Page 26 of A Rancher's Vow

He laughed.

Yeah, she wasn’t in the right position to offer that as a threat. “Do you think I can sit up soon?” Her stomach rumbled audibly. “The food your sister-in-law packed smells wonderful.”

Dustin checked his rear view. “There’s no one in sight. Go ahead and unfold yourself. And hand me one of whatever. I’m starving.”

Charity dug into the cooler. Chicken sandwiches, thick ham and cheese. Peanut butter and jelly. She passed him a chicken and nabbed a PB&J for herself. “How did it go at the house when you left?”

“I pulled my truck up outside the house, and everyone came out on the porch to wave me off. An appropriate send off if I was leaving on a year-long jungle expedition.”

“Anyone watching?”

“Some media. Ashton had called the RCMP, so the news trucks were slowly leaving.” Dustin took a bite of his sandwich and hummed happily. “I hope it’s that easy. That I’m gone for a week, and everything goes back to normal.”

“I hope so, too.” Charity frowned. “You’re going to miss Shim’s arrival tomorrow.”

“I know. It sucks, but he’ll be around on a permanent basis. Plus, Ginny’s baby is due in the next three weeks, so my foster sister, Dare, will be joining the family again. You’ll like her. She’s a little quieter than Ginny but still all heart.”

“She sounds awesome.”

“I hope the baby arrives after Canada Day. That would suck. Having to share a birthday with— Oh,shit.”

Charity glanced around in concern to see what had upset him. “What?”

Dustin sighed. An enormous, frustrated sigh. “Canada Day.”

Nope. Charity shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

“Canada Day in Heart Falls. All the traditional events. A picnic, a petting zoo.” He met her gaze. “The bachelor auction.”

Of course,this couldn’t be simple. Dustin swore again. “I can’t believe none of us thought of it. The annual bachelor auction—I can’t be involved.”

Charity whistled softly. “Or you could be involved and make a shit-ton of money for the boys and girls fund.” She held up her hands. “Kidding. No way should you go near the event.”

Frustration seethed inside. “Which means I’ll be gone for more than a week. No way things will settle down enough in time.” He shrugged and motioned to the food. “Can’t be helped. Feed me.”

She offered him a can of pop first. “If you can’t do it, someone else will have to take me back when I’m done.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about the details.” He put the pop can in a cupholder and accepted another sandwich. “It’s damn frustrating, but I’ll make the best of it.” He kept his gaze mostly on the empty highway, finishing the sandwich as thoughts tumbled in his head.

Beside him, Charity was still taking neat bites from her first sandwich, staring out the window at the passing fields. She looked relaxed and competent, just like always.

“Not much fazes you, does it?” Dustin asked.

Charity blinked. “Oh, I don’t know. You’ve seen me flustered.”

“I have. It’s cute.” He grinned at the face she tossed him. “But you recover quickly. I like that. You feel—solid.”

“That’s a… Well, okay, I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“It is. It was meant to be.” Dustin leaned back and got comfy behind the wheel. “Solid makes things work. My brother Caleb is solid, as in I’d jump off a cliff if he told me to. Tamara is solid in that she’d tell me before I got on the cliff I shouldn’t be there in the first place.”

Charity laughed. “She does have that ‘I know things’ aura.”

“Exactly.” Dustin nodded excitedly. “I tried to explain that to Luke once, and he looked at me as if I’d grown antenna.”

“Luke seems the type to look at the facts, not the energies under them.” Charity went thoughtful. “He’s like…a fun uncle. But one who gets you to eat your vegetables while making a game of it.”

Amusement bubbled up. “I’ll need to tell that one to Kelli. She’ll get a kick out of it.”