potatoes?”

Her son made a show of contemplating his question and gave Reese a nod.

“Then it shouldn’t matter. There are lots of things in this world that come from places we don’t expect them to. There used to be a time when we got our clothes from animals, too. And I bet you’d never guess where glue comes from.”

“Where?”

Serenity’s eyes shot wide, and she let out a strangled laugh. “I think that’s about enough of that. Jessi has all the time in the world to learn about where glue comes from.”

He gave her a dirty look—one that had both her and Reese laughing.

Then Reese met her gaze. “What have you been up to this morning? I don’t think I’ve seen you up this early since you’ve arrived.”

“We’re looking at the animals,” Jessi answered for her.

She nodded. “He couldn’t get back to sleep this morning. Already I can tell it will be a long day.”

For the briefest of moments, it appeared as though he was concerned for her—like he might even offer to take Jessi off her hands. Or it could be wishful thinking on her part. Because what reasons would he have for wanting to offer such a thing? Ridiculous.

“Did you know that Bo just got a couple ducks?”

Jessi made strangled, excited sounds. “Really?”

“Yep. They’re still babies, but they’ve been wandering around near the pond out back behind the main house.”

“There’s a pond?” Serenity asked, immediately wondering if there were lotuses growing there.

Reese’s eyes swept over to her. “Yeah. Haven’t you seen it?”

She shook her head. If there was a pond with lotuses growing there on this property, that would narrow down her list of people who might want to bring her flowers. “Can we see them?”

Jessi jumped up and down. “Yeah. Can we see them?”

“Sure, I’ve got a few extra minutes before I have to meet up with Leo about something.” Reese grinned at Jessi. “From what I know, we haven’t named all of them yet. Should we find out?”

And that just about had Jessi’s heart exploding. Serenity could see it from where she stood, even if Jessi hadn’t released her to hold Reese’s hand instead.

Their eyes locked, and once again, all she could think about was when he’d nearly kissed her and what her sister had said about meeting someone.

Funny how the note she’d gotten with her flower was so similar to her sister’s statement. Maybe Jane was hiding the fact that she was the secret admirer and trying to get her out of her comfort zone.

“You okay?” Reese murmured as they rounded the side of the house.

She flashed him a reassuring smile—one she didn’t feel in the slightest. “Perfect.” She let her focus shift to her son for a second before she lowered her voice even more. “Thank you. You really are very good with him. I think it helped to learn some of that stuff from a real cowboy.”

If his charming grin wasn’t bad enough, the way his eyes crinkled with amusement was enough to do her in. “It’s not a problem at all.”

She didn’t know what it was about the way he said it, but this time, she found it easier to believe that he was telling the truth.