“But?”
“But I’m afraid of what it will ask of me. I never fully abandoned the family business. I split my time between both demands—firefighting and ranching. It’s nothing like the load you and Jace have to carry. We’ve got hands who live on theproperty. I don’t have to manage daily feedings. But I’m needed. And I make sure I’m available.”
“I’m guessing you still could be as captain. You’d still work the same hours, right?”
“Pretty much. But I’d be in charge of scheduling and other oversight. And I wouldn’t work as much in the field.”
“Would you miss that?”
“Yeah. I would. But I don’t know if I’d miss it as much as I think I would.”
We’re quiet. I don’t push him for more and he doesn’t offer it. My hand still rests on his knee. I take a sip of my cocoa and he sips his.
“I’ve found,” I say after a stretch of silence. “That if you let a decision sit long enough, it sometimes makes itself.”
“Hmmm.” He hums. “I have to decide whether to apply next week.”
“Well, I don’t see any harm in applying. You aren’t taking the job. You’re just offering to be considered for it.”
“That’s true,” he says with a single nod of his head.
“I was scared to death to apply for the inspector position.”
“They’d have been crazy not to hire you.”
“I don’t know about that. I was a ball of nerves. And I felt the same thing—like I was cheating Jace out of his chances to do something else. Leaving my parents to fend without me. All of that.”
“You get it,” he says, smiling warmly at me.
“I do.” I don’t offer him a solution. I’m not sure I even have one.
“Thanks,” he says, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
His stubble grazes my skin, sending tingles radiating.
My hands cup my mug so it doesn’t spill. He pulls away as quickly as he swooped in.
Cody stares at me, and I stare back, one hundredunspoken thoughts passing between us. Then he takes my mug and sets it up on the dash, next to his.
“Is this okay?” he asks me.
“Very,” I say, losing all sense of self-preservation.
I’m not going to worry about guarding my heart in the event this doesn’t work out. Cody’s given me every reason to believe he’s as all-in as I am. I’m not about to play coy, especially when times like these where we’re alone together without any pressure or prying eyes will have to be borrowed and guarded.
The space between us warms, charged with anticipation, our breaths mingling, eyes fixed on one another. Cody’s movements are softer, more reverent than in either of our barns. Tonight, we’ve got time. It’s just the two of us.
He brushes his hand gently down my cheek, his eyes following the path of his fingertips. Then he cups my jaw, slipping his hand behind my neck and giving a gentle tug. I lean in.
“I’ve been waiting to kiss you again,” he says softly.
“Me too,” I admit.
“You’re so beautiful, Carli.” His tone is so intimate. We’re only inches from one another.
“You’re pretty beautiful yourself,” I say.
His smile lights up.
