Page 5 of A Montana Secret Admirer
She rested her cheek to his shoulder. “I wish your father was here to see it when it happens.”
He patted her hand. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
“Why didn’t you remarry after Dad passed away?” He and his brother had been in high school when their father had passed unexpectedly from a heart attack.
She sighed. “Because he was all I ever wanted.”
Reese hated the way that made his stomach twist. What if Serenity felt the same?
“And the fact that I was already in my late forties and had no desire to start over,” she chuckled lightly.
He turned to face her, and she placed her hands to his cheeks as she stared at him with that searching gaze that was so characteristic of his mother. “Don’t let her past hold you back. I didn’t need anyone else. I had you and Leo. I have my family. I’m not alone.” Her eyes darted to Serenity and back to him. “That beautiful woman is too young. She’s raising two small children. She might have a support system, but her heart still has so much to give. If you think you could fill a part of her that’s missing, then you do it.” She patted his cheek. “Now, be a good boy and get me a slice of that cake.”
Reese chuckled, pulling back from his mother. Sonya Chambers had always been a strong woman. She’d continued running the household after his father passed away. Reese had never felt like they didn’t have enough, though he’d missed his father every day. Still did.
He glanced over to the boys he knew belonged to Serenity. They’d lost their father as well. And Reese knew exactly how that kind of loss could affect a person.
One thing was for certain. If he managed to win Serenity over, he would ensure those boys didn’t forget the man who had fathered them.
CHAPTER TWO
Serenity watched as Caleb,Mack, and Noah carried in the suitcases she’d brought with her and leaned against the wall of what was Caleb’s old room. “You guys really didn’t have to?—”
“It’s fine, sis. They wanted to help,” Noah smirked at her.
She rolled her eyes. “The ink isn’t even dry on that marriage license, Noah. You’re hardly my brother.”
Mack chuckled. “Just let him have this. He’s been dying to tell me, ‘I told you so’ after he won your sister over.” He squeezed her upper arm as he moved past her to get the boxes they’d left in the truck. Her sons were going to be at Sagebrush all summer, and she might have gone overboard on the number of toys they would need.
Caleb didn’t say much, but she’d not interacted with him much when they were younger. Mack had been Jane’s friend first. And Noah had been the crush. Serenity offered him a grateful smile as she watched him leave the room, too. Then she stepped closer to Noah, blocking his way out of the room.
“Are you sure this is going to be okay? Your parents?—”
“My parents are thrilled that you agreed to stay. Your kids might not be their grandchildren, but they’ll treat them as if they were.” There was a concern in Noah’s gaze that Serenity had gotten used to seeing. Everyone around her still treated her with kid gloves. It was like they expected her to break down at any given second.
Finn had been gone for eight months. She might not be ready to try dating again, but she was coping better than she had been a few months ago. She wrapped her arms around herself and nodded, her nerves still fried.
Everyone had practically pushed her to accept Noah and Jane’s offer to stay at the ranch for the summer. She couldn’t tell if they were all that worried or if they simply wanted her to get over losing him.
What they didn’t understand was that she would never get over Finn. He had been the boy who’d first stolen her heart. He’d turned into the man who had given her a family. He’d been her everything.
The other men in her life—both single and taken—had steered clear of her.
Well, except for Reese.
Her cheeks warmed at the mere thought of the man who had openly flirted with her at Jane’s wedding. She hadn’t had the guts to ask Jane about Reese as much as she wanted to. She’d been curious about him, to say the least.
If she were completely honest, he’d been the first man to make her laugh like she didn’t have a care in the world.
Of course, reality came crashing back into her the second he asked her out on a date. She had been honest with him, which was all she could offer. Her heart wasn’t in the best place, and she had so much to think about.
She’d been living off Finn’s life insurance policy, but the funds in her account were starting to dip into a dangerous place. She needed to find a job. On top of those concerns, she had her two boys to worry about.
Tegan and Jessi still had bad days; days when they cried themselves to sleep because they missed their father so much. Finn had left a huge hole in their lives, and she simply didn’t think it would be wise to consider bringing in another man for them to cling to if it wasn’t going to work out.
There were no sure things in life, a truth that losing Finn had taught her the harsh reality of.
