satisfied smile curved Shea’s lips. “Been waitin’ for that invitation.”
“Consider it given.”
“Jake, Shea, c’mon now and let’s start. Y’all must be hungry.” Patty waved at them from across the room. Jake gazed into Shea’s eyes, searching. Deliberate and slow, he slid his hand along Shea’s nape. His fingers curved around Shea’s strong throat, holding him lightly but enough to feel the pulse jump to his touch.
“You’re sure about this now?” Unsmiling, Shea waited for his answer.
“As I’ve ever been.” Jake had never meant his words more.
They joined the three women, and if Stacey had noticed their moment, it didn’t seem to bother her. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink, and she hadn’t stopped smiling.
“I know you have to see it,” Shea said to him. “She’s a different little girl than the one who came here.”
“I can tell. It’s this ranch. You call it Forget Me Not, and it’s true. I feel its magic. I know I’ll never be able to forget this place.”
“And here I thought it was me.” Shea picked up two bottles of beer from the large silver bucket filled with ice.
Jake accepted the one handed to him. “That’s a different kind of magic.”
Shea sent him a sharp look, then tipped the bottle to his lips and drank. Jake lost himself in the strength of Shea’s neck as he swallowed. He could almost taste that hot, tanned skin on his tongue, and he gulped down his own beer to cool off.
“I’m gonna go check on dinner.” Shea left, and Jake stared after him as he disappeared around the corner of the ranch house to the barbecue pit.
“Have something to nibble on. The brisket is just ’bout ready, and we’ve got some baked beans, coleslaw, and fresh corn to go with it.” Patty held out a tray with empanadas and mini sausages. He took one of each and popped the sausage into his mouth, chewing with gusto.
“Everything is delicious. I’m going to need to book my stay here months in advance, I can see.”
Patty set the tray on the table, her expression troubled and uncertain. “I don’t know how much longer we’ll be around. You know Shea wants to sell the ranch.”
“What’ll happen to it?”
“Can’t be sure.” Patty sighed. “But he’s never hidden it and woulda been gone sooner if Beau hadn’t gotten sick.”
“If you don’t mind talking about it, what happened to his father?”
“Pancreatic cancer. He fought like the devil for almost two years, and Shea never once talked about leaving during that time, just did what he had to—stayed to work the ranch like he was brought up to and helped me care for him. They were always so close, and I know Shea put his life on hold for his daddy. But it’s his time now.”
Craving more insight into Shea’s life, Jake pressed Patty further. “But doesn’t he want to keep it—if not for himself, then for the family?”
“His daddy left me very well off—as well as I could be without him physically bein’ here with me, of course. But the ranch went to Shea. As it should. Sure, we all love the place, but it was never ours.”
This news rocked him. “But he can’t just sell the place.” He gazed around the beautiful setting, at the swaths of orange, red, and gold blazing across the sky in the twilight. The humidity had dipped, and the leaves rustled as a chorus of birds began their nightly serenade from the trees. A wedge of moon glimmered in the dark sky, surrounded by necklaces of sparkling stars. Jake had never known such raw, powerful beauty.
“He can do as he wants with it,” Patty said, a bit fatalistically.
All through dinner, Jake picked at his meal. It was delicious, the succulent beef melting on his tongue, but he found little enjoyment in it. His earlier good mood had vanished as he imagined all this gone from him. Dispirited, he stared out into the darkness beyond the firepit.
At a tap on his shoulder he found Stacey by his side, holding out a gooey, melted s’more to him.
“For me?”
She nodded, and he took it, chewing on the treat. “Thanks, honey, that’s delicious.”
Patty clapped her hands. “Let’s all sing some songs now.”
Stacey sat on his right side and Shea on his left, while Craig and Johnny stood before the campfire. Johnny strummed a guitar, and Craig sang about heartbreak and finding new love. At some point during the singing, Stacey fell asleep on him, her soft breath playing against his arm. He