Page 46 of Loving Her Cowboy Best Friend

He’d thought he’d been in love with Mari Lucas, but he’d been dead wrong about that. He knew what familial love felt like, and he knew how fond he was of his horses and Azure. But Gina?

He honestly didn’t know.

Sammy Boy and Baby John took seventh place, and Todd said, “Jesse and Starla are in eighth.”

“Yes!” Jesse high-fived Starla, and the two of them could’ve lit the whole lodge by themselves that evening.

“Which leaves Mama and Daddy in last place,” Todd said, finally looking up from his clipboard. Along with everyone else, Blake looked at his parents. Daddy grinned like he’d won the lottery, and Mama patted her hair in a nonchalant way that made Blake shake his head and smile.

“Don’t be expectin’ any favors in the next round,” Mama said loudly, to which most people laughed. The crowd started to disperse, and Blake moved with them, Gina right as his side.

They separated themselves from the others slightly, and she leaned into him. “Am I a bad person for being glad we beat your parents?”

“Totally,” he joked. “I mean, my daddy is what? Sixty-eight? You’re lording your victory over an old man.”

Gina giggled and stepped in front of him. “Thank you, Blake. Really.”

He gazed down at her, wondering what about him had caught her attention. “For what?” he asked, taking her easily into his arms. The rest of the family and guests kept moving, leaving the two of them alone in front of the lodge.

“For practicing with me this week,” she said.

“Do we still need to do that?”

“I think so, cowboy.” She grinned at him and reached up to tap the underside of his hat. “Sixth is good, but I think we can do better.”

“Monday Mack and Little Nick should be our next target,” Blake said, watching the two cowboys enter the lodge. “Or Todd and Kyle. I think we can crack them.”

“So…” Gina fiddled with the buttons on his shirt near his throat, sending a thrill through Blake he couldn’t contain before it shivered out of him. “Tonight? We can practice at my place.”

Blake looked down at her, his pulse blipping out a bit of surprise. “You have a cornhole set at your place?”

She dug her toe into the gravel, making a grinding sound. “I maybe bought one to practice with.”

Blake blinked and then he burst out laughing. “Gina, you’re…amazing.” He leaned down and kissed her, meaning every syllable of that word. She was amazing, and he found it amazing that she let him kiss her.

She broke the kiss too soon, her giggles getting in the way. Blake didn’t mind, because things were going so well with Gina right now. He let his mind look forward, and all he could see was her and him and the family they could build together. He’d longed for that family, and he didn’t want it with anyone but her.

Maybe he did love her, but he wasn’t going to say it until he was sure.

* * *

A week passed,then two. Three, four, and before Blake knew it, the Fourth of July sat right around the corner. The Texas Longhorn Ranch went all out for the patriotic holiday, and they held a huge Texas-state celebration at the same time.

Local vendors, food trucks, and celebrities traveled to the ranch for a four-day celebration that usually sold out the lodge, the cabins, and the nearby hotels in town. Everyone at the ranch had been working extra hours for a week, including Blake and Gina.

He needed a break. He kept telling himself he’d get it as soon as July fifth came, and he could hold on until then. They had a parade to get through, a dog show, the chuckwagon dinner, two talent contests, four nights of concerts, and then of course, the fireworks show that drew the whole town of Chestnut Springs out to the ranch.

Blake sat at his desk one afternoon, reaching for handful after handful of sour candy to keep himself awake and working, when his phone rang. A number sat there he hadn’t attached to a name, but Blake didn’t hesitate. It wouldn’t be ranch business, and his number got passed around town sometimes.

“Hul-lo,” he said after answering and tapping on the speaker button. He then went back to the schedule in front of him, wondering why Todd needed him to double-check this. Sierra should be doing this kind of thing, as Blake barely knew all of the things they needed to do on the ranch to be ready for Independence Day.

“Is this Blake?” a woman asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Blake Stewart?”

He looked up, cocking his head as he tried to place the tone of voice. She sounded familiar, but he didn’t talk to her every day, he knew that. “Yes,” he said again.

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