Page 22 of The Cowboy Who Came Home

“Yeah.” She drew in a sharp breath through her nose as she stepped away. “All four of ‘em. The chickens are still out there somewhere. Well.” She rolled her shoulders forward and then back. “We got three of them back, and then Bandit chased one of those off, so we’re still down about fifteen.”

Edith offered him a smile, and Finn wanted to take it and tuck it into his pocket for when he next needed a ray of sunshine. “Come see Alex. He’s jazzed to meet you again.”

“Jazzed?” Finn chuckled as Edith slid her hand into his. “Who says that?”

“I say that, Chatterbox,” she said. She led him up the steps while he chuckled over her funny name for him. She used all different ones, at different times. “He said I can give you a tour, and then he wants to get to work with the drone.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Finn said.

“So this is the porch,” Edith said needlessly.

“It’s a ten out of ten for you, Edith,” he said. “You’ve always wanted a wraparound porch.”

“Then it’s not a ten out of ten,” she said. “This one clearly goes from corner to corner. No wrapping around anything.”

“It’s huge,” Finn argued back. “You seriously can’t be upset about this porch.”

“No.” She sighed. “You’re right. I’m not.” She moved to enter the house, but Finn tugged on her fingers.

“Hey, answer something for me, would you?”

A hint of trepidation slid through her expression, and then she reached to tuck her hair back. Finn had done that for her in the past too, and he wanted to again. “All right,” she said. “Maybe.”

Finn wanted to challenge her on that, but she rushed ahead of him. “I mean, there might be some things I’m not ready to tell you.”

That gave him pause for a moment, and he searched her face. “I think I have things I can’t tell you.” He gave her a half-smile. “So how about we say the things we’re comfortable with, and as we get more comfortable with each other, then we’ll tell each other more.”

“Okay,” she said, reaching to tuck her hair again.

“You do that when you’re nervous.” Finn leaned closer, his grin growing. “It’s cute.”

To his delight, Edith smiled too. “Cute is what you call a dog or someone’s shirt.”

Finn burst out laughing, the old conversation from their past suddenly there between them. “Fine,” he said among his laughter. “You’re beautiful. Pretty.” He reached out and tucked her hair, the moment turning absolutely still and sober. “Gorgeous.”

Edith cleared her throat, and Finn realized he’d started leaning forward as if he’d kiss her right now. That clearly made her uncomfortable, and she turned and opened the front door. “Living room and kitchen,” she said.

As he followed her, he also knew she’d avoided his question. His gaze scanned past the couches, the TV, the dining table and chairs, and landed on the sandy-haired man in the kitchen. Finn’s laughter bubbled back to the surface, and he dropped Edith’s hand like he shouldn’t be holding it.

“Alex.” He strode toward the young man and embraced him too. “Look at you.” He moved away and actually scanned Alex down to his boots and back. “Owning your own ranch in Three Rivers? Is this insane?”

“It’s normal most days.” Alex grinned and grinned, his eyes sparking with that same blue energy that Edith’s did. “Today? Not so normal. Right, Edee?”

She moved to his side, and they smiled at one another before facing Finn. He’d forgotten that her family called her Edee; he never had, though. She’d always been Edith for him. “Not so normal today, no.”

Claws clicked on the tile, and she gasped as she looked down. “Oh, the dogs. You’re going to love the dogs.”

A cat meowed, and it sounded like it was made of metal but had been put through a washing machine. Rusty and overused, another “Meow,” filled the air.

“You got the drone?” Alex asked.

“In the truck,” he said.

“You said I could give him a tour first,” Edith protested. “You boys can wait to play with the toys.” She glared at Alex, who nodded.

“Fine,” he said. “Give him a tour of what’s still standing, and then let’s see what mess we’re dealing with outside.”

Finn grinned at him and then moved back to Edith’s side for the farmhouse tour. He wanted to be in whatever space she was in, and though she spoke with enthusiasm about the house, he got the distinct impression that she had plenty of questions to answer about her own life.

---