Page 44 of Forever After All

That soft broken sound did some damage in his chest. She’d been overlooked her whole life, and how many people had stopped to tell her she was amazing?

“You went on two dates. Don’t give up on finding love because two losers happened to cross your path first.”

“I wouldn’t say Hanson was a loser,” she said.

“Hanson wasn’t a total loser, but he doesn’t like horses, so he gets points knocked off for that.”

She chuckled again, and Linc decided sleep was for the weak. If Jess kept talking and laughing, he’d gladly get shocked by her lightning over and over again.

Linc cleared his throat, trying to weigh the pros and cons of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“Jess, don’t give up. You’re amazing. Someone is going to see that, and that guy will move mountains for you.”

Linc’s heart thudded like the bass in a hard rock song. He’d put a little bit of his heart on the line, and while he didn’t expect her to do anything with his confession, he also didn’t want her to run for the hills.

Jess sighed. “We’ll see.”

“Take my advice or not. Just don’t settle.”

“I’m not really the settling type. I might fall in love with a guy who gets tired of my sassy mouth and decides I’m not worth the trouble. Let’s face it, that’s the most likely scenario.”

“If he lets you go, you’re better off without him.”

Jess hummed low and yawned again. “Thanks for the pep talk. Pretending to care about some guy’s bull riding stats is exhausting, so I’m going to bed.”

“Good night, Jess.”

“Good night, Linc. Sweet dreams.”

She didn’t need to worry. His dreams would be sweet, as long as she was happy.

Chapter12

Jess

Jess stared at the verse she’d written on the board yesterday. It could stay another day. Mostly because she hadn’t figured out its meaning yet.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

The words seemed simple enough, and she knew all of their separate meanings. It was the overall concept that stumped her. Was the verse about patience or faith? Maybe hope?

She’d ask Vera about it later. She checked the time on her phone and called over her shoulder on her way out of the barn.“I’m headed to the garage!”

Brett shouted back. “What for?”

“My truck has a light on. I want Linc to check it out.”

Brett didn’t respond, which meant he must be really busy in his office. Though, she had no idea what he did in there. She took care of all the schedules and appointments. He much preferred the physical labor to the paperwork.

The sky was overcast, and the wind stung against her cheeks as she dashed to the truck. Spring was taking its precious time coming this year, and if the snow on the mountain didn’t melt soon, they’d be forced to push back the first trail rides of the season.

She started the truck, and that pesky light came on. There were few things she couldn’t do on her own, and for some reason, the mechanics of vehicles had always stumped her. She hadn’t even owned a car until she moved out of her parents’ house.

The check engine light was something she did know. It had been staring at her since yesterday, and she’d finally worked up the courage to ask Linc if he’d take a look at it.

Linc’s truck was already parked outside the garage when she pulled up. She hadn’t seen much of him the last few days with things ramping up at the ranch. They didn’t have many more weeks before the guests started arriving, and everyone was working overtime.

Jess pulled into the open bay and left the truck running. Linc stepped out of the supply closet shoving a rag into his back pocket. His hair was tousled as if he’d been wearing a hat all day, and the sleeves of his flannel shirt were haphazardly rolled up on his forearms.

---