After making sure all the horses were settled, I closed the barn door and latched it before heading back to Julia’s house. I’d been stopping by multiple times daily for nearly two weeks to care for her animals and check on her. It helped that our ranches butted up against each other and I had hands I could trust to handle things while I was off the ranch.
And I hardly minded helping her out. In some ways, I’d be a little sorry when her ankle was fully healed, and I was no longer needed. That day was fast approaching.
“Everything good?” she asked when I reached the house. She was leaning against a porch post with Wellington and Fay sitting beside her.
“Settled in for the night,” I said and had a sudden idea. “How would you like to go for a drive?”
“I’d love to.” Her rapid acceptance surprised me since she usually turned down anything extra that I tried to do for her. Maybe I should have suggested a drive sooner if she was going to react with enthusiasm. She opened the door to put the dogs in the house, then started crutching her way toward my truck. I got her settled and returned the crutches to her front porch. “I might need those,” she protested when I climbed into the driver’s seat.
“You won’t,” I said as I switched on the radio. “It’s just a drive.”
We rolled down the windows, and I switched on a country music station as we drove through the twilight. When songs came on that I liked and knew, I sang along. It was easy being with her. That was what had struck me over the past few weeks. Each daywas a little easier, and I found myself looking forward to the moments we spent together.
“I had no idea you had such a great voice,” she said when a song ended.
“Not many people do—people who know me, anyway. I like to sing karaoke at the Tipsy Vandal, but I perform incognito.”
“Is that in Beaumont?”
“That’s the one.” I’d gotten plenty of applause for my performances and even a pair of women’s panties tossed at me one night. I’d stuffed them in my pocket, unsure how to respond.
“I would never sing in public,” she said, “even if I didn’t know a single person in the audience.”
Her voice wasn’t bad. I’d heard it low and soft while we’d been singing to the radio. “I think you’ve got a nice voice.”
“You are so wrong about that. I sing very quietly and hope no one notices,” she said with a laugh.
“Surely you’re not shy.” From what I’d seen, she had no problem stepping up and speaking her mind with confidence.
“Not shy exactly, just reluctant. I don’t like people staring at me and judging my choices. How do you know what’s the perfect song to sing? It’s like putting your thoughts and your heart on the line for everyone to see. No thanks,” she said. “I’d like to see you perform sometime—unless you’re uncomfortable with that.”
Was I? I enjoyed singing for strangers. It would be different if I knew she was in the audience, but that didn’t make it bad. We’d become friends of a sort over the past two weeks. “I’ll let youknow the next time the karaoke mood strikes me.” I glanced over at her and saw the smile on her face.
“Let’s pull off up there and look at the stars,” she suggested.
I’d chosen a route that took us along a scenic highway overlooking a valley below. I backed my truck into a space.
“Don’t we want to be facing the other direction?” she asked with a gesture over her shoulder. “The view’s better that way.”
“Give me a minute. I’ve got a plan. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Aww, and I was hoping to go for a jog,” she said. I chuckled as I got out of the truck and dropped the tailgate. I grabbed the thick blanket that I always carried in the truck’s bed and spread it out before opening her door.
“You see, this is where I need my crutches,” she said, scooting to the edge of the seat. Before she could attempt to stand, I scooped her up in my arms, hearing her breath catch, and carried her to the back of the truck. I placed her gently on the tailgate. She scooted back onto the blanket, and I hopped up to stretch out next to her.
“This is the best way to look at the stars,” I said and felt her relax next to me. If I mentioned what I was thinking—that this felt like a date—she’d become as prickly as her hedgehog, so I kept it casual.
“Perfect night for it,” she agreed. “Is that why you’re in such a good mood? You love soft summer evenings and star gazing?”
“I do love those things,” I said. “But it’s been a good day from top to bottom.”
“Why?”
I wanted to laugh. Didn’t she realize that a huge chunk of that goodness came from spending so much time with her?
I couldn’t answer thatshemade me happy, so I told her what else had. “I met with my ranch hands today for our weekly meeting and it went really well. They also had nothing but good things to say about how well the livestock were all doing after the change in their feed. So, thank you for pointing that out. Caitlin’s morning sickness seems to have finally subsided, which means Brian is a whole lot easier to deal with and I’m sure most of the town is pleased about that one.”
Julia laughed at that comment, which had me searching for other good things to make her smile. “Let’s see… Henry has lost another tooth and he has a huge gap in front now. Cal taught him how to shoot watermelon seeds through it. He’s got some distance on them, and he wants to enter the juvenile division at the county fair.”
