Page 63 of Roping Her In

“Of course I have,” Hailey said. “I asked my momma if I could invite you to the branding extravaganza, and she said yes.” She shook her curls over her shoulder as if to say, So there.

Jake turned into her. “You were going to invite me to that?”

“Please.” She pushed against his chest in a playful way, as she didn’t truly want him to go anywhere. “You’ve already been invited.”

“But not by you.” He gazed down at her. “You know what’ll happen if I come to that with you, right?”

“Everyone already knows we’re dating,” she said. “And seeing as how it’s Valentine’s Day, I’m expecting no less than three engagements to be on my family text by morning.”

Jake blinked rapidly. “Are you serious?”

“Do you know how many cousins I have?” Hailey grinned at him and shook her head, like having cousins was a terrible thing. “Shiloh’s been dating her boyfriend for fourteen months. I think she’s about ready to rip her hair out—or his—if he doesn’t propose soon. Fawn just got engaged, in fact. Pearl Jo’s been dating Caleb Danner for oh, seven or eight months.”

Hailey loved her cousins, and they had a separate thread for those in their generation. “She said they’ve been looking at rings online, so yeah, they could get engaged at any time.” She grinned up at him. “The real tea is Heather and Radar, since she’s only twenty-four.”

“Lots of people get married young,” Jake said. “In your own family, even. Didn’t Aurora and Ollie get married right after high school?”

“Yeah,” Hailey said. “I mean, my daddy and I weren’t here yet, but yes, they did.”

They stood on the sidelines and watched the crowd ebb and flow for a few moments. “So who else in your family is going to get married this year?” Jake cleared his throat, but Hailey couldn’t figure out why that would make him nervous.

“Betty’s been dating Castle Livingston for a while now too,” Hailey said. “And Robbie and Gina have already set a date for the first weekend of August. I think Fawn’s going for September, just before the round-up.”

She stepped in front of him, though a loud click had just echoed through the barn. They were going to make announcements and start the dancing at any moment, but Hailey just had to ask.

“You will come with me to all the weddings, won’t you?” she asked. “Elaine and Colt’s, my cousins…everyone?”

Jake gazed down at her, his brilliant blue eyes zipping between hers while the music cut out.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Rusty said, his voice on the low end and revving up. “Boys and girls, get your dancing boots on, set your cup of hot chocolate down, because it’s time toooooo….”

“Party!” he and Libby yelled into the mic together, which caused a screech of feedback. No one seemed to care at all, as cowboy whoops and cheers and yeehaws filled the barn from top to bottom, side to side.

The music blasted—positively blasted—through the barn now, and Jake grabbed onto Hailey’s hand again. “Let’s dance,” he yelled above the commotion, and the next thing she knew, he’d pulled her out onto the dance floor.

She couldn’t get off either, because people were flooding onto it. So she settled for glaring at him and praying for the best.

Jake knew right when to move, and he performed the steps before Rusty even called them. He moved with precise fluidity and grace, and Hailey gave up her abhorrence of dancing and laughed with him as the song continued.

About halfway through, she finally felt like she got the taps, kick, and rotation right, and she beamed over to Jake. “I did that one right,” she yelled.

“You sure did,” he called back to her.

Hailey focused on the steps again, noting those around her smiling, laughing, or clapping along to the music. She let herself go, and Hailey never did that. It felt wild, and wonderful, and free, and when she looked at Jake again, she felt herself falling for him in a way she’d never fallen before.

That too felt like a horribly irresponsible thing to do, and something Hailey would never allow for herself. But as the song ended, and Jake wrapped her in his arms and they laughed and laughed together, Hailey didn’t try to stop herself.

She wanted this free-wheeling, carefree, astronomically amazing feeling in her life, and she wanted it with Jake.

The cheering quieted as the song moved into more of a ballad, and Jake kept her close and started swaying side-to-side with her. Now a sense of peace and goodness descended upon her, and Hailey never wanted to miss another dance here at the ranch.

But about halfway through the song, Jake tensed and whispered, “Oh, boy. My parents are incoming.”

Hailey lifted her head from his chest and found him frowning at something—or rather, someone—past her. She turned and came face-to-face with his mother.

“Jacob,” she said as if he’d been caught cheating on a very important test. Juliette Ahlstrom was a tall, lithe woman, with silvery-blonde hair that she’d surely passed on to her son. She too wore a dress, and that somehow endeared Hailey to her despite the displeasure on her face. Her features reminded Hailey of a mama eagle for a moment, and then she softened completely.

“Introduce me to your pretty girlfriend,” she said, a smile settling across her mouth.