“I said there wasn’t anything for me here.” He took her into his arms. “What would you say if I….” Brandon needed a moment to find the right order of words. He exhaled and took another breath, hoping the oxygen would go straight to his brain. “What if I wanted to stay on at the homestead?”
Lenny blinked and pulled back. “I can’t pay you.”
“What if I don’t need to be paid?”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know,” Brandon said. “Let’s go to lunch. Zona is going to call me any second, I’m sure.”
“B.”
“It’s fine. I don’t know what I’m saying.” And he couldn’t look at her for much longer, either. He turned and headed down the hallway.
By the time he reached the front door, he knew exactly what he was saying—he was falling in love with Lenore and wanted to stay on the homestead and work it with her as if it was his own land.
Outside, he opened the passenger door and waited for Lenny to catch up to him. She eyed him with something serious and something confused in her gaze. But she said nothing as she got into the truck, and Brandon half-groaned, half-sighed as he went around the tailgate to get behind the wheel.
“Listen, just forget I said anything.” He backed out and drove toward Duke and Arizona’s house. “I know the job ends February first, and you don’t have to worry about me squatting on the homestead or anything.” He glanced over to her and found her staring straight ahead.
“Okay,” she said, and a barb pierced Brandon’s heart.
He’d never been one to fall in love in less than a month, and he knew he didn’t love-loveLenny yet. But he sure did like her, and he wanted to keep dating her, and once he left the homestead, that felt impossible.
His heart sank into his stomach, but he put a smile on his face the moment he arrived at Zona’s. The last thing he needed was her noticing anything amiss between him and Lenny. And even if she didn’t, Dawson would. So Brandon stepped into Lenore’s open door and took both of her hands in his.
“Really, Lenny. I just…I really like you is all. And when a man of my age likes a woman as much as I like you, he doesn’t want to leave. That’s all.”
She twined her fingers through his on one hand and lifted the other to cradle his face. “I really like you too, B.”
He searched her face, entering a completely new phase of romantic relationships—a place he’d never been before.
Somewhere permanent. Long-term.
He didn’t know how to navigate this, or flirt through it, or the types of conversations couples had at this stage of their relationships.
So he simply ducked his head and nodded. “Okay, let’s go in before Dawson sends his kids out to get me.”
Lenny smiled and dropped to the ground beside him. They approached the house, and sure enough, the front door opened before Brandon even put his foot on the bottom step.
“Uncle Brannon,” Colt yelled as if Brandon stood on the other side of the globe. “Auntie Zona has olives!”
“Does she?” Brandon asked, his grin wide and genuine now. “Did you put them on your fingers?” He held up his hand, as if he could imagine an olive on the top of each one.
“I can put ‘em on my fingers?” Colt asked, and he turned immediately to go back inside. He rushed that way, already calling to his mother and Zona.
Unfortunately, Joy had started to come out, and the two of them collided. The little girl got knocked to the ground, and she started to wail. Brandon hurried up the last of the steps while Colt kept on going, no amount of little sister about to stop him.
He scooped Joy into his arms with the words, “Hey, baby girl. You’re okay.”
She sniffled again, and Brandon smiled at her and wiped the single tear that had formed and clung to her eyelashes. She babbled something he couldn’t understand, but he grinned at her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Look at your turkey shirt. Show it to my friend, Lenny.”
Joy looked down at her shirt, which was a light pink and had a cartoon turkey stitched onto the front of it. “Tuh-key,” she said. She pointed to it and looked at Brandon.
“Yep, it’s a turkey. Show Lenny.” He moved Joy so she faced Lenny more, and he watched in wonder as Lenny radiated light and kindness. She, too, reached out and tapped the turkey’s beak.
“What does the turkey say?” she asked, as if she knew making animal sounds was Joy’s favorite game.
“That’s a hard one,” Brandon said with a chuckle, but Joy opened her mouth and made a very realistic turkey gobbling sound.
