She’s staring out the window, a soft smile on her face. “It’s good to be home.”
“Yeah. It must be.”
“So …” she says in this particular tone I know all too well. “Any cute ranch hands hired on lately?”
“Don’t start.” I smile over at her.
“I’m not starting. Just curious.”
“Curious, huh? You’re engaged.”
“Not for me, you goose. For you.”
I smile at her, but I don’t say anything. There’s only one ranch hand I want and he’s one I shouldn’t even be thinking about. Even now, my pulse ticks faster just thinking of his name. Our lives are tangled up and set in a precarious balance. Our families are an extension of one another. Our roles in the community are set in stone.
If we dated and something didn’t work out between us, the devastation would rock the foundations—and not just temporarily. We’d have to constantly face one another after we’d wrecked something precious. You don’t get to break up and walk away. Not around here. We’d never get the chance to simply try to see if something could work between us because everyone and their brother has eyes on us. If I so much as smile in his direction, the grandmas in town discuss it over tea. We live in a fishbowl filled with well-meaning busybodies. Going out to test the waters is a luxury Cody and I don’t have.
McKenna’s looking at me like I should talk about boys like we used to in junior high. How would she feel if I pulled over right now and said, “There’s one rancher I can’t stop thinking about.”?
I’ve replayed imagined scenes of telling her more times than I’d like to admit. She’d freak out with giddiness until I told her, “And, guess what? That hot rancher is your brother!”
It’s an unspoken rule that you don’t date your best friend’s brother—second only to the rule not to date your best friend’s younger sister. My brother would tar and featherCody for even entertaining anything but chaste thoughts about me.
A sigh presses at my ribs, stealing some of the lightness I’ve been feeling ever since I spotted Mac at arrivals. Underneath all our jokes and the implicit rules that guide my choices, there’s the one truth that stops me cold every time: McKenna and I are the bedrock of each other’s lives. One wrong move with her brother, and I wouldn’t only risk making a mess with him or damaging the connection between our families—I’d risk losing her. And that’s a price too high to pay.
But all of that doesn’t matter because for all I know, Cody feels nothing at all. I could be pining away for him while he’s oblivious and uninterested. That’s a strong possibility. Those moments when his gaze lingered? I probably wishfully imagined every one. I’m certainly not betting the ranch on anything as uncertain as how Cody Lawson feels about me.
“Fine. I’ll wait,” McKenna says when I don’t answer. “But I’m not giving up. I’ll get all your thoughts on each and every man out here—whether I have to use cookies … or threats.”
I smile over at her. “Depends on the cookies.”
She lets out a soft, breathy laugh. “Oh, I’ll pull out the big guns. You know I make those Pioneer Woman brown sugar oatmeal cookies—with added chocolate chips.”
“You’re a cruel, cruel woman,” I tease.
“Only as needed,” she smiles, steepling her fingers and thrumming them against one another.
We pull into the Lawsons’ driveway. The front porch is filled with life—everyone’s here to welcome my best friend back home.
McKenna hops out of the truck and her mom makes her way down the stairs to pull her into a hug. I sit in the cab of my truck, watching them. Cody’s eyes lift and meet mine. He raises his glass in my direction, that soft smile tugging atsomething low in my stomach. I tip my chin as a greeting and then I hop out of the truck to grab Mac’s suitcases. The Lawson boys give McKenna hugs and then they converge on my F-250 like a murder of crows.
“Settle down, boys,” I say to the four giant men. “There are only two bags, and I can handle them.”
“We’ve got you, Carli,” Ethan says, ignoring my words and unbuckling the tie-down.
Luke reaches in and grabs a bag. Garrett hoists the other out over the side.
“Sorry, Chuck,” Cody says with a wink. “You can’t tame a Lawson.”
I look him dead in the eyes and say, “I wouldn’t be so sure.”
His rumbling laughter ripples through me, leaving warmth in its wake.
“If anyone could tame us, it’s Carli,” Garrett says with a wink.
Cody regards me for a moment. We stand there, eyes locked. It’s only a heartbeat, but everything else blurs out of focus—like my world clicked into portrait mode. And then he turns and follows his brothers into the house.
Chapter 4
