Page 33 of A Montana Secret Admirer
“Thank you.” Her voice was raspy, and before he could pull away, she drew him in for a hug. Serenity buried her face into the crook of his neck. For a moment, they just stood there, holding each other. Then she withdrew.
“I’ll get the rest of the stuff. You get in the truck.”
She gave him a weak smile, then a nod. In no time, he’d cleaned everything up, and they were on the road again. Neither one of them spoke about the moment they’d shared, and he had to force himself to be okay with that.
They had time.
Eventually, she’d be willing to talk to him. He’d just have to continue to be patient.
Reese’s headsnapped up when Leo barged into the house with a slam of the back door. His eyes followed his brother as he made his way from the door to the fridge only to shut it a little harder than necessary. Then he stormed over to the pantry.
With a grumble, he shut the door to the pantry and leaned against it. His eyes found Reese, and he huffed. “Are you going?”
It had been two weeks since Reese and Serenity had been on their first official date. Things had been tense for the first week but eased up. He’d continued to watch the sunsets with her and didn’t push her for another date. Due to his attention to Serenity and her sons, he had no idea what Leo was talking about.
“To New York. We have another meeting.”
Reese arched a brow. That was news to him. He hadn’t heard about another trip being planned.
Leo groaned and raked a hand down his face. “Please tell me that I’m not going alone with those two.”
“Who?”
“The lovebirds.”
Reese smirked. “Noah and Jane?”
“No, Bert and Ernie,” Leo deadpanned. “Yes, Noah and Jane. They’re like in a permanent state of honeymooning. The last thing I want to do is be stuck on a plane with the two of them.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. They haven’t told me anything about another trip. I guess I proved myself well enough.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed into slits. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“You tell me. Why do they want you to go again? Maybe because they need to clear the air? If you’re going to be the head guy on the project over here, then they’re going to have to know you’re up for the job.”
He threw his hands into the air. “Of course I’m up for the job. I’m the guy they picked, aren’t I? There’s nothing hard about it.”
“And yet you and that lady didn’t get along all that well. Why do you think that is?” Reese held back a chuckle.
“That woman is a stuck-up city girl who wouldn’t know what a horseshoe was if it hit her in the face.”
Reese snorted. “Pretty sure you’re wrong there.”
His brother rolled his eyes. “This is all a bunch of bull?—”
“You better not be saying what I think you’re going to say.” Their mother walked into the kitchen, a smile on her face. She patted Reese’s cheek then turned toward Leo. “Everyone knows you have a hard time playing with others. Perhaps this opportunity is one where you’ll finally learn how to do it right.”
Covering his mouth with his hand so his brother didn’t catch the utter glee on his face, Reese did his best to school his features. He put his coffee mug into the sink along with his plate. “She’s right, you know. It’s high time you figure out how toplay nice.”
Leo made a face, only to get a dark look from their mother. Reese chuckled as he left the house.
Two more weeks gone. The summer was flying by, and he felt he wasn’t getting close enough to Serenity—or rather, not fast enough. What was she going to do when the summer was over? He didn’t want her to leave—at least not without some sort of relationship between them.
Patience.
Wasn’t that the mantra he’d been saying to himself since the moment he’d met her? He had to have patience. Pushing her too far too fast would only hurt them both.
He trudged out in the direction of the barn and stopped.
