his entire life wasn’t so long, and God only knew what a wonderful neighbor Matt had been. Matt had been there to help Pax and Mav out of plenty of scrapes. He owed the man. And Matt deserved to rest in peace.
Pax settled his hat back on his head. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
Alana slipped her hand into his and walked with him out onto the porch. Her hand fit into his as if it had been formed specially for him. “Thank you so much, again.”
“Hey, that’s enough thanks.” He gave her a hug because she looked like she needed one. She’d known about her father’s diagnosis for less than a day. The real sorrow hadn’t even had time to settle into her heart and soul. “You’d do the same for me if Mam was in Matt’s boots. Besides, if this was real, you wouldn’t thank me all the time.”
“All right then.” She hugged him back. “Are we really going somewhere fancy or can I wear jeans?”
“Put on your prettiest dress, darlin’,” he said. “I’m takin’ you out for a celebration.”
He waved from the window of his truck when he got inside, then quickly rolled up the window and turned on the air-conditioning. He got the call from Maverick about the time he pulled into the driveway at his ranch. He figured his brother had already heard the news, and Pax dreaded answering the phone, but he finally hit the accept icon. “How mad are you?” he asked.
“About what?” Maverick said. “Bridget and I are here with Mam. We got done at the lawyer’s a little early so we stopped by, and then we’re going to have supper before we come on home.”
“Hello, Pax,” his grandmother said.
“You’re on speaker.” Bridget’s Irish accent had faded a little in the five months she’d been in the States, but not a lot. “You’ve got me, Maverick, Mam, and Laela.”
“Well, y’all only have me, and I’ve got some big news,” Pax said.
“You got the old tractor fixed that we’ve been workin’ on?” Maverick asked.
“Why did you think Mav was mad at you?” Mam asked.
“I asked Alana to marry me, and she said yes.” He spit it out all at once before they could ask another question. “We’ve been kind of secretly dating since I’ve been home, and—”
“Bullshit!” Maverick cut him off. “That’s the biggest crock of crap I’ve ever heard out of you. Last week you couldn’t wait to get to the Wild Cowboy to blow off steam.”
“Alana was there, too.” Pax wasn’t lying. Alana had been there, and he’d avoided her all evening.
“I’m not a bit surprised,” Mam said. “Y’all have both fought the attraction between you since you were teenagers. I don’t know why it took you this long to admit it.”
“I’m not surprised, either,” Bridget said. “When you’re in the room together, I can see the heat between y’all.”
“I still don’t believe it,” Maverick said. “You’re either yankin’ my chain or you’ve lost your mind.”
“I gave her an engagement ring today. I went over to ask Matt for his blessing this afternoon. Alana and I are about to go out to celebrate this evening.” Pax heard another phone ringing in the background.
“Hello, Trudy,” Mam said.
Pax rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. Thank you, God, he mouthed.
“Yes, we’ve already heard. Pax told us all about it, and yes, ma’am, I’m all for having a wedding shower at the church sometime this month. Let me know what you need me to do. Bye now,” Mam said. “Okay, I’m back. I guess you heard me talking to Trudy?”
“Yes, I did. Matt told me that he’d called the church and put the date on the calendar,” Pax said.
“I’ll believe it when I hear the preacher pronounce you man and wife,” Maverick said. “I don’t know what you and Alana have going, but you’d have told me if you were dating her.”
“Like you told him all about me, right?” Bridget asked.
“That was different,” Maverick said.
“And on that note, I’m going to go get ready for my celebration date with Alana tonight. See y’all at breakfast, and I’ll be up to visit you soon, Mam. Bye.” He ended the call.
When Pax and Maverick had inherited Callahan Ranch, their Mam’s dog and cat came right along with the house. Mam had named the dog Ducky because he had short legs, and she said that he waddled when he walked. To Pax, he looked like a cross between a Catahoula and a dachshund with a lot of pure