Page 4 of The Rancher's Heart

He stepped in front of her, so she’d have to go around him to leave. “You’re not going to have cake before you leave?”

“I’m not hungry, and I need to head home and get ready,” she said, narrowing her gaze on him.

He knew the answer, but Jonas couldn’t help asking, “For your date?”

“Smart guy.” With a spark he recognized in her eyes, she patted him on the chest as she edged around him until she’d put space between them and had her back to her truck.

She didn’t like it when he butted into her business, something that was new in their relationship. But what the heck? They were friends. Close friends. Eventually, she would tell him what was going on. The problem was, he didn’t want to wait too long to find out what had changed between them. “How about breakfast tomorrow morning? I can pick you up.”

“Fine,” she said before spinning on her heel. “Nine o’clock. Not a minute before.”

“Okay.” Jonas frowned. He was confused. Sloane was never this dismissive. He called after her, “Have fun.”

He watched her climb into her truck and take off without looking back.

Nathan was sitting at one of the tables with Izzy. Jonas joined them. Breaking eye contact with his fiancée, Nathan glanced over. “You ready to give your speech?”

“Sure.” Jonas wanted to roll his eyes but kept his game face on instead. “Do you know who Sloane is dating?”

“No. Why? Do you want to take the lovely mechanic out?” Nathan asked with a sly wink.

“I can’t date her.” Jonas leaned his chin on his fist. “We’re best friends.”

“Well, then, I guess you’re going to have to get used to her going on a lot of dates. Right, Izzy?” Nathan eyed him, a grin spreading across his face that made no secret of the fact that his brother knew something Jonas didn’t.

Speculation brightened Izzy’s blue eyes. “I believe you’re right.”

Jonas straightened. “What are you guys talking about?”

Nathan leaned into Izzy. Both watched him, their lips pressed together to hold in whatever they thought was funny.

“She didn’t tell us not to tell him, did she, sweetheart?” Nathan asked his fiancée.

Izzy shrugged, humor making the corners of her lips curl. “No.”

Nathan finally cut him a break. “She signed up with one of those popular dating apps. Her first date is tonight.”

Jonas jumped up from his chair. “Sloane wouldn’t do something like that without telling me about it.” There was no way—

The teasing grin left his brother’s face. “Are you sure about that? You haven’t been around much until recently. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t give you the right to have much say in how or who she dates.”

He had no say in who she dated? Of course, he didn’t. But he could offer advice if she wanted any.

He walked in a tight circle. Nathan was right. He had no right to be surprised... or even angry. It wasn’t like Sloane was his girl, or that she’d made any promises to him. For Pete’s sake, other than their friendship, he hadn’t committed to her either.

He had no excuse except that, over the years, whenever they could, they’d spent as much time together as possible. She’d even come to Denver occasionally to go with him to a concert or a play or to hang out for a weekend. In all that time, they’d never once talked about taking their relationship to the next level. He’d had his law practice to build, which later took up a lot of his spare time. She was busy at her family’s garage. And they lived six hours apart.

He sat back down and picked up his fork. “Is the cake good?”

“It’s perfect,” Izzy said, taking another bite.

Jonas shoved a forkful in his mouth and nodded. He looked over at Nathan. “Before she passed, do you know if Mom did something with Duke’s papers? Maybe they’re in the box with Dad’s letters?” He knew she’d saved every one she’d gotten from his dad. “I can’t find the box. Have you seen it?”

“The one made of oak with a heart and couple carved into the lid?”

Jonas put down his fork. “That’s the one.”

Suddenly, Nathan straightened. “You know we’re not looking for Duke’s registration papers, but his sire, Duke’s Pride’s, papers, right? Duke’s only five years old.”

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