Page 127 of The Cowboy's Unlikely Love

He took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “Not a fucking clue.”

The others all laughed. Kolby held his phone up. “Can you guys see?”

Tanner smiled when he heard Ford and Wade. Wade was in favor of a solitaire.

“Hey,” said Ty. “I just had a text back from Cash. He just landed. Don’t choose yet, I’ll get him on video as well.”

“Are there any with three stones?” Ford asked.

Tanner raised an eyebrow at Dakota, and she went to fetch another tray.

Tanner smiled when she set the new tray in front of him. He liked the ones with three diamonds maybe best of all.

As Ty held his phone up, Tanner heard Cash say, “I like it, three stones are supposed to be past, present, and future, right, honey?”

“That’s right,” Dakota confirmed.

“I was thinking that if you choose one with three stones it’s like saying that it’s about the three of you – not just you and Everly, but Ashton as well,” said Ford.

Tanner grinned. He liked both of their reasonings. He scanned the tray. Most of the rings had one large stone flanked by two smaller ones, that didn’t seem right. His heart leapt into his chest when he spotted it. It was a wide yellow-gold band with three large oval-shaped diamonds sitting next to each other.

“That’s it – that’s the one!”

Dakota raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

“Not a doubt in my mind.” He looked around at the others, wondering why she seemed so uncertain. Did he have terrible taste?

Kolby laughed. “Don’t look like that, it’s a knockout. She’s not questioning your taste; she’s questioning the size of your wallet. Three big-ass diamonds like that won’t come cheap.”

Tanner shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Dakota held the ring out to him, but Ty grabbed it first and let out a low whistle when he checked the price tag.

Tanner snatched it from him. “Give it here, squirt.”

Kolby was right about the price, but Tanner really didn’t care. It was the right ring. He could already see himself holding it up to Everly as he asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. That warm, buzzing feeling filled his chest as he pictured the ring on her hand as she ruffled Ashton’s hair and said goodnight to him.

“Hold it up so we can all see it,” called Cash.

Tanner held the ring up, and Kolby and Ty held their phones up. He had to laugh as Cash, Ford, and Wade all peered at the ring and then waved at each other. He grinned like an idiot when Cash said to Ford, “How about that? We make a good team when we work together, huh?”

It felt like they all collectively breathed a sigh of relief when Ford smiled and nodded in response and said, “It looks that way – there might be hope for us yet.”

After he’d paid and had the ring in its pretty little box stashed in his inside jacket pocket, they all climbed back into Tanner’s truck.

“Are we going for that beer now?” asked Ty.

Kolby laughed. “We need to get back to the ranch, don’t we?”

“Are we picking Ashton up from school, Tanner?” Luke asked.

“Not exactly.”

“What does that mean?” asked Ty. “I thought you were on the school run all week with him. Shay was disappointed that she didn’t get to pick him up.”

“Zeke’s picking him up this afternoon.”

Luke turned to look at him. “Does Everly know this? I thought you said that she didn’t want him doing it.”

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