She chased the hat right into the ocean.
And laughed.
I had to get to know her. I needed that in my life. Laughter. Beauty. My gut tightened, and all I knew was that I needed her.
And damned if my luck hasn’t changed because by some amazing twist of fate, she’s mine.
She said yes.
And this weather is jackin’ everything up!
“The rest is gonna have to wait.” I toss my wrench into the toolbox in the back of my muddied-up Tacoma. “We need to get back.” The rain hasn’t let up and the skies in the west are dark gray. No sign of blue sky on the horizon today.
The persistent thrumming beat of the rain sounds on the roof of my truck.
At least none of the mudslides took out any of our cows. We got lucky today. Fences, we can fix.
It sucks to lose a cow.
Colt looks like he’s going to argue for all of five seconds, but he must have heard something in my voice. He nods and puts his own tools away before climbing into the passenger side. As soon as I turn the ignition, Colt flips on the heat. Both of us are soaked through. Hell, I’d bet that even my boxers are wet.
I put the truck in gear and creep toward the two-track road we came in on.
“You think Jessamine picked her up okay?” Colt adjusts the vents to blow on him. I can’t think about the wet and grime halfway up my Wranglers. Dirt’s a way of life. Sometimes it’s dust, other times it’s mud.
“She damn well better have.” My jaw clenches at the thought of Isabella stranded at the airport. I love her, but I don’t know her like I should. Like I will once we start our life together. I couldn’t blame her for being pissed at me, but I don’t think she will be. She looks and dresses like a fashion model but she’s not fussy at all. She’ll understand.
I glance down at my phone. Still totally worthless. Coverage is sketchy until I can get to within a mile the house.
She’s gonna need a pair of cowboy boots. Don’t know why that keeps coming to my mind, but I can hardly wait to see those legs of hers in a pair of boots. And I wouldn’t complain if they were wrapped around my waist either.
Colt doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. I’m not a big talker. I haven’t told my family all the reasons I’m in love with Isa. When I got back from St. Thomas, I simply announced that I was getting married again and they all better get used to the idea. A niggling of worry makes me uneasy. Maybe I should have tried harder to soften them up for her.
It’s just that I know how stubborn they are and I didn’t want to give them any notion to try to talk me out of it.
Out of her.
Because that just fucking isn’t going to happen.
But they’re…territorial.
“Why this girl, Tuck?” Colt asks as though reading my mind. “I mean, what’s so special about her? Damn near everybody’s expected you to get together with Cassidy.”
I steer around a big ass rock. “If you think she’s so great, why don’t you get with her?”
Just because the first woman I chose to marry died, doesn’t mean they get to pick the next. What the hell do they want from me?
For all of a second, my mind flashes back to my dad. It’s only been two years since he passed away. Just a year after Lenora. Wonder if my dad felt the weight of this family, this ranch, the way I do.
Probably more so.
Mom, Gran, my brothers and my only sister, Jessamine. They’re all adults but that doesn’t mean they’ve all grown up.
Colt’s probably the closest to me. Tries to take on some of the upkeep and running of the ranch. But he’s wild. I feel like he could take off at the drop of a hat. Colt brings me back to the present with a subject I’d prefer to avoid.
“Hell, Tuck. Cassidy’s been in love with you since high school. You know damn well she ain’t looking anywhere else.”
“Well she better start,” I answer. I’ve never given her any notion I felt the same. She’s just always been there. Was I supposed to kick her off the ranch because of her schoolgirl crush? Jessamine would love that. Me kickin’ her best friend to the curb. Especially when she’s always wanting to help out with the boys.
