Page 10 of A Montana Secret Admirer
Thank you, she mouthed.
He rose and gave her a short nod.
Serenity might not be ready for someone to be openly romantic with her, asking her out, and showering her with affection. But she still needed to feel supported and loved.
And he knew the exact way he could provide both of those things without making her feel caged in. The first bit was already in development with the way he’d befriended her.
And the second?
She’d see that the world had so much more to offer her if she’d just open up her heart to someone new. Reese would never dream of erasing what she’d had. He simply wanted her to love him, too.
Was that crazy?
Probably. But there were crazier things than falling head over heels for someone he barely knew.
Later that night, after darkness had fallen, Reese slipped toward his cousin’s home. Out of his three cousins, only Noah still lived here, and only until his home could be completed. Serenity and her sons took up the space left behind by Caleb and Mack.
No light shone through the windows. Everyone would likely be asleep. He’d seen Serenity watching the sunset a few hours ago, but now she was nowhere to be seen.
He padded toward the front porch with the single yellow flower in hand and a white scrap of cardstock with a single word on it.
Serenity.
Stupid.
Sostupid.
Reese couldn’t shake the nerves he felt. He couldn’t sleep at all last night. His thoughts whirred with every possible outcome that might come from his brash decision. There were plenty of men—single men—who lived at Sagebrush. Most were family. Some were hired help. And any one of them could be blamed for the flower that had been left on that doorstep.
Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d left it for her too soon.
Dang it all! What if she got that flower, and it made her shut down completely? What had he been thinking?
Tossing and turning all night long over his poor decision making, he’d finally chosen to get up early and just see what thenew day would bring. He’d promised Jessi that they’d attempt to ride a horse today, and that meant he’d be seeing Serenity.
And he was downright nervous.
“You look… off,” Leo mused from his place at the kitchen table.
Reese gave his brother a dirty look. “Yeah, well, you don’t look much better.”
Leo ran a hand through his mussed hair. “Yeah, well, I have an excuse.”
“What? You stay up late with another girl?”
The annoyed look he shot Reese’s way made it clear he didn’t appreciate the jab. Much like himself, Leo preferred to find someone to be serious with. Neither one of them had any fears of commitment. The problem was finding said girl to feel the same way, and Leo hadn’t ventured out to do that since Noah’s wedding last month.
“No,” he muttered. “I had a meeting with Bo, Noah, and Jane yesterday. Seeing as I’m not much of a necessary cog in the day to day of stuff around here, they wanted to know if I was interested in being a liaison for Jane’s pet project. Stayed up late going over the papers they wanted me to read up on.”
Reese pulled a coffee mug from the cabinet. “Herpetproject?” He snapped his fingers. “Are you talking about that therapy thing she wants to do? Is that starting?”
“Yeah,” Leo grunted. “And apparently, before they break ground, the CEO wants to take a tour.”
“I thought Noah was CEO.”
“The CEO of the company who agreed to pay for the cost of building the facilities. They partnered with Jane on the project. And since it’s gonna be on Sagebrush property, Bo wants someone on our side to handle the day-to-day. I dunno. It sounds like a lot of work with no reward.”
Reese arched a brow. “You realize that this sort of thing is going to change the area for the better, right? Equine therapy is known to help more than just veterans with PTSD. It helps?—”
