“I thought so,” I say, bouncing a shoulder.
“What are you waitin’ for then? Let’s go ask her,” Gaz announces, pushing off from the fence and jerking his head toward the ranch house.
“What, you meannow?" I croak. Yes,croak.
Gaz arches a brow. “Are your feelin’s for my daughter gonna change if you wait another day, a month, a year?”
“Never. I knew she was my One the first time I met her.”
"Then why wait," he says matter-of-factly. "There's too much fun to be had and the way I see it, you two have waited long enough. I met my Shazza when we were seventeen and I snapped her up and locked her down quicker than you can say Gidday. Life's too short to not make the most of it and what's better thandoin' it together" he says, clapping my shoulder and squeezing it. "There’s just one thing I’ll ever ask of you.”
“Anythin’, Gaz. I meant that.”
“You make sure my daughter wakes up happy and goes to bed fulfilled. My girl deserves all the happiness in the world.”
Scott and Dillon both snicker, earning narrowed eyes from their dad. “Not like that, you dirty-minded fools. I meant fulfilled with her life. Happy. Satisfied.” Chuckles this time. “Don’t know what I’m going to do with you two.” He turns my way. “Want two knucklehead ranch hands up there in the colder state? I’llpayyou to take them. What’s your price?”
I laugh. “Got three brothers of my own, sorry.”
“Dammit. Worth a try.”
23
DEE
My spider senses are tingling. I know the ‘tour’ Dad and my brothers have taken Toby on was pre-planned, but that’s not what has me worried. It’s that we live on alotof land so there are a lot of places to bury a body if they wanted to.
“They’ll bring him back, right?”
Mom grins at me as she carries a tray with two cups of tea and a plate of the homemade oatmeal cookies we made yesterday over to the table in front of me. "They're not goin’ to throw him in the river and see if he floats,” she snickers.
I know I'm being irrational, but I've also never bought the love of my life home before. This is uncharted waters. Mom takes a seat next to me on the couch. "Absolutely, Dee. I promise you that your father will not let any harm come to Toby. He likes him. Don’t worry about that. He told me as much last night. You never know, maybe Toby can teach your brothers somethin'," Mom assures me with a warm smile. "We all love him, Dee. Even if heisstealin' our girl away from us."
"Mom..." I muse. "You know he's not makin’ me move. I want to. Bull Mountain is where my heart and soul truly feel at home. You know what that's like."
Mom's gaze softens, her chocolate eyes matching mine. "Oh yeah, I do. The most important question is... are we talkin' about the ranch or the man himself?"
"Both, but definitely Toby. He's everything I could've ever wanted and so much more."
Her eyes glisten as she covers my hands with hers. "That's all I ever wanted you to find, Dee. I knew you'd stop wanderin' when you found your place in this world. Whether that was here or—as it turns out—in Alaska. I knew it would happen eventually."
My heart starts fluttering with anticipation as I roll the next words around in my head. "There's somethin' I haven't told you yet."
Her eyes jump wide. "Am I gonna be anana?"she shrieks, making me choke on my tea.
"No,” I rush out. “Not yet. We've only just met!"
"Ha! Gotcha! Although I'm tellin' ya, don't make me wait too long. I wanna be one of those young, cool grandmas. The kind that dye their hair crazy colors and can still get down on the dance floor."
I giggle at the imagery of Mom shaking her butt with a walking stick in thirty years.
Mom settles in on the couch, cradling her cup in her hands as she looks over at me. "What is it? You know you can tell me anythin'. The good, bad, or embarrassin'. Lord knows I've hadmy fair share of TMI conversations with your brothers over the years."
"This is actually kind of cool and excitin’, well I think so. And it’ll explain why I felt so at home at Bull Mountain from the start. I just didn't realize it at the time."
She leans forward a little. “You've got me intrigued now. Dee. What is it?"
"You know those books by Aster Hollingsworth that we love so much?"
