Shea waggled his brows. “You can drive my stick anytime.”
Jake stared at him. “You did not just make the worst joke in the world.”
“Oh, you love it.”
Jake opened his mouth, then shut it, but a smile rested on his lips.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing.” He sighed. “I can’t believe I’m leaving tomorrow.”
Shea tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Me neither.” He drove a few minutes more, when a landmark caught his eye and he pulled off the side of the road. “Come with me.”
Looking puzzled, Jake did as he said, and together they walked through some trees until they came to a clearing with a small pond at the center. They sat on the grass and gazed at the never-ending sky.
“I used to come here sometimes when I was young and it all got too much. I hadn’t told my father or Patty yet, didn’t think I could tell anybody, so I’d sit here, and I guess now you’d call it meditate, until I felt strong enough to deal with everythin’ going on inside me.”
“I can see why it brought you peace. It’s so beautiful here. Quiet, wild, and free.” Jake pointed upward. “Look at the sky. That moon is so big and bright, I feel as though I could reach up and touch it.” He leaned his head on Shea’s shoulder. “When I was little I used to look out my bedroom window and wish on the moon.”
Shea placed a hand on Jake’s cheek, guiding their lips together. “I’d give you the moon, just to see the stars in your eyes.”
Sixteen-year-old Shea, who’d sat here trying to figure out if he had a place in the world, never could’ve imagined thirty-year-old Shea kissing the man he loved while the breeze whispered softly around them. Later, he planned on telling Jake everything in his heart.
“Thank you for bringing me here. It’s special. Every place here is. Like the people.”
“Are you sure you want to go to the Round Up? Nothin’ special about that place.”
Jake grinned. “It’s kind of where we had our first date. So it’s special to me.”
Well, damned if that didn’t turn his insides to butter.
“Guess we should get goin’, then.”
They arrived at the bar, and Jake hopped out of the truck. Music, light, and laughter poured out from the open door and windows, and shoulder to shoulder, they walked inside, where they were stopped by Jeremiah and Bonnie.
“Well, hey, you two,” Bonnie called out from their table. “C’mon over an’ have a drink with us.”
He put his lips to Jake’s ear. “Do you mind, or would you rather be alone?”
“I’m going to have you to myself all night. I can share you for a little while.”
“I like the sound of that.” Shea draped his arm over Jake’s shoulders. “Thank you, Bonnie. We’re happy to sit a spell.”
They pulled up two chairs and ordered drinks. Watching Jake ease into his group of friends as if he’d grown up with them, telling jokes and resting his arm along the back of Shea’s chair, Shea couldn’t help thinking that maybe Jake’s idea of buying the ranch wasn’t so bad. He’d fit right in, as if he’d been living there for years.
“So what’ve y’all been up to since you got here?” Jeremiah quirked a brow. “I heard there was a rescue from the creek in the middle of the storm?”
Faint spots of red rose on Jake’s cheeks. “That would be me. I got excited seeing some deer, knowing my daughter would love to see pictures of them. I ignored what Shea had said about keeping away, and got caught in the rain, slipped and fell in.”
Jeremiah grinned. “I can only imagine the cussing out you got.”
“Oh, Shea? Nah. He wassucha sweetheart about it.” Jake nudged him, and they all shared a laugh.
“Damn fool coulda drowned.” Shea’s fingers teased along his collarbone.
“Mmhmm.” Jeremiah was no dummy. “But I’m thinkin’ both of you might be equally foolish. Know what I mean, Shea?”
He scowled at his friend and finished his beer, his thoughts running as fast and deep as the water in the creek. He’d never thought to deviate from the course he’d planned. The lights and action of the city had called to him. Shake off the small-town atmosphere and trade his cowboy boots for Gucci loafers.
