Suddenly tired, she sat on the hay on the ground, her back against the wooden slats of the barn stall.
She thought about how easily Jace had taken control of the situation with Molly. Talking to him in the truck, he’d said he was nervous. He shouldn’t have been, though. It was clear running the ranch was exactly what he was meant to do.
The man was an amazing dad, great with animals, and commanded situations with ease. Was it truly that far of a stretch to understand why her own heart belonged to him as well?
* * *
Jace finished cleaning up.When he returned to Molly’s stall, he found Bonnie sitting on the ground, her arms resting on her knees, and a look of happy exhaustion on her face.
She'd been such a trooper through the whole ordeal, and a big help as well. He'd never doubted her ability to assist out here. They'd worked seamlessly together, and Jace enjoyed every minute of it.
They hadn't even argued about anything this evening, either. He chuckled to himself.
Molly and her lambs were doing wonderfully. It should mean he and Bonnie were clear to head back home. Or rather, their respective homes. Jace yawned. Maybe he could catch a couple hours of sleep before it was time to get back to work.
He walked over and crouched down next to Bonnie. "Hey, you awake?" A hand on her shoulder brought her eyes to his face.
"I’m awake—but barely. Both of the lambs are nursing. They seem to be doing well, don’t they?"
"They do. They’ll be safe and warm in here. We should go back and get some sleep." He stood and reached a hand down toward her. Once she placed her smaller hand in his, he helped her stand.
"That sounds good. Seven-thirty will come early today."
"Yes, it will. I figured I might start work late. You can wait and come in at nine. See if you can sleep in a little."
Bonnie raised an eyebrow. She tipped her head to one side looking at his ear and then the other before getting up on her toes.
"What are you doing?" he asked, trying not to laugh at her odd behavior.
"I'm looking for alien antennae or anything else suggesting you’ve been taken over. I've never known you to go in to work late."
She laughed then, and he joined her, although there was a part of him that was saddened by the fact that she clearly saw him as a workaholic. Of course, that's exactly what he used to be.
He shrugged. "I guess this ranch is changing me a little."
Her expression shifted from amused to serious as she studied his face. "It looks good on you, Jace."
What would Bonnie do if she knew how close he was to kissing her right now? He could picture her frown and the resolve he knew would replace the relaxed look on her face. She'd probably turn around and walk right to his truck and insist he take her home.
But what if she didn't? What if she wanted to kiss him even a fraction as much as he wanted to kiss her?
"Bonnie...Am I the only one that feels things shifting between us?" When she didn't answer right away, he continued. "I've always admired you. The way you care for Gunner. The way you're not afraid to stand up for something, even if it means arguing with me." That got a little laugh out of her, and she relaxed a bit. "Since we all moved to the ranch, we've had the chance to get to know each other better." He paused, trying to search for the right words. "It's made me wish I hadn't waited this long."
Jace stepped forward and reached out, taking her hand in his. Her soft skin cool to the touch.
Bonnie's gaze went to their hands. He thought she was going to pull hers away, but to his relief, she didn't. "This is a terrible idea."
"Maybe. But what if it's not?" Jace had been questioning things for days now. What if the mistake would be in ignoring how he cared for Bonnie?
"We argue all the time." Bonnie looked up, some of that familiar fire of confrontation flickering in her eyes. "That ought to be a sign."
"I like to think that we challenge each other. Push each other to be better people."
The corners of her mouth pulled up in an amused smile. "I suppose that's one way to look at it." Her smile faltered. "I just don't want to mess anything up here. My job. My friendships with you or Noel. I don't want to lose Gunner."
There was no missing the catch in her voice at the end. Knowing she cared about his son had Jace falling just a little more in love with her still. "You won't lose Gunner. But I do appreciate how much you care about him." He wanted to say how much she cared about all of them but didn't want to push her. They were both tired. Maybe now wasn’t the time to bare his heart and ask her to do the same in return. "It's super late. Come on, you need some sleep. I'll drive you back to your place."
He tugged her towards his truck. When she didn't remove her hand from his, he didn't initiate it, either. Instead, he held her hand all the way to the truck and only let go once he'd opened her door and she climbed inside.
