The Construction of Cheer

by Liz Isaacson

  “Might as well work off the anxiety,” Ace muttered to himself. He’d been getting up at four a.m. to run off the nerves, but they came back by lunchtime. He’d been avoiding the homestead for meals, though he usually ate lunch there. Instead, he’d been returning to the house he and Ward shared and eating alone while he contemplated his options.

  Keep waiting for Holly Ann. Or get back on the dating app and find someone new. Keep going to town parties, dances, and festivals, and meet someone else. Ace also considered simply doing nothing.

  He didn’t have to wait for Holly Ann. He didn’t need to update his profile and change his status back to single. He didn’t have to go to town. He could just keep being himself, and working Shiloh Ridge Ranch, and enjoying his family.

  He’d had plenty of girlfriends over the years, and he’d never doubted that he’d find The One and have what his father had had. A wife, a family, a life he loved on the ranch. He’d come close once, but his proposal to Jeanie had been met with a no.

  Ace hadn’t even waited a month before he’d asked someone else out. Maybe he just needed to slow down.

  Footsteps sounded behind him as he set another table on its feet. He turned to find Royce and Max coming into the barn. “Hey,” he said. “Sorry, I meant to come back to the field. I just wanted to check on the barn, and Bishop isn’t here.” He looked around at the half-finished space.

  “He called me,” Royce drawled. “Sent us to help.” He smiled, and he and Max moved over to the supply closet. “How many tables are we puttin’ up?”

  Bishop likely had a map for tonight’s party, and Ace actually looked around for it. He wondered why his cousin hadn’t called or texted him back. He probably doesn’t want to talk right now, Ace thought. It was easier to send help than to get into a conversation about why he wasn’t there. Royce and Max didn’t need an explanation; Ace would.

  Ace did some quick calculations. “Probably six,” he said. “They hold six chairs each, too. Tablecloths are right here.”

  “All right,” Max said, and with the three of them, they got the tables and chairs set up quickly.

  “Thanks,” Ace said. “Holly Ann should be here soon with the food. I’m gonna check on the kitchen.”

  “I’m still okay to take off at four, right?” Max asked, his eyes bright with hope. “I’m almost done with this class, but it’s got a couple more weeks.”

  “Sure,” Ace said. “You won’t be at the party?”

  “I’m gonna have to miss it,” he said, his face falling. “I’ll have to stop by Miss Lois’s another time.”

  Everyone on the ranch loved Bear’s mother. She mothered all of them, even Ace, and he loved that about her. She was good to the cowboys that lived on the ranch, Ace knew that. He’d caught her leaving one of the cabins a few nights ago, a couple of empty dishes in her hands. He suspected she’d dropped off new meals, and those were just the pans and casserole dishes from the last time she’d brought food to the cowboys.

  “How’s your mother?” Royce asked, glancing at Max.

  “She’s doin’ okay,” Ace said with a quick smile. “Etta and Ida will bring her up tonight.”

  “I’ll stop by when I get back,” Max said. “Maybe she’ll still be here.”

  “Anything is possible,” Ace said. “You know how the family is.” He smiled at the two cowboys, and they smiled back.

  “We sure do.” Royce tipped his hat. “We’ll get the field tested and leave the results for you, okay?”

  “Okay,” Ace said. “Thanks, guys.”

  They left, and Ace walked over to the kitchen door. It opened without a key, and Ace faced the huge space with all this equipment he didn’t really understand. He could put things in the fridge, and he could make coffee. He could usually make toast that wasn’t too burnt and he could heat cans of soup or chili in the microwave.

  Other than that, he was pretty helpless. Luckily, Ward could cook decently, and they only lived a few hundred yards from the homestead, where there was always something to eat and something happening.

  Ace loved the homestead, especially now that it was redone. But he sure did like having a quiet place he could retreat to, and he could relate to Cactus on that front.

  “Ah, Cactus,” he said with a sigh. Bishop had been able to get out to the cabin on the edge of the ranch to visit him a couple of times since his birthday party, and he’d reported that Cactus just needed some time. Again.

  Ace actually missed him, and he pulled out his phone to text his cousin. You’re coming tonight for your mother’s party, right?

  Yes, Cactus sent back almost instantly.

  Ace’s fingers hovered above the screen as he tried to figure out what else to say. Cactus didn’t like long conversations, and he rarely gave more than one-word answers. He didn’t like to be pressed on things, and because Ace respected him immensely, he didn’t normally do anything Cactus wouldn’t like.

  He’d been deep inside his head for the past couple of months, though, and he couldn’t get out without saying something.

  If I did something to upset you, I apologize, he typed out. Really, Cactus. Just tell me what it was, and I won’t do it again.

  He read over the text and decided to delete the last couple of sentences. He didn’t have to know what it was, though it would be nice so he wouldn’t repeat whatever it had been to drive Cactus back to his cabin and back into his silence.

  So he typed the sentences again and sent them without triple-guessing himself. Quickly too, he added, I miss driving to town with you. Please let me know when you’re ready to go again so we can go together, if you want.

  He read it, deleted if you want, and sent that message too.

  To his surprise, Cactus called, and Ace turned away from the pristine kitchen to answer the phone. “Hey,” he said. He held back from immediately launching into another sentence. He’d said everything he wanted to say in the texts. Cactus was the one who’d called.

  He sighed and said, “You have nothing to apologize for, Ace.”

  Ace nodded, his throat tight. He didn’t want to blame Cactus for anything, so he said nothing.

  “I’m…a mess, frankly,” Cactus said. “I’ve talked to Judge, but he’s not a real therapist.”

  “No, he’s not.”

  “Would you—could you help me with something?”

  “Of course.”

  “I can’t seem to make myself call a real counselor, and I know I need to. I’ll even let you drive me to the appointments.”

  Ace smiled as a ray of light filled his soul. “You’ll let me drive you?” He scoffed and gave a light laugh that only lasted a moment. “I’ll drive you, otherwise you won’t go.”

  “That too,” Cactus whispered.

  Ace’s heart tore and bled for his cousin. “We’ll get it done tomorrow, okay, Cactus?”

  Cactus didn’t answer, probably because his own throat was too dang tight.

  “Okay,” Ace said, hearing a car pull up to the barn. “I think someone just got here, and it might be Holly Ann.”

  “Good luck with her,” Cactus said, every ounce of sincerity he owned in the words.

  “Thank you, Cactus,” Ace said, meaning it too. “I’m trying not to be too pathetic with her.”

  “Just be yourself,” he said. “I think you and Bishop told me that once.”

  “Yeah, and you got a date,” Ace said, though he knew he wouldn’t get a date with Holly Ann unless he hired her again. Which wasn’t a bad idea…. They were forever having parties up here, and Ace could simply say he’d take care of the food.

  “I did not get a date,” Cactus said. “I got a phone number for a twenty-three-year-old.”

  Ace chuckled, glad when Cactus did too. “We’re going to find the right woman for you,” he said as Holly Ann entered the barn. His heartbeat rioted, and with the sunlight shining into the barn behind her, haloing her in light, she was an angel straight from heaven.

  Ace thought she was his One, and he felt it
way down deep in his soul. If he had to wait for her to realize that he was her One, he could do it. He absolutely could do it.

  “You’ve gone silent. Go talk to your girl,” Cactus said, and the call ended.

  Ace shoved his phone in his back pocket and smiled at Holly Ann. “Hey,” he said, wishing he could add baby or sweetheart to that sentence. Instead, he added, “Do you need help bringing things in?”

  “Yes, please,” she said, returning his smile. She’d pulled her dark hair into a ponytail that sat on top of her head, and she wore a pair of shorts that were barely long enough to cover the pockets and a black sleeveless shirt with a floral print.

  Ace followed her back to her van, where she started directing him which bins to take. She worked with him, and he asked her how the business was going, how her father and sister were, and what her next job was.

  They’d never had a problem keeping the conversation going, and Ace did love talking to her. He loved the sound of her lower voice and rolled Texan accent. He loved learning about her and feeding off her excitement for things like ham and cheese sandwiches and brown sugar squares.

  Once she had everything she needed in the kitchen, she sighed and faced it all. “Thanks, Ace.” Her eyes met his, and Ace’s throat turned dry.

  They had gone out a few times over the winter, but not for a while now. She knew he liked her though, and when she looked at him with that glinting sparkle in her dark eyes, he suspected she liked him too.

  “Sure,” he said. “Bishop put the best of everything in this kitchen, so you should have everything you need.”

  “It’s seriously the nicest kitchen I’ve ever seen.” She gazed around at all the stainless steel and sturdy oak cabinets. “Your brother is somethin’ else.”

  “He’s my cousin,” Ace said. “Just the two brothers, remember?”

  Holly Ann’s face flushed, and that only made her more attractive to Ace. “Oh, right,” she said. “Sorry. I just think of you guys up here like one big, happy family.”

  He smiled at her, so she’d know he understood. “Well, that kind of fits too.” He tucked his hands in his pockets and told himself to leave. She had what she needed, and he didn’t need to hang around. He’d only be in her way, and she’d made her feelings for him clear.

  “Listen,” she said, dropping her eyes to where her hand pressed into the steel tabletop. “I meant thank you for the job too.”

  “Sure thing,” he said, his voice pitching up on the last word.

  “Because you booked me, I’ve had several other jobs come my way, all of them because of you.”

  “Oh, you don’t know that,” he said.

  She looked up and right into his eyes. Hers were wide and earnest and filled with an emotion he couldn’t quite grasp. Did she…? Maybe he could ask her out again and she’d say yes.

  “I do know that,” she said. “Every one of them said you referred me.”

  “Oh.” Him and his stupid mouth. Why couldn’t he keep quiet? Even posts on forums and comments on Two Cents were “talking.”

  “Ace, I—” She shook her head. “I know you like me.”

  “Mm hm.” He wasn’t going to deny it, but he didn’t need to open the door to his heart and invite her inside to carve it out with one of her fancy knives either.

  Holly Ann took a step toward him, and he couldn’t help letting his gaze slide down the height of her body. She was curvy and delicious and everything Ace wanted physically in a woman. He licked his lips as he returned his gaze to hers.

  “Would you be willing to take me to dinner sometime?” she asked.

  Surprise shot through Ace at the speed of light. “What?” came out of his mouth instead of, Yes, of course. Let’s go right now.

  Holly Ann ducked her head and smiled, which so wasn’t fair to Ace’s pulse. “Did I speak too fast, cowboy?” She stopped right in front of him and raised her hand to fiddle with the collar on his shirt.

  He held very still, though he knew this particular female tactic very well. She was touching him—a very good sign. She was in his personal space—another good sign. A very loud sign. All he had to do was take her in his arms, say yes, and kiss her—and she’d probably let him.

  All the signs said so.

  “You’ve asked me to dinner before,” she said slowly, her eyes trained on that blasted collar, though it was nothing special. In fact, there was very little special about Ace, and he knew it. He blended in amongst all the other Glovers, many of them with bigger, brighter personalities. He’d tried competing with Bishop and Bear and Ward for a while, but he’d given it up in recent years. He’d still gotten dates, though the women he typically attracted were fairly average themselves.

  Not Holly Ann. Everything about her was above average, and she was way out of his league.

  She looked up at him, her eyes boring into his while she said, “I’d like to go to dinner with you. Would you be willing to take me on a dinner date?” Once she finished, her eyes dropped to his mouth, and Ace quickly read all the signs one more time.

  She was still touching him.

  She was leaning into him now.

  She’d just asked him to take her on a date.

  And she was staring at his mouth.

  Can’t get any clearer than that, he thought.

  “Absolutely,” he said. He wanted to ask what had changed. Find out if her business really was as stable as she’d made it sound while they’d brought in her ingredients and equipment.

  Instead of asking her any of that, he simply did what she wanted him to—he took her into his arms, leaned down, and kissed her.

  They both pulled in a breath through their noses, and then Holly Ann kissed him right on back.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Holly Ann couldn’t believe what she’d just done, though she’d been rehearsing her speech for three solid days. She hadn’t believed she’d actually go through with it. Faced with Ace Glover, she almost hadn’t.

  But he was so charming, and so good-looking, and just plain good. She could really only say no to him when he wasn’t live and in-person. It was much easier to deflect his invitation to dinner while they texted. Even over the phone had been easier, though not as easy as texting, to tell him she needed to focus on her business.

  He’d stopped asking after that, and weeks had gone by. With every new client she got because of him, he buried himself a little deeper into her heart.

  She’d known she was in trouble with the tall, dark-haired cowboy the moment he’d sat down in front of her at church, months ago now. As if he’d been drawn by her, he’d turned around and looked at her, a small smile accompanying the hat-tip she’d gotten.

  He’d stuck around after the sermon to chat for a minute. He hadn’t asked for her number, and Holly Ann hadn’t seen him the next week. It wasn’t hard for her to figure out who he was. He sat with all the Glovers, and everyone in Three Rivers knew the Glovers. She knew they lived and worked at Shiloh Ridge Ranch, and that it was one of the most successful cattle ranches in the Texas Panhandle.

  It had won Ranch of the Year three times in a row before Seven Sons had taken the honor. This year, Wade Rhinehart had won the coveted award, but his sons were far too young for Holly Ann.

  As she kissed Ace, she tried to pour the same care and feeling into her touch that he possessed in his. Bethany Rose had told her exactly what to say, where to stand, how to flirt with a cowboy like Ace.

  And Bethany Rose knew, because she’d roped her own cowboy only a couple of years ago, and they were living happily-ever-after on his small farm just north of town.

  Holly Ann had always wanted a cowboy for a husband. Always, always.

  Don’t go too fast, she told herself, and that was good advice for this kiss and for this relationship with Ace. She slowed the movement, finally breaking it, and both she and Ace drew in another simultaneous breath.

  She giggled hers out while Ace just kept her contained within the circle of his arms.

  “Sorry,�
�� he murmured. “I think that was a huge distraction from why you came up here.” He stepped away and bent to retrieve his cowboy hat. He dusted it against his jean-clad leg and settled it on his head, the brim low so she couldn’t see his eyes.

  Her blood burned through her whole body. He’d apologized? He’d obviously read all the signals Bethany Rose had taught her, so why was he apologizing?

  “You don’t distract me, Ace,” she said.

  He looked up then, and Holly Ann’s stomach flipped. “Those were the exact words you used.”

  “In April,” she said. “It’s June now, and things have settled down.” Had she blown things with him already? She’d tried to tell him she wanted to see him, but right when she was starting up a brand-new catering business wasn’t the best timing. She still worked at the tack and feed store, and she had to juggle her schedule on a daily basis.

  Kissing him was probably a bad idea. She’d just wanted to so badly—and she had for a long time.

  Ace just looked at her, and he was so different than the fun, flirty cowboy who’d sat right next to her at the Christmas movie and finally asked her for her phone number. She’d given it to him without hesitation, and he hadn’t wasted any time using it.

  “Look,” she said. “I’m going to say something that’s going to embarrass me. It might freak you out. I don’t know.” She wiped her hand across her forehead, because it was so dang hot in here. He’d promised air conditioning, and she knew she wouldn’t be boiling if she hadn’t just experienced the single best cowboy kiss ever.

  “Go on, then,” he said. “I’ll do my best not to freak out.” He actually took another step backward, though, and folded his arms. Body language—completely closed off. Bethany Rose would tell her not to tell him, but she’d already committed.

  Holly Ann opened her mouth when she should close it. She knew that, but she couldn’t stop herself from doing it. With clients, she could. With Ace, she babbled about everything.