Page 124 of Devil in Disguise

“Does it have a hayloft?” she asked.

“Yep. To store, you know, the hay. And, no, I’m not kissing you in it. Hay’s itchy. Wildly overrated, sex in haylofts. I’ve got this thing called a bed. Also a kitchen table. Bathroom counter, with a mirror. That one’s a nice little thought.”

“Owen. I’m askingagriculturalquestions.”

“And I’m giving agricultural answers. Or biological ones, at least.”

“Ha, ha. Where are the cattle?”

“In the pastures. I keep a pretty good area around the houses free. You don’t want pasture at your front door.” He followed the gravel track up and around, and there, facing the rising land and the mountain, were the houses. Or cabins. Or whatever you called them. Three log houses on a wide expanse of grass and surrounded by fencing, set a little ways apart. A big, sprawling one, a medium-sized one, and a small one, each with a covered area next to it so your car wouldn’t get snowy. Tall pines around the houses would shade them in summer and shield them from the wind all year long, and a basketball court was laid out behind them, scattered now with kids’ bikes, tricycles, and scooters. There was also a rectangular dirt area that was probably a vegetable garden, and a neat grouping of a couple dozen trees. Fruit trees, she thought. They had to be, because they were in rows.

“Which house is yours?” she asked, even though she thought she knew. The big one was … big, suitable for a family with lots of kids. The small one was, well, small. The middle-sized one, though, with its huge windows facing south, where they would catch the morning sun?

That one was just right.

* * *

He triedto let it bug him that she’d thought she wouldn’t like the place. He couldn’t manage it. As always when he came home, when he saw his land and his fences, his barn and his horses, and above all, the wide, wild sky, the space, and the untamable mountains, he felt … peace. Even with all the questions between them, bringing her here felt right.

The doors to both houses were opening, and out came his mom, his sister-in-law, Amy, and the boys. And their new dog, Angus, a big, goofy Golden Retriever who was no kind of farm dog and couldn’t herd a cow to save his life. Dane grumbled about Angus plenty, but Owen had seen him scratch his belly at night while Angus lay at his feet, because Angus, of course, adored him madly. It was pretty hard not to love anything that adored you madly.

“Hey!” That was his mom, getting there first. She started out with a hug for Dyma, because she’d want to make sure she felt welcome, and then gave Owen a hug and kiss. “How was the wedding? They get off all right?”

“Yep,” Dyma said. “It was pretty awesome. Harlan said he was going to be old-fashioned and only do this one time, and Mom said he’d better. They both looked extremely beautiful, Owen gave a great best man’s speech that made everyone laugh, I gave a great maid of honor’s speech that I like to think made them laughmore,and everybody in Harlan’s family cried except his grandfather. And I wouldn’t bet the farm on him.”

“But not you,” Joan said.

“Nope,” Dyma said. “Or only a little. When they did their first dance. Hey. It was romantic. They areseriouslyin love. They’ve both had a pretty hard time, too. They deserve each other, and not in the way people usually say that.”

“That’s so great to hear,” Amy said, giving Dyma her own hug. “Hediddeserve somebody wonderful. I always thought he seemed lonely. I can’t wait to hear the speeches, too. Going to perform yours for all of us tonight, Owen?”

“Not if I can help it,” he said.

“Dinner at my place,” Joan said. “But you’re barbecuing, Owen.”

“Works for me.” He gave Amy a kiss on the cheek, then picked up one of the three-year-old twins in each big arm. “What are all you guys doing in the house on a nice day like this, getting under your mom’s feet? Thought you were going to ride your new bike all day, Jason. That’s what I heard.”

“I’mCharlie!”the boy said.

“Whoops. Sorry. You’re wearing the blue shirt. Did you switch just to fool me?”

The boy giggled. “No. I’m really Jason. I was tricking you. What did you bring us?”

“Excuse me?” Owen said. “I was just here three days ago. I don’t drive all over the western states searching out presents for my nephews.”

“What did you bring? What did you bring?” They were chanting now, and Owen was laughing.

“All right,” he said. “Imighthave something in the truck.” Which had them squirming to get down.

“We were waiting for you,” Ethan told him. Eight years old, and asserting his authority. “Because you were bringing her.”

“Dyma,” Owen said. “You know her name. Say hi. Politely.”

“Hello,” Ethan said, and stuck out his hand, which Dyma gravely shook. “I’m very pleased to see you.”

“I’m pretty pleased to see you, too,” she said. “Hi, Matt.”

“Hi.” Matt, Owen had noticed, was a little shy around Dyma. A bad crush, he suspected. Well, shewasmighty cute. Matt shook her hand, too, and Dyma said, “You know what I most want to see?”