Page 56 of The Rancher's Heart

“Then why did he almost throw it all away and then have to sell off half the ranch and his prize stud to make things right?” When Nathan looked like he wanted to keep telling him how wrong he was, Jonas grabbed his hat from the table and headed out the door. “I’m going to ride up to the cottage.”

Sloane was his very best friend. The disappointment mixed with anger that flashed at him from her brown eyes when she told him what Julieann had said about Sloane not being his type said it all, stabbing him hard in the gut.

He didn’t blame the socialite for pointing out what she saw as the flaw in his and Sloane’sengagement. It was his own damn fault for not seeing the real truth sooner. He could have saved Sloane all the hurt he’d inadvertently caused her if only he’d just been honest with himself.

Grace, her white coat covered with small chestnut spots that gleamed in the sunshine, her long white tail swishing as she nudged his shoulder when he finished saddling the mare, was ready to go. He pointed her toward the cottage.

He didn’t need his brother, or anyone else for that matter, to tell him to watch his step with Sloane. He knew what he’d done wrong. Like the time he’d taken her to the Denver Botanic Gardens for her birthday. They were having an orchid showcase, and she’d been so excited that he’d almost kissed her right in the middle of all those colorful, arching stems, but he’d caught himself in time. Their lifelong friendship was as rare and hard to maintain as the plants surrounding them.

Instead of kissing her, he’d put up a wall neither of them could breach. He’d known it was the wrong move, and he’d tried his best to make it up to her, but his efforts didn’t get him the results he wanted. Which was what exactly?

He didn’t know until she stomped into the house after he had backed her into a role she didn’t want to play or at least hadn’t expected. He still wondered what would have happened to them if they had kissed in that beautiful garden, surrounded by color and light.

Jonas hadn’t been fooling around when he offered to find her a husband. Or not exactly. He was trying to figure out if he could be that guy, but she turned the tables on him, so he finally told her the truth—except, Nathan was right—the woman he’d described was Sloane.

As he topped the hill, the front of The Wedding Cottage came into view. When he and his brothers had worked on it together, they’d preserved as much as they could of what their mother loved about her special getaway place. They’d also enclosed the front porch in a way he knew she would appreciate.

He remembered that when he returned home from college that she took solace from spending time in the shed her husband had built for her when she needed to break away from three rambunctious boys.

Except for Blake and Malorie’s wedding, he hadn’t been back since the reno was completed. In the clear sunlight, the light gray-green color of the cottage blended into the calming landscape. The flower garden off to the side. Imposing mountains rising in the near distance.

The sounds of late summer welcomed Jonas. He understood why his mom loved it here. The whole place was... warm... and peaceful. It wasn’t surprising the cottage had been consistently rented out for weddings since opening for business.

He dismounted, and on the backside of the cottage, looped Grace’s reins around the rail placed near a small trough for the occasions when horses needed watering.

The garden reminded him of all the ways his dad had shown his mom how much he loved her, and their boys—the house he’d built for them, each Rangerbred horse they bought together, getting his boys to help design the Triple L sign that was erected over the entry to the ranch just for their mom. Jonas remembered it all.

Ending up in front of the heart carved into one of a pair of giant aspens, he finally gave up his anger at his dad’s arrogance that he didn’t have to be careful about something as fragile as his love for Zelda. Adam had been so sure he could fix anything—his gambling, his failing ranch. He’d risked too much.

Jonas hadn’t fallen far from the father tree. His high-handedness was worse, since at least his dad hadn’t pushed the love of his life away, putting himself in a box his mom couldn’t unlock.

A loves Z.“Mom... how do I fix this?” Jonas skimmed his fingers across the carving. He didn’t need to ask. He already knew.

Still, he thought he heard her comforting voice. “You can do this, son.”

Taking out his phone, he texted Sloane.“We’re more than friends, right?”

She didn’t answer right back. Impatient, he mounted Grace and rode back to the ranch. By the time he got to the high ground, where he had the best view of the house, barn, and ranch yard, his cell pinged a message.

“We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“We’ll always be close, won’t we?”

She was quicker this time.“Of course.”The shortness of her response wasn’t very reassuring.

“Can we talk?”

After stabling Grace and removing her saddle, he brushed her down, but had still heard nothing from Sloane. He nudged her.“Sloane?”

“I’m sorry. I’m busy at the garage for the next two days. Clara will be in school. And we’re planning to spend some time with my dad. The rodeo starts on Wednesday. We promised Blake and Nathan we’d help with the flyers.”

If he was a swearing man—“I’ll catch up with you at the rodeo, then.”

“Okay. There’s an introductory backpacking class on Wednesday. I emailed you the link.”

He accepted her challenge. At least she hadn’t given up on him completely, but she wasn’t happy. For a man who preferred to control all aspects of his life, he’d sure made a mess of things. First, by not making Julieann understand that he was truly unavailable before she followed him to Strawberry Ridge. And then by taking his friendship with Sloane too much for granted. Or really, not understanding it wasn’t just being friends he needed. He wanted Sloane’s love.

Patting Grace on her shoulder, he went into the house. Nathan had moved their parents’ letters to the sideboard and stacked them neatly on the shelf just below his mom’s china. Making a pot of strong coffee, Jonas took a steaming mug, along with the letters, to the chair next to the fireplace and started with the letter dated just before his dad’s passing. By the time he finished all the letters, it was dark outside.

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