sat down and set about eating her Lucky Charms.
“Huh,” Lucas snorted. “You should pack some beef jerky, not those newfangled bar things you kids think are so great.”
Matt laid his paper to the side and took a sip of his coffee. “The wedding planner called me last night. The invitations are going in the mail today.”
“I damn sure want one,” Lucas said. “I’m going to take it up to that place in Amarillo that does custom framing, and it’s going on the wall out in the bunkhouse. I’ll want a wedding picture too, so we can hang it above the mantel.”
Alana shoved a bite of cereal in her mouth to give herself time to collect her thoughts. When she’d swallowed, she asked, “How big do you want that picture?”
“Huge.” Lucas made measurements with his hands. “Wide as the fireplace and tall as it needs to be. I’ll take them steer horns down and put it right up there where they’re hangin’.”
“I was thinkin’ we’d hang one over our fireplace too,” Matt said. “I want the whole wedding party in mine. Maybe the photographer can take y’all outside and take it with the setting sun back behind you.”
“That would be beautiful. We’ll have to talk to whoever Crystal sends to do the pictures about it.” Alana managed to get out the words around the grapefruit-size lump in her throat. “But we don’t need to sit around the table jawin’ all day about me and Pax. We’ve got hay to rake, don’t we?”
“That’s my girl,” Matt said. “I’m going to run up to Amarillo today. Y’all need anything?”
“Bridget and I are going tomorrow to look at wedding dresses. You want to wait and go with us?” She took her bowl and mug to the sink.
“Nope.” Matt shook his head. “I’d be bored to tears. I’ve scheduled a cattlemen’s meeting this morning. I’ll be back by noon. Want me to pick up some fried chicken on my way home?”
“Yes,” Lucas said on his way outside. “I’m inviting myself to eat with y’all. I do love fried chicken. And get extra potato salad.”
“Got it.” Matt winked at Alana.
As soon as the back door shut behind Lucas, Alana went back to the table and hugged Matt. “Now, tell me why you’re really going to Amarillo. You don’t have cattlemen’s meetings in the middle of the week.”
“Doctor’s visit,” he said.
She folded her arms over her chest. “I’m going with you.”
“No, you are not,” he protested. “I’ll be seeing him every week on Tuesday morning, and until I absolutely can’t go on my own, you are not going with me. Lucas is already fussing at me about going to the doctor. He says that something is wrong with me, and I need to see about it. If you start going with me, he’ll smell a rat. I plan on telling him after the wedding, but not a day before.”
“All right, Daddy.” Alana remembered from the research she had done that she shouldn’t argue with him. “But if you ever want me to go, or if you don’t feel like driving, I’ll make an excuse that I need to check on wedding dress alterations or something.”
“Sounds good.” His voice was back to normal. “Now get on out there. Lucas is waiting for you.”
She stuffed a couple of energy bars into her shirt pocket and waved over her shoulder as she went out the back door. “See you at noon.” Dealing with the stress of a wedding planner who had called her three times in the past two days, the grief over her father that ate at her soul, and the way she felt the past couple of days after sleeping with Pax, was not an easy task.
* * *
Pax awoke that morning to the sound of a giggling baby and the aroma of bacon. He flipped on a bedside lamp and crawled out of bed. He and Maverick had put in a grueling day on Monday getting the rest of their hay cut. Today, they’d rake it into windrows. The weatherman was calling for rain later in the week, so if they could get their round bales done before it started, that would be wonderful.
Two days had passed now since he’d seen Alana. On the one hand, he’d missed spending time with her. On the other, he’d enjoyed the hard work, something he was used to and could do without much thought—and not having to worry about being the perfect fiancé. He got dressed for work in faded