Page 8 of Fern’s Date with Destiny (Heart Falls Vignette and Novella Collection #4)

T hanksgiving at the Fields house didn’t look like the kind of big sit-down dinners Cody remembered from growing up with his mom’s side of the family.

Then it had been all starched napkins and forced conversation from people who saw each other so rarely they had nothing more in common than familial blood.

At Ivy and Walker’s place, it was more like organized chaos. Laughter in every corner, little kids racing through legs, potluck-style dishes lined up across the island and kitchen counter as if they were an army waiting for the horn to blow Charge .

Cody loaded his plate, ducked past Fern who was deep in conspiratorial talk with her mom and Ivy, and found an empty spot beside Ashton Stewart.

The semi-retired foreman from Silver Stone ranch had become Grandpa to the Fields family by marriage, but the man wore the title as easy as an old pair of boots.

Across the table, Harper Fields, seven going on unstoppable, peppered Ashton with questions between bites of pumpkin pie.

“Do chickens all lay eggs?”

Ashton looked down at her seriously. “If they know what’s good for them, they do.”

“Can horses swim?”

“Only if you pay ‘em enough,” Ashton deadpanned then winked at Cody.

“Don’t believe everything he tells you, sweetheart,” Cody warned before leaning forward to add, “Some horses don’t even wait to put on their swimsuits and rush right into the water wearing only their birthday suits.”

Ashton chuckled, eyes twinkling. He leaned back, one arm draped over Harper’s chair. “Good man here, Miss Harper. Knows which end of a horse to pat and when to keep his mouth shut. Better foreman than I ever was.”

“Lies and slander,” Cody said, but pride warmed him through.

He caught Fern’s gaze across the room. A quick smile flashed between them in the middle of the tightly controlled family storm.

Yeah, he liked this. Liked being woven into the edges of their messy, warm tangle.

Liked even more knowing he’d sneak Fern away later when nobody was watching and kiss her silly for a good long while.

By Wednesday, the easy warmth of pie and too many extra helpings gave way to work that wouldn’t end. Cody’s phone buzzed just as he dropped into the office chair to deal with a fresh list of supply orders.

Fern: I have a second to breathe. So, hi. You still kicking?

Cody: Kicking, running, riding, hurrying. Who ordered this delivery of chaos?

Fern: You too? I swear I’m constantly shoving square pegs into round holes. But I’m having fun. Mostly. Did you know that it’s possible to upload a file big enough to stall out the gaming matrix of the Painting with The Masters program?

Cody: I did not know that. You’ll figure it out. You and those computers are besties.

Fern: It’s still a pain in the butt.

Cody: Just think how good it will feel to fix the problem and save my brother’s hide again.

Fern: He’ll be grateful. I’ll have to tell him I did it though, because he never even tries to use the computers anymore. Not for anything, unless he can’t help it. I’m afraid I’m enabling a Luddite tech-hating monster.

Cody: On a different topic, want to get together soon?

The three dots danced. Then disappeared. Appeared again.

His gut clenched. Ridiculous how one text bubble could knot him up tighter than barbed wire. And the idea that she might not want to see him?

A blare of sound suddenly chirped from his phone. He answered so fast he heard her giggle.

“Attachment failure,” Fern admitted between laughs. “I zigged when I should have zagged, and my hook jammed and knocked my phone to the floor. Again. I can’t type on a phone that’s not in my hand.”

“Your bionic arm needs a tune-up, sweetheart.” He shifted, propping his boots on the box beside the desk. “Want to swap hands?”

“Ha-ha. You’re not allowed to be sweeter than me. Stop it and tell me more about our next date.”

A grin spread across his face despite the long day. “Friday. You. Me. A bunch of goofy tasks at Red Boot. Call your crew. I’m short a few warm bodies to test this corporate bonding circus the oil company’s renting the ranch for.”

Fern’s suspicious hum echoed loudly in his ear. “Goofy sounds fine, but aren’t those things usually full of physical challenges like heaving yourself over too-tall walls? Because I don’t heave . With or without my spare parts.”

“No climbing walls or dangling off bridges. Worst thing is probably trying to herd balloons into a pen with pool noodles. It’ll be good for a laugh.”

She snorted. “Deal. I can already assure you that Charity and Dustin will be in because they’re in town and were just going to Rough Cut. I could ask Shim.”

Cody’s teeth clicked together. “Shim. Right. Fine . I’m feeling generous. Bring him. Better yet, tell him to bring a friend.”

She cackled. “You’re not jealous of Shim, are you?”

“Of course not,” he lied.

“He’s only a friend,” she assured him.

“Good.”

Which made her laugh as she hung up.

A couple days later, the autumn air sliced around them, crisp and bright, rustling the last stubborn leaves still clinging to the big poplars by Red Boot’s main arena.

Cody stood beside Zach, arms folded, as the crew lined up like misfit recruits: Fern, Charity, Dustin, Shim and, tucked half behind Shim’s shoulder, a new face.

Dark hair, warm brown eyes that flicked up at Cody then darted away.

Cody cocked a brow and gentled his tone. “This your plus-one, Shim?”

Shim cleared his throat. If ears could glow, his were practically neon. “Uh, yeah. This is Amanda. She’s new at Silver Stone. Figured she’d come along so she could take a look around here and then appreciate what a proper ranch looks like when we get home.”

Cody barked a laugh. It was going to be like that, was it? “Careful, or I’ll have Zach poach her before you make it back through the gate.”

Amanda’s cheeks flushed pink, but her shy smile remained. Fern winked at her behind Shim’s back.

“All right, pirates,” Zach boomed, shaking out a ridiculous parchment roll as if he’d unearthed it in a treasure chest. “Gather up for your official corporate-morale chaos. I didn’t make these up, but I did promise to document every disaster for the oil company’s HR department.”

He flicked the scroll open, nearly backhanding Cody on the nose, and rattled off the teams. “Okay, so we’ve got Dustin with Fern, Charity with Shim, and?—”

Before he could continue, Dustin raised both hands. “Whoa, no, no. I want Charity. No offense, Fern, but she’s the only one who won’t drop me on my ass.”

Fern fake gasped. “Wow, Dustin. Betrayal, like a dagger right to the heart.”

Charity just preened. “Smart man.”

Zach rolled his eyes. “Fine. Dustin and Charity. Shim and Amanda—you’re welcome. Which leaves you—” he pointed at Cody and Fern “—to babysit each other. Try not to break anything that costs money, okay?”

Cody shot Fern a sidelong grin. “Guess you’re stuck with me, sweetheart.”

Her answering smile cranked up the heat in his chest like a sunbeam. “Oh, the hardship.”

Zach brandished the scroll like a royal decree. “Task One: Ping Pong Panic. Rules are simple. Each pair bounces the ball back and forth as long as you can. Max time is two minutes. If more than one team hits two minutes total, we break the tie by going again and counting total bounces. Got it?”

What he got was a chorus of good-natured groans.

Still, Fern raised her paddle like a rapier. “Got it. We’re about to win.”

Dustin pointed at her dramatically. “You drop everything. I don’t trust you.”

Fern stuck her tongue out. “This is why you’re not my partner, traitor.”

Amanda snickered at Shim’s side. Shim puffed up like a rooster. Cody bit back another laugh.

“On my whistle.” Zach yelled. “ Go .”

Paddles flashed. Balls bounced.

Twice— Three times?—

They didn’t even have time to develop a rhythm before disaster struck.

Fern hit the ball a little too hard then squealed when Cody’s overzealous save deflected their ball straight into the back of Dustin’s head.

Dustin flailed, his paddle swinging, and Charity shrieked.

The errant shot sent their ball ricocheting off Shim’s thigh.

Amanda, halfway through a giggle fit, fumbled so hard her paddle smacked her own knee.

Only Shim and Amanda managed a half-decent run, mostly because Shim hovered so close he body-blocked every stray bounce.

Zach wheezed with laughter, clipboard shaking. “Okay, corporate is screwed. Next up is Balloon Herding . You have two minutes to corral as many balloons into your pen as you can, using only pool noodles. No hands, no cheating, no mercy. Ready?”

Cody leaned down, voice low at Fern’s ear as they shuffled to where an enormous mound of brightly coloured balloons waited at the start line. “We’re doomed, aren’t we?”

She bumped his hip with hers, eyes sparkling. “Never say die.”

Zach’s whistle split the air, and suddenly everyone was swinging foam noodles at rogue balloons like underpaid circus clowns.

Fern lunged for a pink balloon that bobbed just out of reach. Cody dove after another, narrowly missing her by inches before skidding sideways on the dusty arena floor.

“Too slow, cowboy!” she taunted, batting a purple balloon straight into their pen.

He spun around and bonked his noodle lightly against her rear. “Don’t sass your teammate.”

She stuck her tongue out only to yelp when a blue balloon bounced off her forehead. Cody’s noodle whapped it back into play with ninja precision.

Nearby, Dustin was yelling instructions at Charity. “No, left! No, your left?—”

Charity whirled and pinged him square in the ribs with her noodle. “I know my left, you walking disaster!”

Shim and Amanda were the only calm ones. She giggled every time Shim barked, “Stay on target, we almost got ‘em!” as if they were defusing bombs instead of wrangling dollar store balloons.

By the time Zach called time, Fern was breathless and doubled over laughing.

“Count ‘em up!” Zach ordered. “Team Dustin-Charity: nine balloons. Shim-Amanda: thirteen! Cody-Fern…” He squinted into the pen. “That’s more than I expected. Twelve. Not terrible.”

Cody slung an arm around Fern’s shoulders as she leaned into his side, both still panting.

She grinned up at him. “Nice wrangling there, cowboy.”

Zach waved them toward the far side of the arena. “Next up, Beam Walk. Which is just fancy talk for ‘don’t fall off this two by four while balancing a cup of water.’”

Dustin groaned dramatically. “We get to break ankles and look like idiots? Perfect.”

Zach raised a brow. “It’s all of four inches off the ground. I think your ankles are safe.”

Fern gave Cody a sly glance. “I used to pretend I was a tightrope walker on our porch railing as a kid. Piece of cake.”

“Sweetheart, if you eat dirt, I’m not catching you.”

She waggled her brows. “You better .”

Turns out, balancing water while giggling at your secret boyfriend is not a recipe for success.

Fern was halfway across the wobbly beam, cup bobbing precariously, when Cody, following close behind her, muttered, “Don’t wiggle that cute ass at me, or I’ll drop mine too.”

She snorted so hard she choked. Her foot slipped, arms pinwheeling, and Cody lunged forward with a swear, catching her waist just before she toppled sideways.

The water hit his shoulder, soaking his flannel.

She shrieked with laughter as they both tumbled off the beam, landing in a heap on the soft sawdust.

Over their heads, Zach bellowed, “Disqualified! But bonus points for entertainment value!”

Fern twisted under Cody’s arms, curly hair full of wood shavings, laughing so hard her ribs hurt. She wriggled free just as Shim jogged over to help haul her upright.

“Smooth, Fields,” Shim teased, flicking a piece of straw out of her curls. “Graceful as ever.”

“Hey, I stuck the landing…with help,” she shot back, bumping her hip against Cody’s leg with mock innocence.

Cody smothered a grin, dusting hay off his shirt. “Next time I’m wearing body armor.”

They plowed through the last event. A ridiculous blindfold-and-guide relay where each pair had to direct one partner through a maze of hay bales using only shouted instructions.

Fern and Cody tanked that one too, mostly because she was snickering so hard she kept confusing his directions until he declared, “I’m trading you for Amanda next time!”

She gasped dramatically. “Rude!”

He stole a quick kiss under cover of the hay maze wall. “You’re still my favourite cowgirl.”

Zach called it. “All right, corporate event crash test dummies, you did Red Boot proud—or at least hilariously average. I’m giving everyone a free beer and calling it a win.”

Cheers and exhausted high fives flew around. Dustin bear-hugged Charity until she squealed. Shim gave Amanda a quick, bashful shoulder squeeze that made her blush bright enough to rival the sunset.

Cody threw a playful arm around Amanda’s shoulders too. “Anytime you want to moonlight at a real ranch, you’re welcome at Red Boot, Amanda.”

Shim snapped his head up, scowling. “Hey?—!”

Fern swatted Cody’s bicep as she stepped into his hug. Her voice was a mock-growl only he could hear. “Watch it, buster.”

Cody bent to murmur at her temple, grinning like a devil. “Just getting Shim’s goat. You’re the only cowgirl for me.”

Her chest did that fluttery flip it always did when he dropped his voice like that. She squeezed him back hard, and for a second, it didn’t matter who was watching.

Sometimes secrets were worth keeping, if only because they made moments like this—goofy, breathless, theirs —shine ten times brighter.