Chapter Five
Lainey stepped out into the warm sunshine and looked around the rest area near Baker City, Oregon. A woman walked a little dachshund in the grassy area, while a teen stood in front of a vending machine, looking as though he couldn’t decide what to choose.
As she walked past the boy, Lainey whispered, “taste the rainbow.”
The teen shot a startled glance at her over his shoulder, but she just smiled and kept walking.
She returned to her van, rolled her shoulders, and executed a few stretches before she got behind the wheel and started the vehicle, although she didn’t back out of the parking space. The inner debate she’d started eight hours ago continued to rage inside her head.
Today, she’d drive right past Baker City. Should she stop at the Circle P Ranch or avoid it at all costs? Even though she knew Jason wouldn’t be there, she wanted to see the ranch that waspart of his heritage and in his blood and meet the people who were such a big part of his heart.
However, meeting his family seemed like a huge, enormous leap into territory she wasn’t sure she should enter.
It was one thing to tell herself she and Jason were just friends when they sent frequent text messages and spoke on the phone every evening. Continuing to convince herself Jason was firmly cemented in thefriends-onlycategory could get tricky if she met his family and liked them as much as she anticipated. If Shaun was any reflection of the rest of Jason’s relatives, she had an idea she’d love them.
Maybe she should have stayed on the beach another week. After she’d wrapped up her interview and photos of a woman who, with her husband, had owned and managed a Tillamook timber company for forty years, Lainey had driven further north up the Oregon coast and rented a place right on the beach. She’d spent two weeks there, enjoying the house with a big, comfortable bed, a large spa-like bathroom, and a deck that faced the ocean. In a dozen steps, she had been able to sink her toes in the sand and had taken many long walks each morning, breathing in the salty sea air.
The weather had been beautiful, with only a few days of rain. The rainy days were a perfect excuse to stay inside and work. She’d finished her book and sent the last files to her publisher, then given herself permission to relax and enjoy having nothing she had to do for the foreseeable future.
Lainey had meandered into a few of the nearby coastal towns and browsed through shops. She’d dined at a variety of restaurants and had also spent time getting reacquainted with cooking on a full-sized stove.
Each evening, she’d curled into the cushy sofa and watched the sun set on the water while Jason had told her about his day and asked about hers.
He’d asked for permission to call her the first evening she’d been at the house, and she’d quickly granted it, then it had become not only a habit for them to talk, but also the best part of her day. She looked forward to answering the phone and hearing Jason’s rich, resonant voice.
Regardless of her reluctance to admit it, she was attracted to and entranced with Jason Price. Who could blame her? He was handsome, kind, generous, thoughtful, strong, brave, and nothing like any man she’d ever known, which was exactly why she wanted to get to know him better.
Lainey certainly hadn’t been looking to have her head turned by anyone, especially not a cowboy who worked at rodeos most of the year. She’d taken riding lessons when she was younger and could handle a horse, but she’d ridden an English saddle.
The little knowledge she had about rodeos and that lifestyle was what she’d gleaned from online searches and peppering Celia Kressley with questions.
Celia had also been good about keeping in touch. Since the day they’d met, the woman had texted half a dozen photos of Addie Kate in sweet or silly poses, waving to “Aunt Lainey,” as Celia had referred to her in the messages.
Lainey loved it.
She’d never had a niece or nephew to spoil. Never even had cousins to play with as a kid. It made her heart full to know the new friends she’d made had so easily accepted her into their extended family—a family she felt as though she was a part of because of Jason.
Lainey backed the van out of the parking space and drove onto the freeway. It was just a few miles to Baker City. Both Jason and Shaun had given her detailed directions on how to reach the ranch. She’d looked up the address on the map app onher phone so many times, she had all the turns memorized once she left the freeway.
If she left the freeway.
Lainey passed a slow-moving car packed so full of stuff, the back bumper sagged. She hoped the driver could at least see out the side mirrors. Otherwise, they were an accident waiting to happen.
Anxiety made her thumbs tap on the steering wheel while nerves roiled in her stomach as she neared Baker City.
Stop or keep going?She asked herself for the ninety-seventh time since she’d left the beach that morning.
That was the million-dollar question.
It would be awkward to stop, wouldn’t it?
What kind of weirdo just drives up to a house and says, “I met Jason, and he told me to stop by, but I know he’s not home. What’s for dinner?”
Imagining the look on the faces of Jason’s dad and brother if she did something that crazy made her smile.
Rather than shock the Price family, she would drive to Boise, where she planned to spend a little time exploring the Treasure Valley. She’d never been there and wanted to check out everything it offered. Celia’s parents lived in the area and had extended an invitation through their daughter for Lainey to look them up.
Maybe she’d do a book about farmers of the Northwest. Or …
