Page 24 of Wrangling a Texas Hometown Hero

“Doubtful. I’m not that good of a man.”

She glanced over at him. “A week ago, I would have agreed with you. You were one sorry selfish mess. But it looks like you’ve pulled your head out and realized there are things much more important than your ego.”

“Almost losing someone you love will do that to you.” He took a sip of beer, then tipped the bottle to look at it. “Damn, that’s good. What kind of beer is this? It doesn’t have a label.”

“Because it’s homemade. I brewed it.”

“You’re kidding.” He took another sip. “This is awesome, Hallie.” She couldn’t help the pride that welled up inside her. “Your boss was an idiot to keep you from brewing beer.”

“Something I intend to prove. I’m going to start my own brewery. Corbin has already said he’ll invest in it.”

“Wow. That’s great. Where? In Austin?”

She nodded. “Corbin’s helping me come up with a business plan. In exchange, I’ve been helping him learn ranching.”

“Well, he couldn’t ask for a better teacher. You’ve always been an amazing cowgirl.”

She glanced over at him. “My beer is awesome. I’m an amazing cowgirl. Why are you brownnosing me, Jace Carson?”

He shrugged. “Just telling the truth. You weren’t just good at ranching. You loved it. Of all your sisters, you were the one I thought would take over the ranch.”

Hallie propped her boots next to his bare feet and took a sip of beer. “Yeah, well, you thought wrong. Corbin is going to hire a foreman to run it. Daddy has proven he can’t successfully run the ranch. Not only because of his poor business decisions, but also because of his health. After his heart attack, the doctors don’t want him to have a lot of stress. And Corbin’s smart enough to know he doesn’t have enough experience.”

“What about Rome? I thought he was going to buy the land at one point and merge the Holiday Ranch with his.”

“That was the plan, but his daddy has given him much more control over the Remington Ranch, and with Cloe being pregnant, Rome has decided that taking on another ranch will be a little more work than he wants.”

“I can see where it would be. The Remington Ranch is one of the biggest ranches in Texas. I’m sure Rome and Casey have their hands full.” He took another sip of beer. “But it’s a shame. I bet he has a lot of ideas on how to make the Holiday Ranch more successful.”

“I have a lot of ideas on how to make the ranch more successful.” She didn’t know where the words had come from, but it was too late to take them back. Jace turned to her.

“Really? Like what?”

She didn’t know if it was the sincere interest she read in his eyes or her need to verbalize things she’d kept in for too long, but once she started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop. She talked about changing the herd from longhorn to Angus and using all the land her daddy had bought to go totally organic grass-fed beef. She talked about building new stables and adding thoroughbred horses to their livestock.

She knew Jace was exhausted, but he didn’t act it. He listened intently and asked a lot of questions. Jace had always loved ranching. It was a shame he hadn’t loved it as much as football. He would have made a good rancher.

The dogs whining to be let out made her realize she’d been rambling like a fool. She jumped up to let them out. Once they were sniffing in the yard, she looked back at Jace.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure you didn’t want to listen to all my crazy ideas.”

“I don’t think they’re crazy. Have you told them to your father and Corbin?”

“No, and I won’t. They’ll think I’m interested in running the ranch when I’m not.”

Jace stood and moved only inches away. She hadn’t turned on the porch light, but she could still see him clearly in the moonlight that spilled across the porch. “Are you sure about that, Hal?”

Yes seemed to get stuck in her throat as she stared into a face she had known all her life. Same intense gray eyes. Same perfectly straight nose. Same mouth that tended to smile with only one side. The feeling she’d felt that morning when she’d woken up in his arms washed over her. The feeling of being with someone who understood her . . . maybe better than she understood herself.

There had never been an earthquake in Texas that Hallie knew about, but at that moment, the porch boards seemed to shift beneath her boots and she no longer felt like she was on stable ground. She felt off-balance and unsteady. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like it at all.

She gave herself a sharp smack on the cheek. When Jace stared at her with surprise, she shrugged. “Mosquito.”

The surprise left his eyes and he grinned his lopsided grin. “Did you just kill a bug, Teeny Weeny? The girl who used to catch moths with her bare hands when they flew into the house and carefully released them back outside. You cussed me up one side and down the other when I was going to kill that spider that landed on me.”

“It was a good spider.”

“No spiders are good spiders. Especially when they’re crawling on my arm. Now let me see how badly that ol’ mosquito bit you.” His fingers brushed beneath her chin, lifting her face to the moonlight.

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