My heart swelled in my chest as Jesse backed away from Cade, alone. His eyes bounced up, catching mine. He didn’t call out or wave me down, just looked briefly before he turned away, following the path through the bleachers toward the exit. I wanted to go with him so badly I could scarcely breathe.
Bea’s voice cut into my panic. “Go.”
I startled out of my thoughts. “What?”
“Go with him.” A gentle smirk rested on her face.
“What are you talking about?” I waved her off. “I want to sit with you.”
Bea deadpanned. “I love you too, but you’re a terrible liar.”
“But—”
“Tag and I will watchthe kids. They’re fine.”
My eyes moved to Jesse, catching the last glimpse of his broad shoulders disappearing in the vendor tents. “You sure?”
“Positive.” Bea smiled again even as her eyes narrowed on me. “But, when you come back, I want to know what’s going on with you two.Starting at the wedding.”
Red flush washed over my cheeks. “Deal.”
I pushed the plate back into Jesse’s hands. “I’m going to be sick if I don’t stop.”
Jesse chuckled, gladly taking the rest of the funnel cake. “I guess this is a bad time to ask if you want to ride the mechanical bull.”
I cackled. “I don’t think there’s ever a good time for that.”
Our backsides leaned against the edge of a picnic table, and our shoulders pressed together. All around were concession stands, vendor tents, and swarms of people. The bull riding commentary was loud in the overhead speakers and the spectators cheered repeatedly.
I reached behind where we sat to grab my Coke and rattled the ice before taking a swig. “So, we’ve looked around at rodeo merch and ate ourselves silly. Now what?”
The soft shimmer in his eyes caused desire to pool in my belly. “I have an idea.”
I followed Jesse as he led me out of the rodeo chaos and into the quiet gravel lot where trucks were parked. I recognized the Meadowbrook truck a few rows down. The monotone buzz of the parking lot joined the distant cacophony of the rodeo. I lifted a brow as we approached the truck, wondering what on earth it could possibly have for us. Jesse fished out his keys and said, “Hang tight.”
I stifled a smile as he stood on the passenger’s step rail and disappeared into the truck. Thirty seconds later he reappeared at the door with two red tent chairs. “Take these.” He handed them down to me, and I set them on the gravel. Then soft country music filled the air, filtering from the truck’s interior speakers. My smile broke free as he climbed down and flashed me his confident grin. “Might not be the most interesting location, but it’s quiet out here.”
He dragged the chairs to the end of the trailer, facing them toward the arena in the distance. The stars overhead were muted by the light pollution, but I could still see their soft twinkle in the navy sky. He waved me into a seat. “Now, whenever they shoot off the fireworks, we’ll have a good seat.”
Watching the fireworks seemed…romantic. Conflict stormed in my chest.
I eased into a chair and for long moments we just sat and listened to the music. Finally, Jesse brought up Cade and our conversation meandered through parenting, the ranch, and the rodeo. When silence fell again, I said, “Well, I finally filled out some applications, and I had an interview the other night.”
“Nice. How’d it go?”
Trying to stay upbeat, I forced a smile. “I got a job.”
“Really?” The hesitancy in his voice mirrored my feelings.
“Yep. I’ll be doing customer service for a big tech company.” When he didn’t immediately respond, my insecurities kicked in. “It’s got decent pay, and I’ll be able to work from home which is really important since I want to be home when the girls are done with school, and…I don’t know…maybe it’s a terrible option but it feels like the best I can do right now.” My voice shook a little. Admittedly, customer service sounded like torture, but it was a step toward independence.
“I tried to find something in hospitality because I really like working at the bed and breakfast. I couldn’t find anything though.”
“Could you just stay here and keep working?”
I huffed a humorless laugh. “Part of me wants to, but I can’t.”
“Why not?”
