Page 52 of Wrangling a Texas Hometown Hero

Liberty and Belle quickly put in their votes of agreement, but Noelle held up her hand. “Hold on. That’s easy for y’all. You’ve found your matches. But what about the rest of us. What if Hallie, Sunny, and I like the same guy?”

Sunny turned to her. “I don’t need to take an oath, Elle. I’d never ever poach on one of your beaus.” She glanced at Hallie. “And while I think Jace is cute, I’m not into jocks. Lately, I’ve been more into ranchers. Casey Remington, to be exact. And y’all aren’t interested in him.” She looked back at Noelle and lifted her eyebrows. “Right?”

Noelle scowled. “As if I would ever be into that arrogant cowboy.”

“Well, since that’s settled, maybe we should move onto my initiation.” Sunny’s brown eyes sparkled with excitement. “Does it involve blood? Standing up in church and belting out ‘Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall’? Streaking down Main Street? Whatever it is, I’m up for it.”

Hallie could tell by Sweetie’s panicked look that she was scrambling to figure out an initiation to give Sunny. One glance at the huge harvest moon shining outside the open hayloft hatch door and Hallie had the perfect initiation.

“What do you say, ladies? Shall we show Sunny the wild side of the Secret Sisterhood?”

Skinny-dipping at Cooper Springs wasn’t always a good idea. Especially in the dead of winter. But in September when the water was warm and the moon full, it was the best of ideas. Especially now that Hallie no longer had the burden of breaking her oath. Her sisters seemed to have forgiven and forgotten.

Hallie only wished she could forget as easily. But she knew she would never forget the morning and night she’d spent in Jace’s arms. Every second was imprinted on her brain. And maybe that was why she felt so scared. How would any other man ever match up?

They stayed at Cooper Springs until well after midnight, then they walked back to the ranch arm in arm. When they got home, Sweetie pulled her off to the side.

“Have you told Jace that you’re leaving, Hal? He didn’t act like he knew when he came over.”

“He knows. He just doesn’t know I’m leaving Monday morning.”

Sweetie stared at her. “Monday?”

She nodded. “I think it’s for the best. Reid can handle the ranch. And Jace is leaving soon too.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Sweetie said. “He didn’t mention leaving once when he talked to me and Decker.”

“That’s good. I hope he does stay. He belongs here.”

Sweetie studied her with sad eyes. “So do you, Hal.”

Hallie didn’t argue. Probably because she no longer knew where she belonged. She felt torn between wanting to be her own person and starting a brewery in Austin and wanting to stay and help with the ranch. But neither Daddy or Corbin had asked her to stay on and help with the ranch. And even if they had, she didn’t think she could. She had proven she couldn’t stay away from Jace and spending more time with him would only make the feelings she had for him stronger.

“It’s best for everyone if I leave, Sweetie,” she said.

Sweetie sighed. “Okay. But you need to tell Jace. He’s had numerous people in his life run off without telling him goodbye.” She hesitated. “Me included. That’s just not right.”

Hallie woke the following morning with every intention of heading over to Mrs. Stokes’. But as it turned out, she didn’t need to go anywhere. When she walked into the kitchen for breakfast, she discovered Jace sitting at the table with Daddy, Mama, and Mimi.

He looked like he was ready for church. He’d gotten a haircut, he’d shaved off his scruff, and his western shirt looked brand new. When those grayish-blue eyes landed on her, her heart felt like a helium balloon trying to burst right out of her chest. She didn’t know how long they stood there staring at each other. It must have been a while because Daddy finally cleared his throat.

“Well, don’t just stand there, Hallie. Come sit down.”

Jace jumped to his feet, bumping the table and causing all the cups of coffee and glasses of orange juice to shake. He steadied the table before he pulled out a chair for her. As she crossed the room, she wished she didn’t have bad bed head and wore something other than a pair of baggy flannel pajama bottoms and a stretched-out faded T-shirt with bleach stains covering the beer logo.

“Good mornin’,” he said as she sat down in the chair.

Why did those two words sound so damn sexy? And why was she suddenly feeling so out of breath and dizzy?

She kept her gaze on the plate of sausage and waffles in the middle of the table. “Good mornin’.”

He helped her push in the chair before he sat back down. Too close. Much too close. His knee brushed hers and sent a shower of sensations skittering through her. She jerked her knee back and tried to act like she didn’t have a bonfire raging in her panties as her mama spoke.

“Jace brought you flowers.” Darla pointed to the bouquet of multicolored roses in the center of the table. “Isn’t that nice?”

“That is nice. But since we don’t have a floral shop in town, I’m betting he stole those from Mrs. Stokes’ garden.”

“Halloween Holiday!” her mama chastised.

---