gospel truth for sure, and she could add an amazing friend and still not be lying in the least.
Pax must’ve called in an order for the pizza as he drove because he pulled into the yard right behind them. He took two boxes out of the backseat, carried them onto the porch, and said, “I really should’ve gone home and cleaned up. A feller shouldn’t come to his fiancée’s house looking like a field hand, but I thought y’all might be hungry.”
“Son, Alana’s going to see you in worse condition than you are right now when y’all are married,” Matt told him. “She knows she’s gettin’ a rancher, thank God for that”—he rolled his eyes toward the ceiling—“and you’ll see her as dirty as she is today many times too. So let’s sit down at the table and enjoy a conversation over supper.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll set these pizzas on the table and help Alana get out some plates,” Pax offered.
“Ain’t no need for that. We got paper napkins on the table, and we can sure enough eat pizza without dirtying up plates or silverware,” Matt said. “Joy says not havin’ to do dishes is one of the joys of eatin’ finger food.”
Alana caught Pax’s eye and nodded.
His head barely bobbed. He understood that she had talked to her father, and all was well. Without either of them saying a word, they’d read each other’s minds. It might not be a huge thing to most people, but it amazed Alana and gave her something to think about.
Had it been anyone other than Pax sitting at her table that evening she might have snarled at the dirt on his shirt. But she saw right past the grime and even his bulging biceps and looked right at the heart of the man. He’d dropped what he was doing to go with her, had taken over the wheel to calm her down, and then hustled up a meal. Now that was a man that any woman should be proud to call her husband.
Any woman? A streak of jealousy shot through Alana. She’d known a touch of that feeling a few times when she’d seen a woman coming on to Pax in a bar, but she’d never experienced such a fiery surge before. Maybe it was because they’d had sex, or maybe it was because her crazy heart was beginning to think this engagement was the real deal.
When they finished eating, Matt got out the dominoes and shuffled them in the middle of the kitchen table. “Don’t think because I got a little confused today that y’all are going to beat me at Shoot the Moon. I’m the king of this game.” He chose his seven tiles.
“I remember the first time I beat you. I should’ve gotten a trophy to set up on the mantel. That was more exciting than when I won my first bronc ride.” Alana nudged him on the shoulder as she passed by on the way to refill all their tea glasses.
“Well, darlin’ daughter, don’t expect to get a trophy tonight, because I’m feelin’ real lucky.” He set up his dominoes.
Alana looked across the room for a few seconds, and liked the feeling of having a family around the table. She wished she could freeze that moment in time so she wouldn’t get her heart broken twice—once when she lost her father and the next when Pax left after the annulment.
Chapter Twelve
The days went by much too quickly and yet the hours in every one of them seemed to stump along like a hundred-year-old man on crutches. Nine days had passed since Matt had dropped the news of his cancer on his daughter. That Friday morning the pain in her heart was as raw as it had been when he told her. Would it still feel like this when a year had passed? she wondered.
Dust fogged up the tractor’s window as Alana watched the baler open up and a round bale roll out. This would be the last year that she and her father could talk about the hay crop and compare it to years before. Had they gotten enough to last through the winter? Had rain spoiled a few bales? She turned on the windshield wipers to take away some of the dust, and wished that cleaning the tears off her face could be as easy as touching a button.
Her phone rang and Bridget’s name popped up. She slid the button on the screen and put it on speaker. “Hey,