Page 69 of So in Love
“Brooke’s are in here if you want to borrow them.”
She considered it.“Mine are fine.If they get too dirty, I’ll just make you clean them.”She leaned close and whispered, “With your tongue.”
“Ooh, so medieval.”He licked his lips, and she laughed.
They stepped outside into the bright sunlight and trudged up the hill, hand in hand.The site was just a bare piece of land with the visible outline of where the foundation had once been.The guys—Jamie, his brothers, and Hayden—had decided to permanently mark the foundation and mount a plaque saying, “Bird’s Nest Ranch, Established 1879 by Hiram and Dorinda Olsen.”
“The foundation’s going in toward the end of March,” Jamie said.“And I’m going to order the plaque next week—thanks for sending the link.”
“That’s so cool that you guys are doing that.And thanks for letting the girls and me choose the plaque.”
“It’s our pleasure.We’re happy to commemorate the history.”
Crystal knew how supportive they all were, which was great considering she, Kelsey, and Brooke were all so heavily invested.She’d talked to them yesterday after Cam and Luke had shared the Stowe findings.They all felt a little odd about Angie’s reaction to everything.They didn’t want to upset her but also wanted to be faithful to history.Kelsey felt especially weird about it.She wanted to ask for the materials for the exhibit but also wanted to wait for Angie to make the overture.It was an awkward situation for sure.
“Does being here give you inspiration?’Jamie asked.
“Actually, yes.I like knowing that Dorinda walked in this same spot.”
“Didn’t they find something of hers in the excavation?”
“They found a cameo brooch, but we don’t know if it was hers.If I ever find any of her family in New York—or anywhere else the trail leads us—I’ll ask them about it.”She’d completed all her Foster phone calls yesterday and was anxiously waiting for Darryl’s list of non-Foster relatives.
“I think I’ll work it into the story, though,” Crystal said.She’d mapped out a romance arc for act one, which culminated in Hiram’s death.Act two climaxed with Dorinda deciding to open a brothel.And act three was pretty much about the KKK.
“How’s that?”
“Hiram gave it to her of course, as a betrothal present.He wants to show her that he’s thoughtful and that he can provide for her.”
“Giving her a brooch does all that?”
“Sure.They’re out here in the middle of nowhere, and he thinks to give her something pretty.It’s utterly unnecessary, which illustrates that he can afford things beyond the necessities.I think that’s an important quality in a nineteenth-century prairie husband.”
Jamie laughed.“Um, yeah.I think it’s an important quality in a twenty-first century husband pretty much anywhere.”He sobered.“In all seriousness, that’s a nice trait.”
She beamed up at him.“I think so too.”
“You’re really into this story.It’s brilliant.”
Her smile diminished.“I’m nervous about how it’s all going to play out.”
“Why?It sounds great and you have such an ‘in.’”
“What, because of Alaina?”Her brow pleated.“She’s not helping me.This is my project.I guess that’s why I’m nervous.Sometimes I wonder where I’d be if it weren’t for her.”
“Why would you say that?”
She shrugged.“I owe pretty much everything to her.I told you about how I left Blueville.”She took a few steps away from him and looked back over her shoulder.“In fact, sometimes I wonder what you’re doing with me.A super smart guy like you…”
Did she think she wasn’t smart?He knew she hadn’t gone to college—his mom had painfully pointed that out at dinner—and that she had a bad habit of discounting herself.And yet she carried herself with confidence, and he knew she’d accomplished a lot—on her own.
He walked over to her and caressed her shoulder.“Hey.I didn’t know you when you left home, but I know you now and I can see the woman who grew out of that messed-up teen.We’ve all made mistakes, you know.”
She pivoted toward him, and he dropped his arm to his side.“Really?Name one of yours.”
He gestured toward the winery.“All you have to do is take one look at my office or my loft and you see that I’m a disaster.”
“You’re messy—that’s not being a disaster, nor is it a mistake.You’re smart, successful, and sexy.”Her head tilted down toward his crotch, and his cock twitched.
