“Fine,” I sighed. “What did you have in mind?”
His eyes lit up, and I immediately regretted asking. “I was thinking we could take a trip. Just the two of us. Somewhere far away from cows and fences and nosy neighbors.”
“A trip?” The idea hadn’t even occurred to me. In the sixteen years since Jesse left, I’d barely left Hell Creek, let alone Montana. “Who would run the ranch?”
“Evelyn could manage things for a week,” Jesse said, glancing over at our housekeeper, who was pretending not to listen. “Right, Evelyn?”
She turned, spatula in hand. “I’ve been running this place behind your backs for years,” she said with a wink. “I think I can handle it while you two take a proper vacation. Old Pete McGrath owes me anyway. He’d send over a couple boys to help keep things going while you two take some well-deserved time off.”
“See?” Jesse looked triumphant. “Even Evelyn thinks we need a break. Besides, the ranch hands won’t give her any trouble. They’re terrified of her. Just like everyone else in this town.”
I mulled it over, trying to imagine leaving the ranch in someone else’s hands, even temporarily. The thought made me uneasy, but then again, so had most of the changes Jesse had brought into my life. And those had all turned out better than I could have dreamed.
“Where would we go?” I asked cautiously.
Jesse’s face broke into a wide smile, like he knew he’d already won. “Somewhere with a beach. And drinks with little umbrellas in them. And absolutely no cell service.”
“That sounds... nice,” I admitted, surprising myself with how much I meant it. The idea of Jesse and me, alone together somewhere far from Hell Creek’s watchful eyes, was suddenly incredibly appealing.
“It soundsperfect,” he corrected, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. “Just you and me and no responsibilities for a whole week. Maybe two.”
Evelyn set plates in front of us, piled high with fluffy omelets, bacon, and toast. “Eat up,” she instructed. “And Jesse’s right, Cole. You two deserve some time away. This ranch will still be standing when you get back.” She gave me a long hard look. “Might give you a chance to think things over too. Figure out how you want tocontinuethings around here.”
Jesse and Evelyn exchanged a knowing glance. I wasn’t in on whatever they were hinting at, but I had an idea. And considering there was a little black box upstairs tucked into the back of my sock drawer, they probably knew what I’d been thinking as well.
“We’ll see,” I replied nonchalantly, drinking my coffee. “But I’m gonna lose my damn mind on a beach with no work to do.”
Jesse laughed, pulling my coffee mug from my hands and taking a sip. “That’s because you’re a workaholic. But I promise I’ll find ways to keep you entertained.”
The suggestive tone in his voice made heat rise to my cheeks. Evelyn cleared her throat pointedly, and I remembered we weren’t alone.
“Sorry, Evelyn,” I mumbled, focusing on my breakfast.
“Don’t apologize to me,” she said with a chuckle. “I’ve seen worse than a little flirting at the breakfast table.”
We ate in companionable silence for a few minutes. I watched Jesse devour his omelet with the same enthusiasm he brought to everything in his life. That was what had drawn me to him from the beginning. He had this capacity for joy, for diving headfirst into whatever caught his interest. He’d done exactly that with the ranch, despite his initial reluctance. And with me.
“I found something yesterday,” Jesse said suddenly, setting down his fork. “When I was cleaning out the office.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Cleaning? That’s a first.”
He ignored my jab, reaching into his pocket. “It was tucked behind one of the filing cabinets. Must have fallen there years ago.”
He placed a small, faded photograph on the table between us. I picked it up carefully, my throat tightening as I recognized the image. It was me and Jesse, probably sixteen and fourteen at the time, sitting on the fence by the creek. We were laughing about something, shoulders pressed together, completely unaware of the camera. Of my father capturing that moment.
“I don’t remember this being taken,” I said quietly.
“Me neither,” Jesse replied. “But look at us. We were just kids.”
I stared at our younger selves, struck by how obvious it seemed now. Even then, there was something in the way we leaned into each other, the unguarded joy on both our faces. How had I spent so many years denying what had been there all along?
“Your daddy took that,” Evelyn said, leaning over to look at the photo. “Summer before Jesse’s sophomore year, I think. Jack had that little camera he carried everywhere that season.”
“Why didn’t I ever see this?” I asked.
Evelyn shrugged. “He had a whole stack of photos he kept private. Said some memories weren’t meant for sharing.”
Jesse took the photo back, studying it with a soft expression. “He really did know, didn’t he? Even back then.”
