Page 109 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
“Go.” JJ was already shooing him out the door.
“It’s just, we’ve got that send-off dinner for Casey tonight—”
“Get out of here,” Kit called. “Take the whole week off to celebrate with your girl.”
“We’ve got it handled around here,” Cody said.
Nash tipped his hat, already backpedaling toward the house. It had only been a couple hours since they’d had lunch together, but he was dying to see her again. And hold her, and kiss her, and hear her laugh…
Oh yeah, he was definitely a goner. And he couldn’t wait to let the world know. He caught up with her at the fence where she was talking to the pigs, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling her neck.
“What does Myrtle have to say about you staying?” he teased.
She laughed. “She had her reservations at first. But once I promised to keep the food coming, she came around.”
“And the others?”
“Oh, they’re all for it,” she said quickly.
He laughed. “Good. I’m glad we’re all in agreement.”
She twisted to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “So, dinner tonight…”
“If you don’t want to go—”
“Oh no, I do. I want to see Casey and Ryan before they leave on their honeymoon. And I barely got a chance to talk to your cousins from out of town. It’ll be nice to meet them now, knowing it’s not all a sham.”
He nodded, dropping a kiss on her nose. “If it’s all right with you, I was kinda hoping to come clean.”
She grinned. “Me and my conscience would love that.”
He grabbed one of her hands and twined their fingers together. “I’d like to tell them you’re staying, too. But I know you still have a lot to work through so—”
“Tell them.” Her confidence as she said it had joy flooding through him.
“Yeah?”
She nodded. With a sigh, she squeezed his hand. “I told Mom and Dad about an hour ago. They’re surprised, of course, but they understand where I’m coming from and really want me to be happy. They want to meet you, too.” She shot him a nervous grin that made his insides jitter.
“Want to meet the man who’s stealing their daughter away, huh?” He tried to make light of it, but the joke came off a little lame.
Her nose wrinkled. “Think we could arrange a little Zoom call sometime soon?”
“For you? Anything.” He kissed her smile, then pulled back, sad to see it fading so quickly.
“To be honest, they sounded kind of...off. I’m not sure what’s going on, but maybe they’re more upset about my move here than they wanted to let on.” She bit her lip and frowned. “I kind of chickened out and wrapped up the call. Maybe they just need time to process my unexpected news, you know? They promised not to say anything to Lizzy. I still haven’t been able to get a hold of her, but I sent her a text to let her know I won’t be coming back on Tuesday.” She winced. “I told her I’d explain why I’m staying when she calls me back.”
He saw the worry in the tightness around her eyes and reached a hand up to smooth her furrowed brow. If he could, he would handle all of Emma’s problems for her, but she’d never allow that. “She’ll call. And when she does, she’ll understand.”
Emma smiled. “You sound awfully certain of that.”
He squeezed her hand. “She loves you and wants you to be happy.”
“You’re right.” Emma nodded.
“What about the rest of your sisters?”
She heaved a sigh. “I haven’t told them yet that I’ve changed my mind. But the way I figure it, I’ve got time.” Her expression turned stubborn. “If they couldn’t be bothered to help sort out this inheritance, then they can’t second guess any of my decisions.”
