Page 12 of Sweet Beginnings (Honeysuckle, Texas #1)

Rolling his head left then right, Preston blew out a long, slow breath.

Nothing in his memories of working the ranch at his father’s side included so many sore muscles.

He had just enough time to drink a strong cup of coffee, shower, and change before meeting Sarah for the trip to see the troubled dog.

A couple of aspirin was also probably a good idea.

Lingering in the hot shower a little longer than usual might not be a horrible prospect either.

“You look like you’ve seen better days.” His mom sat at the table with a cup of coffee cradled in her hands.

“You’re supposed to be resting.” Preston poured himself a cup and eased into a seat near his mother.

“If I rest anymore, I’ll turn into an overstuffed pillow. This is fine. I’m fine.”

“Mom—”

Alice Sweet’s hand shot up, palm out, cutting her son off. “Yes, I’m still sore. Yes, I need time to fully heal, but I am most definitely fine. A few cuts and bruises aren’t going to kill me.”

A small part of him had to agree with her assessment, but another part of him knew that an injured body needed both time and rest to heal. “Couldn’t you at least take it easy on the sofa?”

“It doesn’t hurt as much if I move around. When I stay still and then move, I remember why I hurt.”

“Which is why you should go back to bed.”

His mom rolled her eyes and took a slow sip of her coffee. He suspected more from discomfort than savoring the brew. “Sarah Sue called.”

“She did?” He hoped that sounded casually guarded.

“She knew y’all were out working the cattle, so she called the landline. Something came up with work so she’s running a little behind. She’ll pick you up in about an hour.”

Unsure of what to say, he gave a quick nod.

A small smile teased one corner of his mother’s mouth. “I heard you were at the park last night.”

He bobbed his head again.

“You like her.”

It wasn’t a question but he nodded again nonetheless. That much wasn’t a lie or subterfuge. He really did like Sarah Sue. Always had, but maybe now a little more than he’d realized.

“Where are you going today?”

“To evaluate a dog. A military dog who needs to be rehomed but he has issues that basically equate to PTSD in a human.”

“And what are you going to do?”

He shrugged. “Watch?”

That smile tugged at her lips again. “I see.” Just as the smile had appeared, it quickly slipped away. “I’ve been thinking a bit, you know, about the ranch situation, and playing with numbers. I want to run some ideas by you and the others. Maybe after dinner?”

How he wished he could tell her that they already had a plan in the works, but a simple nod was all he could offer.

Her smile reappeared. “Good. Then go.”

From the twinkle in her eye and the stubborn streak he was too familiar with, he knew she was working on a plan of her own. “You’re not going to lie down, are you?”

She shook her head.

All he could do was sigh. Hopefully, his mother would heal up faster than anyone expected, because debating her care with her was not going well for either of them.

As much as he hated leaving his mother alone, she was right, he had a date with a hot shower.

Pushing to his feet, he leaned over and gently kissed her cheek. “I love you.”

Her smile bloomed. “Love you more.”

Despite his desire to melt under the hot shower, Preston needed to be dressed and downstairs before Sarah arrived.

Seated on the edge of his bed, he slipped on one boot then the other and stood.

Taking a moment to glance in the mirror, he double-checked that his shirt tail wasn’t out or his fly down.

Convinced he was ready to go, he reached for the doorknob and could hear Sarah talking to his mother in the kitchen.

“Poor baby,” his mother cooed.

“It’s hard enough for some of these dogs to go from working dogs to family pets, but toss in emotional issues or just plain fearfulness, and the transition is even more challenging.

” Sarah stood facing his mother, her back against the counter.

“I wish we had a facility like the one near Dallas, but even they can’t save every dog. ”

His mother shifted in her seat, did a poor job of hiding a pained wince. “Maybe that’s something we should work toward.”

“There are so many military working dogs as well as contract working dogs or police dogs.” Sarah sighed. “So many.”

“Maybe, once we get through a few projects and hire a new foreman, I can help.”

From where Preston stopped at the kitchen entry, he could see the sweet smile bloom on Sarah’s face in response to his mother’s reply, igniting a smile of his own, and a few other things.

Agreement or no agreement, he was going to have to be very careful to watch his Ps and Qs or this whole marriage bargain could blow up in everyone’s face.

At the sound of Preston’s throat clearing from the doorway, Sarah glanced up at him and the sweetest smile took over her face. Boy, was she good at this game.

“Hi.” Preston debated walking over to her, but instead shifted his attention from her to his mother as he leaned over and kissed his mom on the cheek. “We have a long drive ahead of us, so we’ll be heading out.”

“Of course.” His mother smiled at him, her gaze darted to Sarah Sue and the smile brightened just a little. How he wished he didn’t have to deceive his mother, but it was for the good of the ranch she and his dad, like all the generations before them, loved so dearly.

He debated extending his arm to Sarah, but had a different idea instead.

Turning on his heel as Sarah said her goodbyes to his mother, they walked out the back door toward his parked car.

When he’d come to the edge of the porch, he stopped and snatched Sarah’s hand, turning her to face him.

“Mom can still see us from her seat and I’m betting she’s watching.

Knowing her stubborn streak, she might even have stood up to get closer to the window, so forgive me.

” Without another word, he pulled her snuggly against him and gave her a tender kiss on the lips, just long enough to make his mother happy without being too much for a first kiss.

Slowly, he eased back and not saying a word, gave her hand a slight tug and walked them to the car.

Not till they were off the ranch land and on the main road did he turn to her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“Was that too much?”

Still silent, her gaze ahead, Sarah shook her head.

“Do you want to change your mind?”

Her head whipped around to face him, her eyes filled with questions he couldn’t begin to decipher.

“We don’t have to go through with this, but if we do, we’re going to be living at the ranch and putting on a show like that until I can secure living arrangements elsewhere. And with everyone in my building looking for a new place to crash, that won’t be easy.”

She blew out a slow sigh. “No, it won’t.”

“So where do we go from here?”

Somehow Sarah Sue doubted running off to Vegas and staying there was the answer he wanted. Well, maybe the Vegas part would be fine, but not returning until the year was over and the trust money was in the bank was not an option. “I’ll plug the coordinates for the transition shelter into my phone.”

His shoulders tensed and she knew she shouldn’t have been so casual.

“Sorry.”

He shook his head, but didn’t speak.

“I’ll get used to all of this. It will be fine. We can do this.” Lord, at least she hoped she could. When she first spotted him standing at the entrance to the kitchen, all she could think was damn that man knew how to fill a doorway.

This time, Preston pressed his lips tightly together and nodded his head. A few more minutes of total silence and he cleared his throat again. “I don’t want anything to hurt our friendship. Anything.”

On that they could agree. “Ditto.”

“This may be harder than I first thought.”

What? Kissing her, being affectionate, lying to his mother, working the ranch and his day job, the dog?

His gaze shifted to hers and his shoulders deflated. “I’m sorry. I’m just realizing the enormity of what we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

Wasn’t that the truth? Suddenly hiding the charade from their parents seemed like the least of their challenges. “Do you want to back out?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he shook his head. “This is our best chance of saving the ranch.”

“Then save the ranch we shall. Maybe we can save Samson too.”

The rest of the drive was filled with mundane chatter intertwined with memories and twenty questions.

By the time they reached the shelter, they knew each other’s favorite colors, favorite foods, favorite movies, most pleasant memories and most embarrassing memories.

They discovered they both adored having Mr. Wheeler for history and could have done with anyone but Mrs. Mahoney for biology.

“I’ll never forget the day I walked into her office to buy the tickets for the school play.

” Preston chuckled. “I was a freshman and had no clue who this woman was, other than one of the biology teachers. I did as I had been taught, smiled charmingly at her and asked for two tickets. When she stared at me a moment and then said, “You’re a freshman, aren’t you?

” I wondered if she was psychic or if someone had pinned a kick me I’m a freshman note somewhere that I hadn’t noticed. ”

“Did you? Have a note on you?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I asked her, ‘Do I look that clueless?’ Then she frowned and replied, ‘No, you’re smiling at me.’”

Sarah couldn’t hold back the burst of laughter that erupted. “Oh, I can so picture Mrs. Mahoney saying that. She really did have a mean streak.”

“I considered that perhaps it was just my perspective as a student and I’d understand better once I grew up.”

“Did you?”

“Nope. After a decade I concluded she was just plain mean.”

“Honestly, your charming smile can be quite persuasive. If that didn’t win her over, nothing would.”

“Thank you.” He reached over and touched her hand. “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”