“Yeah, yeah. I get it. But this is Jane’s project. Why do they need one of us to help out? Sounds more like they need a babysitter. And I’m not interested in babysitting some hotshot from New York. I bet you anything they’re just going to come out here in their fancy suit and turn up their nose at everything that makes this place great.”
“When do they arrive?”
Leo shrugged. “Beats me. Sometime this summer.”
“How long do you think they’ll stay?”
“If they know what’s good for them, they’ll take one look at this place and decide it will suit them better to stay behind a desk and delegate to the people who know what they’re doing.” Leo nodded toward Reese as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “You wanna top me off?”
Reese obliged.
“So why do you look like you didn’t get any sleep?” Leo lifted his mug to his lips.
“Couldn’t get comfortable,” Reese lied. There was no way he was going to tell his brother the truth about what he was planning, nor what he’d done. Leo wouldn’t understand. He’d probably tellReese to cut his losses. They were men who weren’t built for the world today. They wanted to find a love like the one their parents had possessed.
If Leo noticed Reese’s lie, he didn’t say anything about it.
Reese glanced at his brother briefly then shifted to stare out the window. “Do you think Dad would have liked moving here?”
Leo grunted. “What’s not to like? We grew up on the other side of town. Just because we were close already doesn’t mean Dad would have turned Uncle Eli down.”
Nodding, Reese allowed his thoughts to shift again to something that had been bothering him more and more lately. “Why do you think Mom never remarried?”
The room seemed to grow still. It had already been quiet, but now it felt cooler somehow. He kept his eyes fixed to the window.
“Mom said that she was older, and she’d been content with her life. But I wonder if it’s more than that.” Reese finally glanced at Leo, who was staring hard at his coffee. Reese wouldn’t have minded if their mother moved on, but he’d never asked Leo outright if he’d felt the same.
Leo fiddled with his coffee mug and shrugged. “I dunno. But if she said that she wasn’t interested, then I’d leave it at that.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Reese took another sip from his drink. The words came easily, but believing them? That was a whole other issue. If their mother had held back from finding love again because of her sons, then who was to say that Serenity wouldn’t do the same? That thought terrified him more than being caught as her secret admirer.
Any further conversation on the matter was knocked down the second their mother entered the room. She smiled brightly at the two of them and got herself a cup of coffee. “Good morning.”
“Mornin’,” they both mumbled.
“I’m going to the store today. Do either of you need anything?”
Reese shook his head. “I’m good, Mom.” Then he moved across the room to place his mug in the sink and give her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m heading out to work. See you at lunch.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“Something was leftat the door for you,” Jane sang as Serenity entered the kitchen.
Glancing toward her sister, Serenity moved farther into the room and right for the coffee maker. She hadn’t slept well last night. She wanted to say it had something to do with being in an unfamiliar house, but that would be wrong.
Her issues were with a specific cowboy.
Turning, she faced her sister, who had something behind her back and an amused glint in her eye. “What is it?” Serenity asked.
Jane pulled out a beautiful yellow flower with a flourish. It was larger, and it resembled a lily, but that wasn’t what it was.
Serenity’s eyes locked on the flower, and she took a step toward her sister with curiosity. “How do you know it’s for me?”
Jane waved a small card in the air. “This has your name on it.”
Snatching the card, Serenity looked closer. Sure enough, in small, block lettering, her name was written. She flipped thecard over… but nothing. Serenity glanced up at Jane. “Who brought it?”
Jane shrugged. “It was there when I got up this morning. Noah left a little bit ago, and he almost stepped on it.”
