I just had to find them first.
“You should drink it though,” she said, forking a piece of chicken and putting into her mouth.
“Wine?” I scoffed. “You think I’m refined enough for that?”
She giggled and the sound loosened the tightness in my chest.
“All right then. Better than it going to waste I guess.” I poured a glass for myself, though I had never drunk wine in my life, and I took a slow, deliberate sip and groaned. “Oh, that’s good!”
She narrowed her eyes on me. “Wow, okay then. You’re not even going to pretend it’s crappy?”
“Not a chance.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Unbelievable.”
“Life’s tough.”
“Yeah, especially for you.”
We finished dinner like that—easy teasing, small smiles, something warm building between us that I didn’t quite have a name for.
Afterward, I nodded toward the back door. “C’mon.”
The evening air hit us as we stepped out onto the decking, the sky already starting to shift with gold bleeding into orange, fading into deepening blue at the edges. The warmth of the day had dropped like someone had opened the freezer drawer to the world, and Rowan shivered.
“I love this sky,” she said with a dreamy voice.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
And I really did agree. It was the kind of sunset that made everything feel still. Like the madness of the world was going to be wiped away with a curtain of fire.
The prospects were posted where I left them, leaning against the railing, but they straightened the second they saw me.
“All quiet?” I asked.
“Yes, sir,” one of them said quickly.
“Perimeter?”
“Checked twice.”
I gave a short nod. “Good. Get on your bikes. Do another sweep—full property.”
They didn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir.”
Engines roared to life a minute later, the sound fading as they headed out across the land.
I glanced at Rowan. “You good to sit?”
She nodded. “Only if you have a blanket.”
“I’ve got better.”
We moved to the edge of the decking, settling side by side as the sun dipped lower, stretching shadows across the ranch, and I pulled off my sweater and helped it over her head. Then sat in one of the chairs and pulled her onto my lap.
Her body tensed and then softened against me as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her against my body.
“I guess that’ll do,” she said coyly.
