Page 5 of The Rancher's Heart
“What are you talking about?” Of course, Duke couldn’t have been born before their mom passed.
Pulling Izzy to her feet, Nathan said, “We’ll talk about this later. Right now, I’m going to dance with my beautiful fiancée.”
“But—”
“Later, Jonas,” Nathan said firmly, his teasing smile gone. “You have a toast to give.”
Wondering what had caused his brother to abruptly leave the conversation, Jonas pressed his lips into a straight line and walked toward Andee, who was sitting next to Malorie. He picked up a glass of champagne on the way.
“Are you ready, young lady?” he asked his new niece, sloughing off the discomfort from his discussion with Nathan.
The day before, Andee had made him listen while she practiced her speech. Nodding, she took the mic from her new dad.
Jonas stood back and let the tween take center stage. She was confident and funny, just like her mom. He ad-libbed a few words when she was done, finishing with, “To the bride and groom... May you have a long and happy life together.”
The guests erupted in laughter and raised their glasses. The toast complete, he hugged Malorie and, wishing his brother the best, shook Blake’s hand before pulling him in for a congratulatory slap on the back.
As conversations around him resumed, he made a discreet exit. He couldn’t fight the feeling that his breakfast conversation with Sloane was going to be a humdinger.
Chapter Two
Sloane woke upwith a profound sense of disappointment on two fronts. Jonas Lohmen had spent more time in Strawberry Ridge over the last two and a half months than he had in years and not once had he made any move to be more than her friend. He hadn’t asked her out on a date, not even for a simple walk in the park. There was no quick, surprising kiss. And yesterday, Blake and Malorie’s wedding, except for his surprise that she was dating another man, had been no different.
Geez. She should have known better than to expect that things had changed just because he’d moved back to town and seemed ready to settle down. She’d waited a long time to see that happen. Too long, in fact.
So why shouldn’t she date? She’d had a crush on the rancher-turned-lawyer for as long as she could remember. At least from the sixth grade, when her family moved to Strawberry Ridge and her dad opened Michaels’ Garage.
She’d skipped the second grade at her previous school because, even at the age of seven, she was way ahead of her classmates. By the time she was in the sixth grade, she’d figured out older kids didn’t like hanging out with a younger, smarter girl, even if they were in the same classes.
Except for Jonas. He didn’t care that she was smart and a year younger. He was kind and friendly and soon became her BFF. What she’d never told him was that ever since, she’d had this secret crush on the boy who’d made her young life less lonely and then become the man who always had her back, the same as she had his. At least she tried to.
If friendship was all that he wanted from her, she could do that, but the truth was, she wanted more. At the age of thirty-five, she was running out of time. It’d taken her long enough, but finally she’d come to the conclusion that she’d waited long enough for Jonas to see her as something more than his best friend. She didn’t need him making a mess of her feelings now.
While he was doing his lawyer gig in Denver, she’d pushed aside how much she’d missed him and done all the things—finished a degree in mechanical engineering and taken over the garage when her dad decided to retire. Now, she ran a successful business. She’d even bought her first home in a quiet neighborhood in the town that she loved and wouldn’t leave for anyone. Not even for Jonas.
And since he hadn’t taken her hints about wanting more, she couldn’t wait any longer. It was time to find a husband who loved her enough to spend his life with her and start a family. She’d already checked out the dateable men in Strawberry Ridge without findingthe one, so if that meant she had to widen her boundaries and maybe try one of the popular online dating apps, then so be it.
After completing her research, she signed up on Perfect Match. Unfortunately, her first date last night did not go as well as she had hoped it would. Flinn Isak had looked so good “on paper.” He was a reasonably handsome guy, not that she put much stock in a man’s looks. He taught history at the high school—a point in his favor because she was a huge history fan. They would have something in common. He was a widower and a little bit sad. Not exactly a mark against him. If he truly liked a woman, he might smile more. Except for his students, he didn’t have kids of his own.
He wasn’t Jonas, that was for sure.
Oh, for Pete’s sake!
Glancing at the clock, she bounced out of bed to head for the shower.
She wasn’t counting on—now that he knew she was serious about dating—Jonas waking up and seeing her as a mostly attractive lady that he might move from the friend category to a more serious possibility. He already knew that she went on the occasional date and that she hadn’t clicked with any of the men. Jonas also knew she would often cancel when he showed up unexpectedly.
Well, last night, she hadn’t and look how confused he’d looked when she left him behind before the reception was over. She should pat herself on the back for standing up for herself, except that it didn’t feel like that much of a victory. Dressed in jeans and a tee shirt with a classic Ford pickup on the front, she sat down with her laptop to see if there were other men she could connect with on the app. She’d left her hair down and put on some lipstick, not because she wanted Jonas to be impressed—not anymore—but because being the primary mechanic at Michaels’ Garage, she was often covered in grease and didn’t bother much with the girlie applications that most women used to attract men. In that regard, whoever she ultimately ended up with, he would have to accept her as she was. Being asked on bended knee to marry this mythical guy would be nice.
Startled from the cozy daydream by a musical knock on her door she recognized, Sloane slapped her laptop shut in the middle of deciding between Ken and Phillip.
Straightening her shoulders to get rid of the tension suddenly stacking up between her shoulder blades—which was crazy because she’d known Jonas too long for him to be a surprise—she opened the door and grinned as brightly as she could.
“Ready?” he asked, his stunning green-gray eyes sparkling.
Her heart picking up an extra beat was bad.Breakfast is nothing special, she warned herself sternly before grabbing her shoulder bag. “Yup.”
“How was your date last night?” He lingered on the front porch to let her walk ahead.
