by Liz Isaacson
“Shamelessly?” Simone burst out laughing. “Just because Evelyn doesn’t know how to flirt doesn’t mean the rest of us do it shamelessly.”
Callie grinned from ear to ear. “So it’s true?”
“I mean, maybe?” Simone shrugged as the kettle started to whistle. “But he’s back in Temple now, and I don’t know. I sensed some hesitancy there.”
“So maybe you’ll go out with someone else,” Callie said. “I mean, we don’t all have to marry a Walker.”
Simone poured the hot water over the tea bags and turned back to Callie. “You know what? You’re right. I am going to find someone to go out with.”
“Good for you,” Callie said. “Maybe that guy who runs the flea market every month.”
“Jonas?” Simone laughed and shook her head. “Nope.”
“Why not?” Callie stirred her tea, waiting for it to cool.
Simone sipped hers, looking at Callie over the top of the cup. “Because I’ve asked him out before, and he said no.”
“Ouch,” Callie said with a giggle.
“Right?” Simone tossed her hair over her shoulders. “No, I think I’ll try my luck at the Valentine’s Day dance. That’s always fun, and it brings in a lot of cowboys from the outlying farms and ranches.”
Callie grinned at her sister, glad they’d had this chance to talk. She finished her tea and slid off the barstool. “Okay,” she said. “I have to go meet Miah and Liam. Apparently, Jeremiah has another surprise and he wants both of us there.” She rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I don’t know how many more surprises I can take.”
Simone watched her. “Cal, these are good things.”
“I know they are.” She waved as she walked away. “See you later, little sis.” She left the cabin, glad for a breath of fresh air. She knew the changes were good, but wow, they were also hard. And for someone like Callie, who liked routine and enjoyed things just how they were, she’d been asked to tolerate a lot of change—and be happy about it—in a short amount of time.
“I’m not a bad person for needing time to adjust,” she said out loud. “Am I?”
The wind picked up, as if telling her, no, of course not. Take the time you need.
And she decided right then that she would. After all, it took time to have an open heart and an open mind. Liam couldn’t expect her to transform overnight.
“I just don’t want to fail,” she whispered. “Please help us work everything out.” Then she picked up her pace as her phone rang and Jeremiah’s name sat on the screen.
“I’m coming,” she said after answering the call. “I was at Simone’s. Be there in a minute.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Liam waited in the kitchen at the Shining Star—his kitchen, he supposed—with Jeremiah. He wouldn’t let Liam into his office, and he had work to do.
“She’s on her way,” Jeremiah said, hanging up after calling Callie.
“I told you she went out to Simone’s,” Liam said. “Thank you for everything you’ve done here.”
“You’ve told me that like, twenty times.” Jeremiah smiled at him.
“Well, I mean it.” Liam finished his coffee, ready to be in front of his screens. He hadn’t checked on his set-up at all yesterday, because by the time they’d finished the tours and the brunch, all he’d wanted to do was sleep.
The giant bed in the master suite was comfortable, and he and Callie had enjoyed a lazy afternoon in bed. She’d fried eggs for dinner and he’d made honey roasted peanut butter popcorn, and they’d watched a movie on the new TV.
But today, he needed to get back to business.
“Any more…human connections with Whitney?” Liam asked, watching his brother for any reaction. Jeremiah was very good at masking things, but Liam was very good at seeing them.
“Maybe,” his brother said, his jaw clenching.
“So not good ones,” Liam said.
Jeremiah deflated as if someone had stuck him with a pin. “I don’t know, Liam. I honestly don’t.”
“I thought you two liked each other.”
“So did I,” Jeremiah said. “And she came out to the ranch, and I let her shoot, and—”
“Whoa,” Liam said. “Wait. You let her shoot on the ranch?”
Jeremiah’s eyes widened, almost like he’d given away a secret. “I’ll tell you later.”
“Why can’t you tell me now?”
“Because.” Jeremiah moved over to the back door and opened it, and Callie came in a moment later.
She looked back and forth between Jeremiah and Liam. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” Jeremiah said, barely looking at her. “We’re just waitin’ on you.”
“All right,” Callie said. “Surprise us.”
“It’s in the office.” Jeremiah started that way, and Liam got up from the table. The sooner he got this surprise over with, the sooner he could get to work.
“What are you going to do today?” he asked Callie. “Now that we’ve got ranch hands taking over with the horses and cattle, you should have some free time.”
“Yeah,” Callie said. “Honestly? I don’t know.”
“You wanted to do beehives,” Liam said, remembering a conversation they’d had on their tour of the pineapple plantation during their honeymoon. “I bet Jeremiah could help you with that.”
“I sure could,” Jeremiah said, pausing at the office door.
Liam couldn’t believe he’d just suggested Callie spend more time with Jeremiah, but neither of them seemed to have a strange vibe. Liam was probably just being oversensitive about their relationship.
“But not today,” he said. “I have a ton of work to do at Seven Sons. Might have to wait a week or two.”
“I can do some research about them,” Callie said. “And I want to talk to Evelyn about helping set up her nursery.”
“All right,” Liam said. He knew Evelyn wasn’t due until summer, but maybe women set up their baby’s room six months early. He had no idea. He wanted to ask Callie about what she wanted to do about having kids, but he didn’t want to do it in front of Jeremiah.
He filed the conversation topic away for later and looked at his brother. “Are we going in, or what? I have a ton of work to do too.”
Jeremiah simply put a big smile on his face. “Okay, I got you each a wedding gift.”
“More gifts?” Callie asked, looking at Liam. “Do you know about this?”
“I know nothing,” he said. “But Jeremiah is a really good gift-giver.” Another wave of appreciation for his brother ran through him.
Jeremiah pulled an envelope out of his back pocket. “For you, Cal.”
She took it, her eyes narrowed. “You Walkers are going to be the death of me.”
Jeremiah just burst out laughing, but Liam didn’t. He watched as Callie opened the envelope, wondering what he hadn’t covered for her. Her eyes scanned the single sheet of paper she’d pulled out, and she finally looked up. “Crop-dusting and fertilization?”
“You’ll need it,” Jeremiah said. “There are a ton of pests here in the late summer.” He grinned at her and drew her into a hug.
“Thanks, Miah,” she said, stepping back quickly. She showed the paper to Liam, who nodded.
“Yeah, thanks, Miah,” he echoed.
“Okay,” Jeremiah said, reaching for the handle on the barn door that slid back and forth to close off the office. “Liam, your gift is in here.” He opened the door and stepped inside.
Liam followed, his hand tightening around Callie’s as he scanned the office. Computers looked normal. He sucked in a breath at the huge, beautiful canvas print on the wall behind his screens.
“Jeremiah.”
“It’s Pretzel,” Jeremiah said. “On Seven Sons Ranch.”
Liam could hear the pride in his brother’s voice, but he couldn’t look away from the gorgeous landscape, the glorious sunset, the absolute perfection of this photo. Emotion choked in his throat, because this was the view he wanted while he
worked. And Jeremiah had filled the wall with it, so every time Liam needed a moment to lean back in his ergonomic chair, he could see the ranch he loved.
“Thank you.” He turned quickly and enveloped Jeremiah in a hug. “I love this. I love it.”
“Love you, brother,” Jeremiah said, clapping him on the back. “I’m going to miss you at the homestead.”
“I’ll still come drink your coffee and eat your bacon in the morning,” Liam promised.
“I hope so,” Jeremiah said, his voice a bit on the emotional side too.
“Miah, it’s spectacular,” Callie said. “Who did you have take it?”
Jeremiah stepped back from Liam, who already knew the answer to that question. He glanced at his brother, who clearly didn’t want to say.
“Maybe he can get you one of the Shining Star,” Liam said, stepping between the two of them. “Now, everyone out. I have so much work to do.” And he wasn’t just saying that. He had a deadline looming at the end of the month and dozens of scenes to perfect.
“All right, all right,” Jeremiah said. “You two come by later if you’re looking for something to eat.”
“Will do,” Liam said, watching Jeremiah turn right to exit the house and Callie turn left to go further into it. He followed her to get more coffee, sweeping his arm around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss. “I love you, sweetheart,” he said.
Callie’s eyes met his, and they softened instantly. “I love you too.”
He ducked his head and kissed her, finally feeling like he and Callie were on the same page. “I really do have a ton to do,” he whispered. “I’ll be on the computer almost constantly this week.”
“You do what you need to,” Callie said. “I’ll bring in lunch later, if you want?”
“Sure,” he said. “I’m starting the day out right with peanut popcorn and coffee.” He chuckled and grabbed the bag with the leftover popcorn before pouring himself another cup of coffee.
With everything in place, Liam looked up at his beloved horse and the ranch he’d come to love, and then he got to work.
“Done,” Liam said to himself several days later. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers aching and his shoulders so tense. A quick glance at the clock told him it was almost four, and he quickly reached for his phone. Too late to go riding?
Nope, Jeremiah answered almost immediately. I’ll start saddling.
On my way.
“Sweetheart?” Liam called as he got up from his desk. Callie didn’t answer, and he decided to call her on his way over to the stables at Seven Sons.
“Heya,” Callie said, answering after the second ring.
“I’m heading over to ride with Jeremiah and Tripp,” he said. At least he hoped his twin would be there. “Where you at?”
“Out in Simone’s shop.”
“Okay, I’m sure Jeremiah will have dinner on. Y’all want to come over later?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, see you then.” Liam hung up and hurried to the stables, where he did find Tripp finishing up with his horse, Lightfoot.
“Hey, man.” Liam embraced his brother, chuckling. “How’s married life?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Tripp shot him a look, but Liam wasn’t going to talk about it. He and Callie were still navigating a lot of unchartered ground, but he knew they were going to make it.
“Jeremiah has Pretzel ready around the side there,” he said. “He’s just finishing up with Stony, and we can go.” Tripp checked his saddle while Liam went to get his horse.
“Hey, boy,” he said, stepping over to Pretzel. He stroked the horse’s nose, so glad he’d been able to make this deadline and spend this time outside, with his horse and his brothers.
“Liam!”
He turned just in time to catch Oliver as he launched himself at Liam. They laughed together, and Liam set Oliver on his feet again. “What are you doin’ out here?”
“Ridin’,” Oliver said, picking up his child-sized cowboy hat. “Tripp said I could come this time.”
“Yeah?” Liam unlooped the reins from around the post where Jeremiah had put them, and Pretzel came closer to him. “Who are you riding?”
“Rodman?” Oliver asked, and Tripp whistled from around the side of the stables.
“Comin’!” Oliver yelled, dashing off toward his step-dad. Liam sure did love that kid, and he was once again reminded that he wanted to talk to Callie about having kids.
He took Pretzel around the stables too and paused to watch Tripp help Oliver into the saddle. He started talking to the boy about how to hold the reins and how to stay in the saddle. Liam wanted to have a son to do the same thing with, and soon.
“Ready?” Jeremiah asked, bringing his horse out of the stables.
Oliver cheered, and Liam swung into the saddle. With everyone ready to go, Liam let Jeremiah lead them out onto the ranch. They didn’t follow a path, and Liam knew his horse would be able to get him back to the ranch should they get lost. But Jeremiah never went very far during their rides.
Tripp hung back with Oliver, Rodman an older horse that didn’t care about keeping up with his friends. Liam glanced over his shoulder, finding quite a bit of distance between him and Jeremiah and Tripp and Oliver.
“Talk about Whitney for five minutes,” Liam said, employing one of their mother’s conversation techniques.
“Okay, Mom,” Jeremiah said, heavy sarcasm in the words.
“Seriously,” Liam said. “Five minutes. You let her shoot on the ranch, and….”
Jeremiah drew in a deep breath. “And she’s kind of disappeared.”
“Really? Were you nice while she was here?”
“Liam.”
“Come on, Jeremiah. Five minutes.”
“I was nice,” Jeremiah said. “We held hands, and I even took her to dinner afterward. I had a great time, and she acted like she did too.”
“Kissing?”
“No,” Jeremiah practically barked. “That’s a great big no.” He shook his head. “I’m not ready for that.” He swallowed, and Liam’s heart went out to him.
“What are you ready for?”
“You know, I thought I was ready to start dating a little,” he said. “And I thought I wanted to date her.”
“And you don’t?”
“I don’t know,” Jeremiah said. “She disappeared, and I just can’t help thinking that she’s going to be exactly like Laura Ann.”
“Ah.” Liam nodded, because that was pure honesty right there. “Have you called her?”
“Yes,” Jeremiah said. “It goes to voicemail. She texted me when the print was ready, and I went and picked it up. We texted a little bit then.”
Liam watched the sun start to sink, his brain moving through ideas. “Here’s a thought. She called you over and over about shooting at the ranch, right?”
“Yes,” he said. “For months.”
“Then maybe you do the same.”
“Badger her?”
“Yeah,” Liam said. “Remind her you’re here, and you’re interested.”
“Maybe she was only interested in the ranch,” Jeremiah said. “And I’m not sure I want to know that for certain.” He looked at Liam, and so much anxiety lived in his brother’s eyes.
“Think about it,” Liam said. “I think your five minutes are up.”
“Thank the Lord,” Jeremiah said with a sigh, and Liam chuckled.
“I needed this,” he said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Anytime, brother,” Jeremiah said. “Honestly, come over anytime.”
Liam thought he heard something new in Jeremiah’s voice, but he wasn’t sure what. Before he could ask, Tripp whistled again, and Liam swung around in his saddle.
“Oh, Oliver’s down,” Jeremiah said, swinging his horse around. Liam did the same thing, getting back to help as quickly as he could. Because that was what the Walkers did. They helped and loved each other, and Liam was glad he was part of such a great legacy.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jeremiah couldn’t let go of Liam’s suggestion that he call and text Whitney the way she had him. He thought about it while he laid in bed that night, and he thought about it the moment he woke up only a few hours later. He thought about it while he did a crossword puzzle, made the morning brew, and watched Wyatt leave with only a thermos of coffee.
The silence in the homestead ate him alive, and he pulled out his phone and called Whitney. She didn’t answer, though she had to be at the store by now.
“Hey,” he said in the brightest voice he could muster. “It’s Jeremiah Walker. Wondering what veggies you have for that chicken bake we talked about. Maybe call me?” Instant humiliation flowed through him and he added, “Okay, bye,” and hung up as quickly as possible.
“Maybe call me? Why was that a question?”
The real question was why had she gone cold? Their dinner had been fun, with easy conversation and good food. Whitney hadn’t answered his last phone call, though she had responded to his texts about the pictures.
He sighed, set some bread in the toaster, and cracked eggs into a hot pan. He mucked out horse stalls, fed the goats, and spent a couple of hours in the office, reviewing their plans for planting in a few months.
That afternoon, he drove into Wilde & Organic to get the vegetables he’d use in a chicken bake. He didn’t think he’d run into Whitney, as she stocked the produce section in the mornings.
Back at the ranch—still alone—he put together the spices, chicken, and vegetables and slid the pan into the oven. An hour later, he took a picture and sent it to Whitney with the caption Wish you were here to share this with me.
He felt like a complete fool, like he was pursuing a woman who didn’t want him. The same thing had happened with Laura Ann, and he hadn’t known it until he was wearing a tuxedo and a boutonniere.
He couldn’t do what Liam had suggested, especially because he couldn’t handle the rejection. Already he felt his heart cracking open and bleeding, and it didn’t feel good.
His phone chimed, and he looked down at it. Looks good, Whitney had texted. Nothing more.