Page 150 of Rocky Mountain Home

It was real.

Dare shook a finger at Vicki. “Don’t you say anything, and I mean not to Joel either.”

Vicki made a face. “Really?”

Dammit, she couldn’t make that kind of demand. “Okay, if you have to talk about what a fool I am, you have to make Joel promise not to tell Jesse. I swear I’ll get around to it as quickly as I can.”

Her friend drew an X over her chest. “I solemnly swear I will make sure Joel doesn’t tell Jesse that you are already head-over-heels in love with him.”

Dare snickered. “That will have to do, I guess.”

Vicki loaded up a half-dozen cookies, and Dare headed home, holding tight to a bag that contained a warm gift of friendship.

It was nearly as sweet as the warm glow of love in her heart.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jesse somehow managed to step on Dare’s last nerve before they’d even finished breakfast. She spent more time glaring than finishing her toast.

“What?” he demanded.

Her eyes narrowed. “If I have to explain why I’m mad, you’re going to regret it.”

“I just said I didn’t think you needed to be hauling stuff all over the house. I can help you when I get home later.”

“After I said decorating was something I was looking forward to doing? I’m bored, Jesse. There’s not a lot on the approved list for me with this weight in front of me.”

She picked up her toast and snapped off a piece, baring her teeth at him. Mad, but still able to tease.

He could handle that. “Okay. If it makes you happy, and it’s on the approved list—”

“Asshole,” she muttered, loud enough for him to hear, all the while picking an invisible speck off her sleeve.

He ignored her, but couldn’t stop his smile from widening as he kept going. “—I hope you have a wonderful time decorating. If there’s anything you need help with, I’ll be home later.”

Dare swallowed then offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry I’m a grump.”

He grabbed their plates and carried them to the counter before returning to press a kiss to her temple.

“You’re cute when you’re a grump.” He leaned over and spoke to her belly. “Be good for your mama. No elbowing her in the bladder, and keep those boots off her ribs.”

He pressed a kiss to the swell, somewhat astonished Dare was able to continue to do as much as she was with Buckaroo taking up so much room.

His good mood followed him all the way over to Joel’s.

His brother stepped out of the trailer, Vicki following. Joel turned back and gave Vicki a concentrated kiss, one hand sliding possessively over her waist. She wasn’t showing yet, but it was clear they were both pretty hyped about the baby.

It was Joel who brought up the idea. “I want to go up to check out the house. Come with me? We can ride.”

Ever since they’d returned to the Six Pack ranch, Jesse had been avoiding Sunset Ridge. The thought of it, though, had become this itch at the back of his brain. It seemed smarter to stay away than have to face the final truth—that his earlier decisions had changed part of his future irrevocably.

But now, with Joel asking, it seemed he just had to face the truth and deal.

“Sure,” he agreed as cheerfully as possible.

Which was how they ended up stepping back in time, the horses carrying them on the familiar route to where the land hit the foothills, variations in height rising in waves and rounded hillocks as if the land itself were pregnant.

They approached from the east, which meant they were nearly at the top of the rise before the building site became visible.