letter. He figured every month he would slowly up the ante and share more about how he was feeling, although taking small steps still seemed important.
Plus, he had decided that this month he would decorate the edges of his letter with little pictures, just the way Julia did.
The house was quiet after supper, with Julia working for the night. Zach wandered outside, a warm jacket in place against the cool evening temperatures. This was one of the rare years that it hadn’t snowed yet, although it was clear winter could arrive at any time.
Across the yard, Finn waved him over. His best friend looked amazingly content these days, as he and Karen continued to work together to build their home and prepare Red Boot ranch for next year’s planned spring opening.
Zach took his time meandering across the yard, pleased to realize that in just a few days Julia would also be working full-time at the ranch. It would mean more opportunities to be together, and he was looking forward to it immensely.
“You look like a cat that’s gotten into the cream,” Finn offered dryly.
“Julia’s farewell party is tomorrow evening. She’s got only one more night shift before she’s all mine.” Zach paused. “I mean ours, since she’ll be medic for the whole ranch starting next week.”
His friend chuckled, tilting his head toward his truck. “I think you said it right the first time. You’ve definitely claimed ownership.”
Zach matched Finn’s pace without questioning until they were in the truck and headed into town. “Did you tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope.” Finn stared ahead at the road.
Zach hesitated. “Am I supposed to know where we’re going?”
Finn snorted. “This time, nope. Your concentration has absolutely sucked for the last couple of months, but this time I can’t blame your confusion on being Julia-obsessed.”
Not much he could say in defense to that, so Zach sat back and enjoyed the ride, smiling as they pulled into the yard at Josiah’s house. “Does he have a need for free labour?”
“Definitely. His sister sent a case of liquor from Ireland. I volunteered us to help sample.”
Zach gave his friend’s shoulder a squeeze before hopping out of the truck and joining him on the path up to the house. “Have I thanked you lately for being my second-best friend?”
“Second?”
Zach let them into Josiah’s house without knocking then let out a loud whistle. “Hey, best buddy. Where are you? And where’s the hooch?”
Laughter sounded a second before Finn smacked him in the arm with a fist. “Jerk.”
They grinned at each other as Josiah called to them from the kitchen. “You two are trouble. Come on. We have some catching up to do. Not to mention some drinking.”
Hours later the area around the fire pit was strewn with empty imported beer carcasses and a fine collection of open whiskey bottles.
“I’m not saying you should just straight-up tell her, but at the same time, why don’t you just straight-up tell her?” Josiah swirled his most recent refill as he stared into the depths and repeated himself for the third or fourth time that evening.
A very dramatic sigh, even for him, escaped Zach. “I did tell her right at the start that I wanted to date her for real. Things just got a whole hell of a lot more complicated a whole hell of a lot faster than I expected.”
“Uncomplicate them.” Finn shook his head. “Never mind us. You’re the one with the eerily accurate gut instinct. If you think slow and steady is still the way to go after two months of being married, then so be it.”
“Slow and steady. Sounds like you’re out in the field breaking pasture instead of spending every spare moment in and out of the bedroom convincing her you’re a good deal.” Josiah shook his head sadly.
Zach must’ve made a noise, or maybe he’d sighed again, because suddenly he was being stared at intently by both of the other men.
A very calculated expression narrowed Finn’s gaze. “Every spare moment…”
“…in and out of the bedroom?” Josiah’s jaw dropped. “You just cringed when I mentioned the bedroom. Please tell me you and Julia are not still sleeping in different rooms.”
“We’re not having this conversation,” Zach said as firmly as possible. A second later he reached down to find some random wood chips so he could throw one at each of his grinning friends. “Buzz off. I’m not talking about my sex life with you.”
“Obviously, because you don’t have one,” Finn offered dryly. “I thought the idea was to