Page 64 of Luna

She’d never gone fishing, but perhaps Hunter would teach her how sometime after harvest.

Luna knew his days were busy, hectic, and full, which made her even more grateful for special moments like these when she could enjoy time with him.

Feeling hopeful and full of dreams, Luna spread out the quilt in a splash of sunshine, unpinned her hair and shook it out, and experienced a wave of contentment. Filled with joy she couldn’t contain, she plucked a large flower with a ball of fluff that looked like a dandelion, closed her eyes, and blew, wishing she could have many more afternoons just like this one with Hunter.

“I should have known if I left you alone for five minutes, you’d find a weed and scatter the seeds from here to kingdom come.”

She opened her eyes and grinned as Hunter hunkered down by her.

“A weed?” she asked, holding the stem out to Hunter. “It isn’t a flower?”

“Nope,” he said, taking the stem, then handing it back to her. “It’s got a fancy scientific name Flynn Elliott could tell you, but most folks call it meadow goat’s beard, or even Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, because the yellow flower buds only open in the morning.”

“What a wonderful name, even if it is a weed.” Luna pursed her lips and blew more of the seed heads that looked like spiderwebs of fine white hairs.

“You little weed-spreader,” Hunter groused, making her laugh.

He lunged at her, but she turned to the side and hopped to her feet, out of reach, finding such freedom in the split skirt. She would definitely need to ask Dally for a pattern. Perhaps Ilsa would have one.

Hunter grabbed the quilt and shook it out, then latched onto her hand again, and Luna felt warmth flow through her arm at his touch. She loved the way Hunter made her feel. Loved being with him. She loved him, but that wasn’t something she would confess or pursue.

Not when Hunter deserved so much more than she could ever be or give to him.

He helped her into the auto, tossed the quilt in the storage box, and started the vehicle. They’d just pulled back onto the road when he reached beneath his seat and handed her a box.

“What’s this?” she asked, looking at the long box with green printing on the package.

“Just open it. It’s a new cookie I heard about. They’re called Mallomars. I think you’ll like them.”

Luna opened the box and extracted two chocolate covered cookies, handing one to Hunter. The heat quickly melted the chocolate, but after Luna took a bite of the marshmallow and cookie filled treat, she didn’t care that her fingers were sticky.

Hunter ended up with chocolate on his cheek when the car bounced over a rut in the road. She laughed as she wiped it away with her handkerchief.

By the time they reached Pendleton, only three cookies remained.

“Give what’s left to Laila,” Hunter said when he stopped at the end of Tony and Ilsa’s front walk.

“Thank you for a wonderful, incredible day, Hunter. I enjoyed every minute of it.” And she had.

Quickly retrieving her hairpins from her pocket, she pinned up her hair while Hunter extracted her bag from his storage box and walked around the automobile.

She took the bag from him, snagged the box of cookies, kissed his cheek, and stepped out of his automobile.

Questions and longing filled his gaze, but he smiled at her and nodded once, as though he understood now wasn’t the time for them to linger in parting, particularly with Laila’s nose pressed to the glass in the window by the front door.

“Good night,” Luna said and blew him a kiss, then bounded inside the house, wondering why it hurt so much to know the wishes she made would never come true.

Chapter Eighteen

Hunter tiptoed down the back stairs, careful to avoid the steps that creaked and made his way to the kitchen. Since it was barely four in the morning, he expected to find the house dark and quiet.

Yet, when he stepped into the room, Luna was already there, kneading a bowl of dough in the dim light of a lantern. Absently, he hoped the dough would turn into another batch of the tasty doughnuts she’d fried and fed to them for a morning snack yesterday.

She’d arrived at the B Bar D Ranch Sunday evening, driven out by Kade Rawlings and accompanied by Laila and Rachel Rawlings. Caterina had given Luna two days off so she wouldn’t have to rush into the restaurant to work in the evenings.

Although no one had mentioned it to him, Luna and Dally had concluded it would be best if Luna could stay at the ranch instead of traveling back and forth to town. Hunter wasn’t sure how he felt about sleeping just down the hall from Luna, but it helped that she had the two young girls staying in the room with her. Laila and Rachel both knew more about cooking than Corni and had proven to be capable and helpful the past two days.

The wheat harvest wouldn’t wrap up on the ranch until tomorrow afternoon, at least if all went well, but Luna intended to head back to town right after she prepared the evening meal.

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