Page 32 of Rocky Mountain Home

“You’re quick.”

“Yup. Going to be blunt with you. If you’re not planning on doing the decent thing and being around long term, do the next decent thing and leave sooner than later. Dare deserves more than some guy who’s maybe there. You’re in, or you’re out.”

“We’re getting engaged,” Jesse snapped.

Luke’s feet tangled for a moment before he hit a smooth stride again. “You are a brave man.”

“It’s the right thing to do.”

“It is,” Luke agreed. “Course, it’s nice to actually know the woman you’re marrying, or so my fiancée says.”

“You’re getting married?”

“Yup. Penny Talisman. You’ll meet her sometime if you’re sticking around.”

“She work for the ranch?” They were narrowing in on a group of cowboys—and a cowgirl or two.

“Nah, but her family breeds horses too, so she likes to hit the barns when she comes to visit.” Luke jerked to a stop a good twenty feet from the gathering. “Look, it comes down to this. Dare is very special to me, and if you fuck up, I will hurt you, then I’ll kill you and hide your body so thoroughly it’ll be as if you never existed.”

A man after his own heart. “We’re good.”

Luke touched his fingers to the brim of his hat then turned, leaving Jesse grinning until he thought of something.

“Hey,” he shouted after Luke. “There’s one more of you around somewhere. Should I expect death threats from him as well?”

Luke pivoted on a heel and walked backward as he kept moving. “Nah. Walker’s not around right now—just make sure Ginny doesn’t get it in her head to poison you. She’s the one with the creative mind, and she holds a grudge.”

“Good to know.”

Luke left, and Jesse strolled slowly, rambling along the edge of the lake. The Stone place was familiar and new all at the same time. It was also somewhere he might be spending a lot of time in the future. That changed things. A lot.

How the hell had this happened? He’d been looking for another roll in the hay, not defending a woman’s honour and playing get to know you with her family. Control had been swept out his hands.

He needed a little more air.

Dare was putting the finishing touches on her next four scheduled posts when the door to the cottage opened and Ginny strolled in.

“Hello, the house. Is it safe? Jesse, don’t bother dressing for my sake—it’s always clothing optional for non-family cowboys around the Silver Stone ranch.”

“You’re a regular comedian,” Dare drawled. “I’m in the office.”

“You’re out of bed.”

“Master of the obvious, too. What do you do for an encore, lady? Pretend to read my future in the dirty sink water?” Dare spun her chair toward where Ginny had thrown herself on the guest bed.

Her friend eyed her closely. “Hmmm.”

“What?”

Ginny wrinkled her nose, then tipped over and buried her face in the pillow, sniffing loudly.

Dare flushed. “You are not sniffing the sheets to try to figure out if we slept together.”

“I’m not? I could have sworn I was. I like his soap, by the way. Ivory? Irish Spring?”

God. The only thing worse than a best friend was a best friend who was close enough to be family. “He slept in here, and I slept in my bed. Now go away and stop doing your bloodhound imitation.”

“Why’d he sleep way over here, Dare? It’s not like you could get pregnant, or anything.” Her friend wiggled off the bed and pressed a hand to Dare’s forehead. “You’re not feverish, are you?”