“I never would’ve been able to move far away. Myles would’ve had no issues bringing the Hennessys into the Foster House Gold deal, but he also wanted to watch out for me and Lane. We wanted to be close to this and the Baileys.”
The door opens and I spin around. A woman a little older than my mom appears in the doorway. She’s got a ruffled apron on and her salt-and-pepper hair pulled back.
“I thought I heard you pull up.” Her warm gaze lands on me. “So nice to finally meet you, Elodie.”
“I’ve heard so much about you.” I hold out the box of poppy seed cruisers, the muffins I made with the whiskey Cruz served me for a tasting at the distillery.
Why did I bring these? She has a daughter-in-law who’s also a baker. Mae probably gets yummy goodies all the time.
Her smile brightens even more. “Now I want dessert first. Come on in.”
She waves us inside and we pile in after her. The house is as inviting as everything else. I’m lucky I got to know Cruz. He probably wouldn’t have left if the Foster House opportunity hadn’t opened up.
For a large log home, it’s warm and inviting inside. Cruz leads me around a corner to a long dining room table. He pulls a seat out for me at the far end.
I don’t sit. “Can I help with anything?”
“You can help by sitting your sweet ass down and letting me and Mae spoil you.” He grins. “She’ll let us do the cleanup.”
My relief allows me to sit. As long as I’m not getting waited on. I take my seat. “Okay. I should’ve offered to cook.”
“You’ll have plenty of time for that. For today, she pulled a roast from the freezer, and the potatoes are fresh from the garden. And the onions, the carrots, the berries.”
I would push back and jump up, but he’s blocking the way. I crane my head back to stare up at him. Homegrown ingredients and meat so local it used to moo in the backyard sound divine to work with. “Everything she’s using is from the ranch?”
“Mae’s industrious, but she doesn’t churn her own butter.” He drops a kiss into my hair. “Now relax. We’ll be doing the dishes.”
Several minutes later, the three of us are at the end of the table, eating the best pot roast I’ve ever tasted. After a few minutes of chatter, I feel like I’ve known Mae all my life. She has a disarming way about her, unassuming and accepting. All remaining tension drains from me. I get the whole week in town, and Cruz is going to treat me to a private Copper Summit Bourbon tour.
We have the cupcakes for dessert, and then Cruz and I clean up while Mae pours us each a glass of bourbon on the porch. Cruz leans against the railing, while Mae and I rock in some well-used wooden rocking chairs.
This is a lot like the times Cruz and I sat on his back deck, enjoying a drink after a meal. I messed up the first time he tried, but I’ve made up for it. Mostly with a blow job the next time we tried it.
My face warms, and I catch Cruz’s intense gaze. Is he thinking the same thing?
Mae rocks slowly. “Are you going down to the barn?”
He sets his glass on the end table between us. “Yes, ma’am. Gotta show her where it all started.” He holds out a hand. I take it and rise. He doesn’t let go of me as he leads me along the path to the barn.
The chickens streak across the yard and moos ring out in the distance. A horse whinnies and another nickers. We continue past the barn to the fence of the closest pasture.
The slight breeze. The frogs and the bugs. We could’ve gone anywhere for my vacation, but I can’t think of a better place. “It’s so peaceful out here. I bet there’s amazing fly-fishing.”
He laughs. “Tate and Teller already offered to take your dad out whenever he can get here next year.”
“That’s so sweet. Your family is welcoming.”
“They are my family,” he murmurs. “You know, when Myles first brought me out here, I remember this longing deep inside me that I was afraid to admit to. I wanted the welcoming home and the good food and to be surrounded by people who wanted me.”
“You have all that.”
“I didn’t feel like it at the time.”
“Oh, Cruz.” I turn to him and cup his cheek. My heart hurts for that young man.
He kisses my palm. “But this spot, where I was shown the horses and told about what I would be doing for work? This is exactly where I made a decision. That I would be someone who could have it all. Now I do. I have more. And there’s a woman who loves me that I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
He slips his hand into a pocket and withdraws a twinkling ring. He drops to his knee, and even though he told me this day would come, tears spring into my eyes and I put a hand over my mouth.
