True Love at Silver Creek Ranch(84)

Nate nodded. “We’ve really diversified the last couple years. We’re okay. I wouldn’t ever want you to feel like you owed us, Josh. Just like you showed me I could pursue my favorite part of this job, you can do the same.”

Brooke scraped her dough into a plastic container and labeled it for the freezer. She was afraid to look up, afraid to show any disappointment. Now wasn’t the time for her to bring up her own idea that would take her away from the ranch part-time. No way would she let her dad think they were all deserting their parents. Maybe she should just forget it.

Sandy cleared her throat and looked pointedly at Brooke, who shook her head quickly.

“What is it?” Doug asked.

Everyone was staring at her, and for once, words failed her. She gave her mom a pleading look, but Sandy just waited patiently for her to speak.

“Mom and I were just talking about an idea when Josh called this meeting. What a coincidence,” Brooke added with an awkward attempt at cheerfulness, looking at her hands as she washed them at the sink rather than at her family. Her nervousness showed her how much the idea of teaching kids and adults to ride already meant to her. “I’ve been enjoying working with Steph and Tyler, and thought maybe I could be a part-time riding instructor here at the ranch.”

For a moment, there was complete silence. Gritting her teeth, she made herself look at everyone, saw her mother’s encouraging smile, Josh’s grin, Nate’s eyes wide with surprise—but she couldn’t read her father’s impassivity.

“We already give sleigh rides in the winter,” Josh said. “Riding instruction would be another way to generate some tourist money and help the town out, too. We don’t have anything like that right in Valentine Valley.”

She’d known Josh would support her. She looked at Nate.

He shrugged. “I have nothing against it. If we’re already talking about keeping Adam on, if he wants it, or hiring someone else, that should cover it. Dad?”

Doug sighed. “It’s strange to know that if I’m callin’ myself ‘almost retired,’ I shouldn’t have a say in this.”

“Of course you have a say, Dad,” Brooke said earnestly. “I would never do anything you didn’t think would benefit the ranch.”

“If you three think you can make all these part-time jobs work, then it’s fine by me.”

Sandy looked relieved, but Brooke wasn’t. She didn’t feel like her dad had actually approved, but he hadn’t said no, either. Her excitement took a little hit, but she was determined to make it work.

“No point in worrying about this now,” she said briskly. “It’s almost Christmas, and we have enough to do. We’ll talk about it after the holidays.”





Chapter Nineteen





That night, Adam cradled a naked Brooke in his arms, satisfied and sleepy and so comfortable in his bed. He could hear the crackling of the fire in the living room and the quietness of her breathing.

He still couldn’t believe he’d shared the truth of his past with her but had been so surprised at how right it felt. The weight seemed off his chest, as if he could inhale deeply again. His dreams weren’t full of death and dying, but occasionally the bittersweet memory of the good times he and his friends had shared.

He’d shared something he hadn’t discussed with another soul—did that mean he was falling in love with Brooke? It was such a surprise to even think about, and he knew better than to mention it aloud. He wasn’t even certain himself and knew she wasn’t ready to hear it, regardless. He could be patient and wait until the moment was right.

“Is that Ranger snoring?” Brooke asked in the middle of a yawn.

“Guess I’m used to it. And I was just about to say how quiet you were tonight.” He gently threaded his fingers through her hair, sweeping it back from her face, so he could see her expression. “Is something wrong?”

“Not with you,” she murmured, then came up on her elbow and looked down at him with wicked intent in her slumberous gaze. “That was . . . incredible.”

He smiled. “You’re trying to distract me.”

She leaned down to kiss him, and her hair slid along his shoulders and about his face, like a waterfall hiding their kiss from the outside world.

Heaving a sigh, she laid her head back on his shoulder. “I have a lot of crazy thoughts going on in my head.”

“About Tyler? He’s taken up a lot of your valuable time.”

She grinned. “My valuable time? What about yours? I thought you’d do my work for me while I dealt with him.”

“You didn’t order me to,” he pointed out.