Page 98 of His Tenth Dance

“They’re probably going to get married,” Mike said.

Surprise ran through Kristie, though she didn’t know Steele well. “Really?” she asked.

“Didn’t they start dating this summer?” Mission asked.

Like us?hung in the air between the two of them in the back of Mike’s truck, but Mission didn’t look at her.

“Yeah,” Gerty said. “They’re so cute together, though, and Steele doesn’t take long to make up his mind. It’s one of his best qualities.”

“Yeah, it’s sure not arguing with you,” Mike teased, and Gerty fixed him with a tight look.

“I admitted he was right about that horse.”

Mike chuckled, and Gerty turned back to Kristie and Mission. “She’s a Monson,” she said. “I’m pretty sure you know her family farm.”

“Oh, sure,” Kristie said, putting the pieces together. “They have the petting zoo. I go out there a couple of times every month while they’re operating.”

“You’ve probably met her, then,” Gerty said. “She runs their gift shop in the summer, which is why I think she’d be a good one to ask to help with West in the winter.”

“You could probably have her help on the farm too,” Mission said.

Gerty switched her gaze to him. “West loves to feed the chickens, and I’m worried Opal will slip and fall once the snow comes. Being pregnant is so awkward.”

She faced the front again, adding, “I’m going to ask her, maybe today.”

“Oh, are they going to be there?” Kristie asked.

“Yep.”

The conversation moved on as Mission asked Mike about his job in the high-rise building downtown. Kristie looked out the window, ready to be out of the truck, where she didn’t have to think about someone who’d been dating as long as she and Mission had been getting engaged and then married, about pregnancies, about anything.

She’d turned thirty-five a few days ago, and Mission was forty-three today. She wondered if he ever felt this coiling, tight jealousy in the center of his gut, and if so, how he dealt with it.

Thankfully, they arrived at the Belfast arena only a few minutes later, and Kristie was able to let the conversation out of the truck—and her ears—when she opened the door. She took a deep breath and calmed further when Mission rounded the back of the truck and took her hand.

“You okay, kitten?”

She put on a brave smile that made him cock his head as he saw right through it. She sighed and let her lips flatten again. “Do you want children, Mission?”

“Yes,” he said simply. “Remember how one of my goals was a wife and family?”

“That was youronlygoal,” she reminded him.

“And I’m doing great at it,” he said, reaching to zip up his jacket. “The wind is harsh out here.”

Kristie stumbled after him. “You’re doing great at it?”

Mission kept his focus ahead, as if he needed to see where he was going in a dirt parking lot that led to an arena where the animals would be shown. “Yes, I think so,” he said. “Do you want kids, Kris?”

When he used her name and not “kitten,” Kristie knew things had turned serious. “Yes,” she said, the word made mostly of air. “I’ve never admitted it out loud, but yes. Listening to Gerty talk about West and Opal being pregnant was a little hard for me for a minute.”

He took her hand again. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s fine,” she said. “It’s just life.” She pressed her teeth and then her lips together and took a breath. She needed to shake off the damaging feelings and try to enjoy the afternoon at the auction. She and Mission then had plans to go to dinner for his birthday, and Kristie had his presents—two, just like he’d gotten for her—at her house she hoped to give him when he dropped her off later that night.

“Kristie Higgins?”

She turned toward the harsh voice growling her name, dread settling into her stomach at the very sound of it.

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