Page 52 of The Cowboy Fix

He could, maybe had, learned a thing or two from the extraordinary woman.

Figuring out that being buried in the past no longer served him or the ranch he loved was the best thing that had happened. He wanted to leave his mark on his family legacy and in Strawberry Ridge. And he wanted to do that with Izzy by his side.

The problem was, he didn’t know where to start.

As the sun was going lower in the sky, he parked in front of the cottage. “Shall we look inside first?”

“Sure. Malorie has added flowers to the window boxes. They look so pretty.”

The woman by his side was incredible. Nathan stood back and took her in. Before she could notice he was staring, he opened the door to the enclosed porch and waited as she went in first.

The remodel was cozy. “Malorie did a good job.”

“So did you boys.” Izzy turned in a tight circle, the hem of her dress making a twirling mass of color around her legs. “Something’s missing.”

“What?” The little cottage looked good to Nathan.

She went to the kitchen window and stared into the garden, though he thought she wasn’t seeing it. She faced him. “Have you heard the rhyme,something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue? If the bride and groom have all four things, they’ll have good luck on their wedding day.”

“Well—” He looked around. “The cottage is old, and this table and chairs that Blake found in one of the sheds and refurbished are too. Mom had them on the front porch of the main house for a long time. It could also be something borrowed. It cleaned up nice.”

“Those flower pillows—” Izzy pointed to the couch. “—will work for something new. Malorie made them. They’re her contribution to the cottage.”

“That leaves something blue.” Why hadn’t he noticed before this how much he enjoyed their give and take? Maybe he had but didn’t want to admit it.

After thinking for a moment—he liked guessing where her mind might go—she said, “I saw a beautiful blue china tea set at the Rose Tea Emporium.”

“If you want, I can pick it up for you tomorrow.” She was so independent, hopefully, he wasn’t overstepping her expectations.

She headed for the door. “I’ll get it. It’ll be my contribution to the project.” She said over her shoulder, “Let’s check out the garden.”

Nathan followed Izzy. He would have liked to go with her to get the tea set. When she suddenly stopped, he almost walked right over her.

“Look at how beautiful this is.”

“I have a surprise.” At least he could give her that. He reached for a small power box on the side of the cottage, opened the cover, and flipped the switch. Mini lights popped on around the garden.

She clapped her hands together. “Did you do this?”

“Not alone.” He had to be honest. “It took an hour for Jonas, Blake, and me to decide which lights would work best. After that, hanging them was the easy part.” He grinned.

She glanced at him, silent laughter lighting up the blue of her eyes. Finally, he’d earned some points. “Did you win high card again?”

“We decided to compromise instead. It took a while, but I think the results are good.” He crossed his arms over his chest and with a stern look, pretended he’d given them no other choice.

“All right big rancher man,” she teased, then sat on one of the benches under the trees that Blake and Jonas had made. They’d even nestled pots of flowering clematis around the wooden seating. “Do we have time to enjoy the garden before it gets too dark?”

He sat down next to her. “Take as much time as you want.”

This was all he wanted. A family of his very own—other than his brothers. A wife to sit next to on a bench on their porch. Children someday. A minivan parked in front of the main house. The whole enchilada. He’d never thought he would find a woman who complimented him as much as his mom matched his dad. Until he met and got to know Izzy Payton.

He sat up straight. He was crazy in love with the woman sitting next to him. Was she dreaming the same dreams he was?

“Um, have you decided which job you’re going to take?” He hated disrupting this moment of contentment, but he was hoping she wasn’t planning to take any of them.

She looked at him, the relaxed satisfaction that had surrounded her retreating. “I want to finish up here first, but after that, I think I’m going to take the Montana job.”

I want to finish up here first—

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