He lived out in the Hill Country, on his wife’s family farm, which he worked alongside Vivi. Max lived in the Fort Worth area, now separated and taking care of all of his children alone. If Gretchen wanted the house and land, she could probably have it. She ran the candy shop, and she could see a future right there for herself.

  In it, a certain reddish-blond cowboy emerged, and she wondered if William Cooper would ever leave his family’s generational dairy operation to live in this hundred-year-old house twenty minutes away.

  She wouldn’t know if she didn’t ask. “Not on the first date,” she murmured to herself, quickly navigating over to the text string they shared. Before she could start typing, Ingrid confirmed that she had Gretchen down for next Wednesday for two, and that made her smile.

  The Culinary Cabin is full this whole week, she tapped out. The soonest they have is next Wednesday, so I booked that. Is that okay?

  She sent that text, her mind firing at her to keep going. We can go out before then. Anywhere is fine, honestly.

  Tuesday still? Will asked. Or do you want to go on a day you’re not busy with your daddy?

  Gretchen looked over to her snoozing father. She was busy because of him every day. He did have crucial medications she monitored on Mondays, and she changed his oxygen tank those days too. On Thursdays, she had to take him for his afternoon doctor’s appointments, and then he always wanted to stop and get a double-decker chicken salad sandwich at Barney’s in the mall. So that took up her whole evening by the time she drove, waited, got any new medications, asked her questions, and they got the sandwiches.

  Tuesday, Wednesday, or the weekend, she told him. Any of those work for me.

  I already talked to Trav about Tuesday, so let’s stick to that.

  Gretchen smiled at the speed with which his text came in. No typos either. Okay, she started to type, but she got another message from Will.

  What are you doing right now?

  Her pulse went crazy, and Gretchen looked up as alarm ran through her body. Right now, she was doing nothing. She sat with Daddy most Sunday afternoons, just to keep him company, talk about the candy she’d make that week, and spare herself from spending most of her time talking to her brother’s cat.

  She looked over at him, asleep. Cooing at Elvis might actually be a better use of her time…

  Gretchen smiled as she tapped to call Will, a tactic that had worked to her advantage last night. His line rang a couple of times, and when he answered it with, “Howdy, Gretchen,” it sounded like he might be a bit winded.

  “Am I interrupting?” she asked.

  “No,” he said, but another voice came clearly through the line too, saying, “Get back in here! You can’t get out of dish duty just because Gretchen called.”

  She started to giggle, but she pulled the phone away from her mouth to do so. She didn’t want Will to think she was laughing at him—or worse, Travis.

  “Leave me alone, Lee,” Will growled. “I’m a grown man, and I’ll get my chores done.”

  “Who’s Gretchen?” a woman asked, her voice as old as Mother’s had been when she’d died.

  Gretchen sobered, because while weeding the strawberry patch, Will had said his mama wasn’t well.

  “No one,” Will said. “Can’t a man talk on the phone and not get questioned to death?”

  “No one?” Gretchen asked, making her voice as lighthearted as possible. She stood and headed for the front door so she could talk and laugh and not disturb Daddy.

  “We want to start the brownies,” Lee said, his voice much closer. “Let me talk to her.”

  “You’re not talking to her.”

  “She’s someone,” the woman said.

  “Will,” another woman called.

  “I need five minutes,” Will practically yelled into the phone. “I’ll call you back.” It sounded like a scuffle ensued, and then the line went dead.

  Gretchen leaned against the porch railing and looked out over the deadly quiet street in front of her. A smile filled her whole face and moved into her soul. Will’s family sure did seem…lively, and Gretchen could use a little more zest in her days.

  Evening had started to fall before her phone rang, which was far longer than the five minutes Will had said he needed. Gretchen jabbed at the screen in her car to get the call to connect anyway, because his voice would be a welcome partner on her drive home.

  “Hey,” she chirped, wondering if she came through the speaker in his phone too loud.

  “Let me lead with an apology,” he said. “I’m sorry about earlier. I should’ve known I can’t answer a call in the middle of a family thing.” He sighed, and she could imagine him shaking that head of his. “The problem is, everything I do is a family thing. So I guess that’s the second thing you need to know.”

  “That you do things with your family?”

  “We eat dinner together nearly every night,” he said with a sigh that said it was akin to torture. “I cook on Fridays.”

  Gretchen’s eyebrows shot right up, nearly flying off her face. “Every Friday?”

  “I can switch the day around if I need to, but yeah.”

  Questions blitzed through her mind. She didn’t know which one to start with, so she drove in silence.

  “Anyway,” Will said with another sigh. “I was thinkin’ you might come out to the farm this afternoon, and we’d sneak into the Shoppe my sister runs and get some ice cream.”

  “I was at my daddy’s,” she said. “But I could’ve come.” She reached a stop sign and looked right. Her mind slowed. “I just left his place. I could still come…”

  “Could you?” he asked, the hope in his voice as high as the heavens above the earth. “I’ve got some things to do out in the barns, and the Shoppe is right across the lot from there.”

  “Okay,” she said, flipping her blinker from left to right. “You were on dish duty this afternoon?”

  “My oldest brother is an ogre,” Will said, a dark tone to his voice. “You think I am, but you haven’t met Lee yet.”

  “I met Lee at the tent thing,” Gretchen said. “He did seem to be in a foul mood then.”

  “Oh, well, that was because—” Will cut off, his voice just going mute. “That was a hard day for Lee, that’s all. But yeah, he cooked a lot today, and I said I’d do the dishes so he could take his son back to town.”

  “How’s your mother? You didn’t tell her about us?”

  He cleared his throat, and his voice sounded gruff when he said, “No, ma’am. I didn’t think there was much to tell yet.”

  Gretchen smiled into the nearly dark sky. For some reason, she liked this version of Will Cooper who felt put on the spot and out of his comfort zone. She had a feeling that didn’t happen very often for him, and while he complained about his family, he loved them fiercely too.

  “Anyway,” he said. “Give me a holler when you get here. If you turn right off the dirt road instead of left, you’ll be headin’ out to the barns and the Shoppe.”

  “Yes, sir,” Gretchen said, teasing him now. “I’ll give you a holler.” She giggled, glad when Will chuckled too. The call ended, and Gretchen basked in the fact that she and Will had made it through several conversations now without a horribly awkward exchange.

  “Not in person, though,” she said into the empty car, her hands suddenly kneading the steering wheel. Her headlights cut through the darkness, and Gretchen focused on the road ahead while she prayed.

  “Please let us have a decent in-person interaction tonight. Is that too much to ask?” She didn’t think so, and she pressed a little harder on the gas pedal so she could get to Will just a little faster.

  7

  Will finished the schedule for the week, sent the texts, and silenced his phone. He always got at least a dozen text-backs about what day wouldn’t work or if so-and-so could get off earlier than scheduled. He was honestly done with trying to herd cats around the farm, but he continued to do it, week after week.

  He fed the horses in the barn and swept out the aisles. He’d just left the barn when a pair of headlights cut through the darkness and entered the parking lot just beyond the Shoppe his sister ran. That had to be Gretchen, and Will pulled his phone out to check.

  Within five seconds, she called him, and he broke into a jog. He couldn’t believe that forty-eight hours ago, he’d typed out part of a message to cancel their date. His nerves still weren’t quite sure what he was doing, but he met her at her van as she opened the door and the light from inside illuminated a small space around her.

  “Hey,” she said, her voice warm and pliable. It sank right into his ears, and all Will could think about was holding her. So he took her into his arms and did exactly that. Gretchen stayed rigid for a moment, and then she melted into him. “Okay, so we’re hugging hello.” She giggled, and Will pressed his eyes closed for a couple of seconds.

  He had no idea what he was doing. He didn’t know what to say either. He was just so dang glad to see her. She calmed him, and made the black things in his life lighter. Everything that angered him simply didn’t matter anymore, and that was something that only running had accomplished for him.

  “Howdy,” he said as he stepped back. A smile stretched his face. “I don’t know why, but it’s so great to see you.”

  Gretchen blinked, her own smile pasted to her face. “Okay, so we’re going to work on how you deliver things.”

  Will frowned, not sure what she meant by that, and reached for her hand. “Is this okay?”

  She slipped her fingers through his and squeezed. “This is fine.”

  He watched her, but she wouldn’t look at him again. “I said something wrong?”

  “It would’ve been better had you just said, ‘it’s so great to see you.’ Not about why you don’t know why.”

  Will’s chest tightened and then released, the same way he flicked his fly fishing rod. Out and back. Out and back. He cleared his throat. “Okay. I can see that.” He guided her toward the Shoppe and took the key from his pocket. “So my sister makes all the cheese and ice cream here. We sell it.” He unlocked the door and took her inside.

  “I had no idea this was out here.” Gretchen looked around the Shoppe as Will fumbled to find the lights. He finally located the switches, and the Shoppe filled with light.

  “This month’s special is Berry Blast,” he said. “It’s pretty good.” He dropped her hand to go around the counter and scoop the ice cream. The weight of Gretchen’s gaze didn’t leave his face, and he looked at her as he reached for a cone. “Cone or cup?”

  “Cup, please,” she said. She cocked her head. “Do you eat ice cream? I thought you were off the sugar.”

  “This is fruit ice cream,” he said with a smile.

  Gretchen burst out laughing, and for a reason he couldn’t name—but he’d never say that again—he joined her. “It still has sugar, cowboy,” Gretchen said between her giggles.

  “Not as much though.” At least that was what he was telling himself, and he was going to stick to it. He quickly scooped up some ice cream into a cone for him, and he reached for a bowl for her. “What flavor do you want?”

  “The Berry Blast, of course.” Gretchen’s blue eyes dazzled him, and Will’s heart dive-bombed through his body. He scooped up her dessert and handed it to her with a spoon, then washed up the scoop and picked up his cone.

  Before he rounded the end of the ice cream counter, the bell on the door dinged. He froze, and Gretchen whirled toward the entrance. Clarissa stood there, both hands parked on her hips.

  “William Iverson Cooper,” she barked. “What are you doing?”

  He lifted his cone, hoping his smile would work on his little sister. “Getting dessert?”

  “You set off my alarm, you idiot.” She glared at him, her expression changing to one of compassion and caring when she looked at Gretchen. “Hello. You must be Gretchen Bellows.”

  “Yes,” Gretchen said, moving forward to shake Rissa’s hand. “I didn’t know we were out of bounds. He had a key.”

  “Traitor,” Will said, his throat narrowing. Rissa was going to kill him.

  “You have a key?” she asked, her voice this freaky-calm tone that sent chills through him. “That’s interesting.”

  “It’s right here,” he said, hastening to get it from his pocket and hand it to her. “We’re leaving.” He stepped to Gretchen’s side, who looked two seconds away from laughing. “Right, Gretchen?”

  “Yes,” she said, and Will silently begged Rissa not to say another word, at least right now. She was so much better than Travis, because she only nodded once as Will scampered out of the Shoppe, Gretchen in front of him.

  Freedom tasted like fresh country air and a berry mixture of ice cream in his mouth. He darted around the side of the Shoppe with Gretchen, where they both dissolved into laughter once again.

  “You didn’t ask permission?” Gretchen asked. “William Iverson Cooper.” She giggled again, took a bite of her ice cream, and looked at Will with stars in her eyes.

  He told himself not to fall in love with her in a single evening. He’d made that mistake before, and he’d been paying for it for a long time. He could hardly help himself, however, and he just shook his head and took another bite of his treat.

  It didn’t take long to eat through a single scoop of ice cream, and he got to his feet. He extended his hand to Gretchen to help her up, and nothing had been right in the world without her fingers between his. Will gave her a shy smile and kept his gaze on the ground as he walked her the few paces back to her vehicle.

  “Tuesday,” he said into the stillness around him.

  Before she could answer, the night lit up with blue and red lights, and a police siren went whoop!-whoop! seemingly an inch from his ear. Will turned around to find two cop cars screeching to a halt only feet from him, and an officer jumped from one of them.

  “Hold it right there,” he said.

  “No!” Clarissa yelled from somewhere in the darkness. “I turned off the alert.”

  More headlights joined the party in the small Shoppe lot, and Will’s countenance drooped to his toes as Daddy arrived in his big truck, then Lee in his.

  “Alarms goin’ off at the house,” Daddy said, coming forward to see who the perpetrator was. “Will?”

  “Sir, what’s going on?” the officer asked.

  “Nothing,” Rissa said.

  “It’s a spreadable cheese shop,” Will said into the chaos. “I had a key!” The only thing comforting him was Gretchen’s hand holding tightly to his.

  “I’m so sorry, Will,” Rissa said, turning to face him with panic in her eyes. “I turned off the alert.”

  Lee met Will’s eyes, and all he did was start to laugh. And laugh. And laugh.

  “All right,” Daddy said. “False alarm. Pack it up everyone. Time to go home.” He gave Will a cocked left eyebrow that said he’d be in even more trouble if he kept going down his current path, then limped off to get back in his truck.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” an officer asked, and Will wanted to turn lion on him and roar that of course she was okay. He had a key, and they snuck two scoops of ice cream, for crying out loud!

  “I’m fine,” Gretchen said, and she stood partially behind Will while everyone left.

  With his head hanging down, he finally faced her. “Sorry,” he said.

  “It’s okay.”

  He looked up and into her eyes. She couldn’t possibly think what had just happened was okay. “I feel cursed with you,” he said, not quite sure why he let his mouth say things without consulting his brain first.

  She flinched at his words. “Do you want to cancel for Tuesday night?”

  “No,” he said, reaching up slowly to run his fingers down the side of her face. Their eyes locked, and Will leaned toward her. He brushed his lips against her cheek and straightened before he made a bigger fool of himself. “If you’re willing to put up with my mouth, and my insane family, and awkward exchanges every time we’re together, and apparently a few cops every now and then, I’d love to see you on Tuesday night.”

  Gretchen smiled, nodded, and got in her minivan. Will stayed in the parking lot and watched her drive away. Then he looked up into the sky and blew out his breath. “Really, Lord? I had a key.”

  Will growled as he strained against the wrench, trying with every muscle in his body to get the nut to move. It finally did, releasing all at once and sending his elbow into the side of the machine.

  He swore, but there was no one around to hear him. Travis had pulled over three cowboys from the winter wheat planting to deal with the milking today, due to this machine going down over three hours ago. Not only that, but the rain had turned every single thing at Sweet Water Falls Farm into muck and mud.

  Will carried a lot of it on his jeans and boots, and he didn’t think there was a shower on this earth that could get him clean enough to go out with Gretchen tonight. He sat up and rubbed his elbow, glancing at the analog clock on the wall in the milkshed.

  Almost noon, and he didn’t see the work he had to do letting up in the next six hours. “You should cancel with her,” he said with a groan as he got to his feet. He reached for the package another of their cowboys had gone to town to get, and he got busy fixing the machine. Every cow they could get milked, rain or shine, needed to be done.

  In this moment in time, Will hated every machine in the world. He installed the new pump and wrenched everything back together. After taking ten seconds to stretch his back, he walked toward the outer area of the shed, where the cows were chuted in to be milked.

  “Try station seven now,” he yelled to no one in particular. Several men worked to get cows—Travis called them Berthas—into position, and someone went toward station seven. A cowboy fed a cow down to the station, and the suction hoses got hooked to her udders. A couple of moments later, milk sloshed into their canister.

  Relief like Will hadn’t experienced in a while cascaded through him, and he reached up and wiped his hand across his forehead. His stomach grumbled at him for something to eat, and he couldn’t remember what he’d been doing when he’d gotten word about the downed compression machine in the milkshed.