Page 7 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

“So…” She had to start a conversation. She’d killed the last one. “What are your plans for the bunkhouse?”

“That eager to be rid of us?”

She blinked at Gabe, her stomach swooping down in an embarrassed roll. “Oh, no, that’s not what I meant at all. I was just—”

“Hey, no worries.” Gabe flashed her one of those reassuring smiles. “It was just a joke. Teasing, that’s all.”

“Oh. Right. Joking.” The heat of embarrassment washed over her and she knew it was obvious on her face. A red, blotchy beacon.

“He thinks he’s funny, which takes some getting used to. Feel free to ignore him completely. It’s what Jack and I do.”

She tried to smile at Alex because she knew he was trying to make her feel at ease. He was trying to help. She was probably the only person in the world who would sit there thinking Gabe wasn’t joking.

“I think this will take some getting used to for all of us,” Alex said, and he really did remind her of Burt. Not so much in appearance, but in that quiet ease he led people with. A certainty he was right and knew what was best.

It was an odd comfort and a reminder that Burt had impressed upon her that she was capable—of running a ranch, of starting a business, of finding out who Becca Denton was beyond her old health problems and her mother’s heavy-handed protectiveness.

Not only could she do this, but she would. No matter how many awkward meals she had to live through.