On the drive back to my ranch I think about Carli and Jace.
One day I’ll have to come clean and tell him.
Just not now.
Chapter 19
Carli
They’d never danced a reel before,
but seemed to do okay.
~ Robert Eckstein
We havebarn dances all the time around here, but The Barn Dance is an annual fundraiser to help supply the gear, training and equipment for our volunteer firefighters. Cody and his crew are at the heart of tonight’s gathering.
I’ve dressed up in a flouncy skirt that hits just above my knees, boots, and gauzy blouse under my long coat.
Music fills the rafters of the old barn on the outskirts of town. Rumor has it the original owners of this property—the Harlan family—settled this land in the 1800s. When old man Harlan passed with no heirs, the farm was sold at auction. The town bought it up and now the property is used for functions like the annual Waterford Barn Dance.
The barn hums with voices and laughter as I step inside. I hang my coat on an already overflowing row of pegs, smilingand nodding my way inside. I’m making my way through the crowd, scanning for my friends—and Cody—when I see Emberleigh and Sydney waving from across the room.
I take a step in their direction. Then my gaze snags.
Cody’s standing at the fifty-fifty raffle table with Patrick and Dustin. He’s wearing the heck out of a plaid shirt tucked into denim, a bolo cinched at his neck, and those well-worn boots.
My breath stalls—my feet do too. The room goes soft at the edges.
Cody’s eyes snap over as if he can feel me staring. A slow smile creeps across his face. My echoing blush climbs up my cheeks. He tips his chin, and then Patrick and Dustin’s heads turn toward me. I smile and wave as if it’s for all three of them and not the man who has held my heart in his hand for years.
I look away before any of them has a reason to suspect something.
“Hey!” I shout at my friends when I make it to them. Cass and Winona have joined the group. “Where are Daisy and McKenna?”
Winona points to a spot by the food tables. “Filling serving trays.”
The band is on a makeshift stage at the back of the massive barn—a few singers, two guitar players, a stand up bass player, and two other guys on the banjo and fiddle. They’re playing a mix of country and bluegrass tunes. People are dancing. Others stand around talking. Kids dart around, playing chase and raiding the food tables.
My eyes keep drifting to Cody. I can’t help myself. And every time, he meets me with a soft smile or a wink.
“I don’t remember it being this packed last year,” Cass says.
“Maybe that’s because someone finally figured out how to heat a barn,” Winona says with a laugh.
“I think it’s the band,” Emberleigh says. “Dustin got them through a connection in Nashville.”
“They’re good,” I agree.
Some kids run past us, playing tag. We jump out of the way and laugh, watching them fly forward in zigzags.
“Feels like only a few years ago that was us,” McKenna says to me.
“Dad was just saying that the other day,” I tell her.
She loops her arm through mine. “Am I too young to ask where the time has gone?”
I nudge her with my hip. “Yes. You totally are.”
