Page 69 of Roping Her In

Austin had said they’d bought a fixer-upper that came with twenty-three acres, which was a little bit bigger than Jo wanted, but the price was great. He’d said they were planning to remodel and renovate the place while they lived there, and JJ still couldn’t quite believe it.

Knowing how much money Austin had, JJ was a little bit surprised that his cousin had chosen this route. He would’ve purchased the farm to make his wife happy, sure, but he then would’ve hired Trap to come in and remodel the whole thing from roof to foundation before he moved his wife into it—and that was with Ruby as an interior designer.

In fact, JJ needed to get pictures of this place, and he hurried up the steps after Austin and Jo, waiting while they fitted a key into the front door and opened it. “Ruby wanted me to take a bunch of pictures,” he said. “She had that job with the Summers today and can’t come.”

“Oh, right,” Jo said. She seemed happier than JJ had ever seen her before. She was definitely more cowgirl, and she’d never minded getting her hands dirty. So perhaps living in a renovation while she worked on it fit her personality precisely.

“I want to start with the laundry room, this downstairs bathroom, and the kitchen,” Jo said.

JJ abandoned the tote just inside the front door and followed her to the back corner of the house, where the kitchen stood through an arched doorway. To his eye, the hardwood floor needed to be buffed out and re-stained—Or replaced, he thought—and he’d tear down all the wallpaper in this room and see what was underneath. If nothing good, he’d re-drywall and paint.

The laundry room had space for a washer and dryer, but didn’t actually hold the appliances, and the kitchen looked like it would be better served if someone lit it on fire and walked away.

Everywhere JJ looked, he found dirt and decay, or something peeling that needed to be ripped off and redone. Jo, on the other hand, looked like she’d just arrived at Disneyland, and she happily directed him for which pictures to take before she returned to the front of the house and started giving directions for where boxes, bins, and furniture should go.

JJ put his head down and kept his mouth shut as he texted the pictures to Ruby. He couldn’t help adding a message with them. I can’t believe they’re going to live here. This place looks one rat’s nest away from being condemned.

Ruby sent back laughing emojis, which was her default when she was in a meeting and couldn’t type out a message. JJ shoved his phone away and looked up in time to see Austin leading the way into the kitchen with Colt, Ty, Trap, Finn, and Alex in tow.

“Okay,” he said, and he clapped his hands together, a smile stuck on his face. “All of the appliances in here are going out. We’re getting new ones delivered tomorrow.”

JJ joined the group of men, simply staring at the room in front of them. The kitchen was large, JJ would give them that, but to him, it was a complete gut job.

“We can take the appliances out this side door,” Austin said. “I’m going to build a garage on this side, but it’s not there yet.”

“You are?” Trap asked. “Or I am?”

Austin simply laughed, and he sure seemed like he was at a theme park too. “I suppose you are, brother,” he said, and he moved toward the stove, clearly in attack mode. “We’re going to move everything out, and Jo and I brought cleaning supplies, and we’re going to clean this room from top to bottom.”

“Dude, I guess I’ll be the one to say it,” Ty said, his voice dark and deep, and oh-so-grumpy. “Every room in this house needs to be stripped and cleaned top to bottom. I can’t believe you’re moving in here.”

Austin turned around and faced them. “We’re not.”

“What do you mean you’re not?” JJ asked. “We’re moving you in today.”

“No, we’re moving our stuff here today,” Austin said.

Finn looked at JJ, and they both looked back at Austin. “Where are you going to sleep then?” Finn asked.

“In the truck,” he said as if anyone with one brain cell should have known that.

Confusion ran through JJ, and when no one else moved, he knew they were as thoroughly befuddled as he was. Finn’s phone chimed, and it seemed to set off a series of sounds, including one on JJ’s device. That was his small ranch owner’s group message, and he pulled his phone out as Colt, Ty, Trap, Finn, and Alex all did the same.

“Oh, it’s Mitch’s baby! Finally,” Finn said. He held up his phone as if they all hadn’t gotten the message, though JJ supposed Austin hadn’t.

“She’s adorable,” Alex drawled.

“Della Hayes Glover,” JJ read, and he too couldn’t stop the smile as it spread through his body, mind, spirit, and soul at the sight of that tiny baby girl, so fresh from heaven. His heart skipped and then ached, as he wanted another baby. He’d been talking to Ruby about it for several months now, and he hadn’t quite convinced her that they needed another infant in their lives.

They both loved their daughter without end, and Ruby had told him multiple times that she wasn’t his momma, and that she hadn’t gotten married when she was forty and they didn’t need to have five kids in five years.

Jade would be three this summer, and even if Ruby got pregnant right now, they wouldn’t have another baby until the end of the year—at the earliest.

More messages came in. Everyone expressing how beautiful she was, and their congratulations to Mitch and Lacy. JJ added his: She’s absolutely beautiful, Mitch. Congratulations to you and Lacy!

He sent the picture to Ruby, who immediately asked when she could take them dinner. He got back on the rancher thread and asked, but it wasn’t Mitch who answered, but Wilder.

You don’t know the Glovers very well if you think they need food at all. He sent several laughing emojis too.