Page 41 of In Bed with the Rancher

It would be a bittersweet night, but she wanted more time with him. And she couldn’t keep telling herself it would only be one more time. Soon she knew she had to say goodbye and mean it or she might fall deeply in love with him. She would worry about that in another few days.

* * *

The early morning sun was bright in Fort Worth, the air crisp with a fresh smell. The city was still relatively quiet even though work-day traffic was picking up. She wore a frilly blue blouse, jeans and sandals and had her blond hair tied behind her head with a narrow blue silk scarf. She was happy to be with Wade, eager to see the arena.

* * *

When Wade and Ava drove into the Fort Worth parking lot there were already two pickups there. Two men stood talking, until he came into view and then they stopped talking and turned to watch him drive up beside their pickups. Dressed the same as he was, both had broad-brimmed hats, one gray hat and one black. Both men wore cowboy boots. They had on jeans and Western style long-sleeved cotton shirts.

“Are they your cousins?” she asked, certain they were.

“Yes, they are. Jake and Luke. I have other cousins, too.”

“I feel like I shouldn’t be here,” Ava said. “I’ll be the only woman here.”

“Believe me, every man here will be glad you’re here. Watch them try to get close to talk to you. It’ll be nice for them to get to see the arena we donated money to build, but believe me, they will be more interested in talking to you. Luke, maybe just being polite.”

“He’s the one you said lost his family two years ago when his wife and baby were killed in a car wreck.”

“Yep. He hasn’t been the same since.”

“I guess not. You couldn’t ever get over that. That kind of loss makes a lot of other losses look insignificant. I’m surprised he can even get out of the house or that he wants to.”

“You have to keep on living,” Wade said. “Luke’s a great guy. He’s gotten very quiet, but you’ll like him.”

“I still don’t think I should be here. This is a guy thing.”

“No, it’s not and we’ll all enjoy your company and I’ll do something special tonight to show you my appreciation that you came with me this morning. Believe me, I like it a thousand times better with you along.” His gaze swept over her and she tingled as he smiled. After Wade parked, he grabbed his tan Stetson, put it on and stepped out to go around and open her door, taking her hand when she stepped down. She was aware of his warm hand closing lightly around hers. He looked handsome, strong and so appealing. He wore a navy shirt, jeans and boots. She was excited to be with him. She did feel slightly out of place, but she wanted to be with Wade and she wanted to see the arena. She knew it was a big thing for the city and the state and had cost millions, all donated by Wade and three of his cousins.

He extended his hand when he approached his cousins.

“Jake, it’s good to see you,” Wade said, shaking the hand of a man as tall as he was. They smiled as they shook.

“We were wondering when you were going to get here,” Jake Reed kidded and they both laughed.

Wade turned to the other man and they shook hands. “Luke, it’s good to see you. How’re you doing?” he asked, looking intently at his cousin.

“Ava, I want you to meet my cousins. Cousins, meet Ava Carter. Ava, this is Jake Reed.” He paused while Jake shook her hand and said hello.

“Ava, this is Luke Grayson. Luke meet Ava.”

“I’m happy to meet you, Ava,” Luke said, smiling warmly. “I’m glad you’re with us this morning.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at Luke. “I’m glad to be here and get to see this new arena I’ve heard so much about. It’ll be fantastic for the city and for the state.”

“We hope so. The old arena was. We should get the grand tour,” Luke said. He glanced at Wade. “How’s Wynn?”

“Actually, maybe some slight changes. I think he’ll stop impersonating me so that will be a relief.” Wade glanced at Jake. “Jake, are you still fighting with your neighbor? Has either one of you taken the other to court this month?”

Jake shook his head. “Nope. We’ve had about eight months without a lawsuit or a big hassle. At least we don’t shoot at each other like we’ve always been told the early day Reeds and Blakes did.” As they all laughed, Ava was still looking over the new building.

“The facility looks wonderful from here,” Ava stated and they all turned to look at the massive new building in a rich dark brown wood with glass along the center front running up to the roof. The first floor was the dark brown wood, but the upper floors had lots of glass to let in light.

“You’ll like this arena,” Wade said. He smiled at his cousins. “You two need to come to town more often and get off your ranches.”

“As if you hang around Ft. Worth or Dallas,” Jake drawled.

“It looks mighty good from out here,” Luke said. “Course it should for what it cost.”

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