Page 57 of A Montana Secret Admirer
“And you two…” Jane drawled.
Hallie rolled her eyes. “Nothing. There is nothing between us.”
Jane glanced to Serenity, and Serenity was grateful to be on the other side of the teasing for once. She didn’t need Jane’s scrutiny regarding the heartthrob who was still goofing off with the kids in the grass. She’d much rather interrogate Hallie about that Jacob guy.
Serenity nudged Hallie. “Well, based on the way your voice hitched, I’d say there issomethingthere. Can’t be nothing when you’ve looked over at him more than a dozen times?—”
“A dozen?” Jane scoffed. “I counted at least eighteen.”
Serenity snickered, and Hallie blushed.
“I’ve only talked to him a handful of times, okay?” She squirmed in her seat.
“Must have been some conversation,” Jane mused.
Hallie threw her hands into the air before getting to her feet. “Whatever. I’m not going to be made fun of over nothing.”
Serenity wanted to feel bad, especially after Hallie ran off with her cheeks burning like that. But the second she turned the corner of the house, Jacob left the group of guys he’d been speaking to and headed after her.
Jane and Serenity exchanged looks one more time, then they both burst into laughter. “A couple of times, my eye,” Jane muttered with amusement. “There’s definitely something there.”
Serenity nodded, still watching the area where Jacob had disappeared. When she returned her focus to Jane, she startled, finding Jane watching her with serious eyes again. She gasped, and her hand flew to her chest.
“Okay, spill.”
“Spill… what?”
“How are things going with you and Reese?”
“What? I?—”
“Don’t bother denying it. Last we talked, you were feeling guilty about having feelings for him when that secret admirer also had your attention.”
Serenity flinched. The last week or so, she hadn’t heard from her admirer. She didn’t know if she ever would after the last dateshe’d gone on with Reese, and at this point, she couldn’t decide if that even upset her.
“So…” Jane pressed. “How’s it going?”
“It’s—going,” Serenity sighed with a smile. “Slower than I want it to…” She nibbled on her lower lip, finally admitting something aloud that she’d been keeping to herself. In the beginning, she’d wanted it to go slow. She’d needed it to, otherwise she wasn’t sure she’d be ready to let it go anywhere. But now?
Her focus slid to Reese, who was finally getting to his feet, albeit a bit breathlessly. The kids clung to his legs and jumped for his arms. He still laughed, and it warmed her heart.
Jane cupped her chin in her hands as she waited for Serenity to continue. “Does this mean you might consider staying?”
“Staying?” Serenity’s eyes darted to Jane. “I couldn’t move in with?—”
“In Rocky Ridge,” Jane murmured. “Would you want to stay here in town and get a job or something?”
Serenity blinked a few times. “I hadn’t thought about it… but I suppose… I could.”
Jane smiled softly.
The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. She was here only for the summer, but if she moved out here permanently, then she could continue to explore this new relationship with Reese at her own pace. They could take it slow or move faster. They could ease her sons into the idea in a way that would do right by them.
“Do you really think I could find something? A place to stay, too?”
Jane covered Serenity’s hand with her own. “You know you’re welcome to stay with us or Noah’s family as long as you need to while you look for something that works for you.”
“I couldn’t?—”
