“Maybe just a water,” she answered as she stepped inside the open space with living area, dining room, and kitchen all in sight. A gorgeous stone fireplace with a thick wooden mantel took up most of one wall with a buttery soft leather sofa facing it. Peace seemed to fall from the open rafters and settle around her shoulders like a soft silk shawl.
“Sit down and make yourself at home.” Miles crossed the area to the refrigerator and took out two bottles of water. “How many ranches have you seen on your job?”
“I have no idea,” she answered as she sank into the sofa. “Maybe more than a hundred.”
He twisted the cap off a bottle and handed it to her, then sat down on the other end of the sofa. “The Lazy M might be bigger than some and smaller than others, but a ranch is a ranch, and by any other name, it’s still a ranch with cattle and fences, and green pastures, hay hauling and all that.”
She took a long drink and then sat the bottle on a coaster on the end table. “And sometimes oil underneath the surface.”
“I promised you a trip around the ranch and a look at the sunset from a different angle, but …” He shrugged.
“But what?” she asked.
A loud clap of thunder followed by a downpour of rain answered her.
“Butthat.” Miles grinned. “It kind of puts an end to the idea of taking a four-wheeler ride or even seeing a sunset. According to the weatherman, it’s supposed to hover over this area until tomorrow morning. On our date that got postponed, I believe we were going to have hotdogs before I brought you out here, right?”
“You remembered?”
“I did, and I cooked them over the firepit before you got here. They’re staying warm in the oven. The chili is in the slow cooker. The sauerkraut and anything else that I thought you might like is on the bar. Are you ready for a Bubba supper?”
“Yes, I am, but tonight it is a Miles supper, and it sounds wonderful,” she answered. “Can we have a beer with the hotdogs?”
“Yes, ma’am, we can.” He grinned, stood up, and held out his hand to help her.
“And there it is,” she said as she put her hand in his.
“What?”
“Lula Ann felt heat every time Bubba touched her. Now Holly feels the same way when Miles holds her hand,” she answered honestly.
“Holly is just as honest as Lula Ann was, isn’t she?” Miles asked, and then went on before she could answer. “When Bubba brushed against Lula Ann’s shoulder in the hallway at that hotel, he felt chemistry like he’d never known with another woman. And now Miles feels the exact same way.”
“What do you think that means?”
“That our hearts don’t care what name we are using, they only know who they want in their lives,” he answered, and led her into the kitchen area.
“I think you are right. When I went home, I was Holly, but I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
“Me, either.” Miles dropped her hand and hugged her tightly to his chest.
“I’ve wanted to do this ever since last night. I really thought I was dreaming when you rode up on that four-wheeler. I was so speechless that …” He tipped up her chin with his fist and kissed her.
His lips on hers filled her with passion, scorching hot heat, and a desperate desire to never let him out of her sight again—no matter what his name was or whether he was rich or poor or somewhere in between.
“Maybe you are right about our hearts,” she said.
“I’m falling in love with you, Holly McLean,” he whispered. “And before you ask, the answer is that I’ve never, ever said that to another woman. Turns out I was just waiting for the right woman.”
“If what we have is love, I don’t ever want it to end, but I don’t want to rush anything, either.” She moved her palms from his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Except for maybe another kiss to see if the second one sends sparks flying all over the room like the first of the night just did.”
“I imagine that every one for the next fifty years is going to affect us the same way,” he whispered.
“Oh, are we going to last that long?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am, we are,” he said when his lips found hers for another string of kisses.
Suddenly, they were the only two people in the whole universe, except for a memory of a dream that flashed through Holly’s mind. She and Miles were sitting on the porch watching three little children play with baby goats.
