Page 58 of The Rancher's Heart

“I’ll take care of the horses. I’m sure you can talk your lady into taking the morning off.”

“Maybe.” Nathan folded his arms across his chest and stared at Jonas.

Jonas grinned. “Do I have to pull the big brother card to get you to take some time off?”

“No, I guess not,” Nathan relented, his brows arching as he pulled his cell from his pocket. “You’re up to something.”

“I’m feeling generous.”

Nathan smirked and walked out of the kitchen, his phone to his ear.

“Be sure and tell my future sister-in-law that you guys spending the day together was my idea,” he called after his brother.

Now if he could get Sloane’s cooperation that easily.

Waiting for Nathan to leave, he took his coffee into the office, sat at the desk, and pulled up the pedigree record he and Sloane had put together. It was a good start, but someday, he hoped to have the breeding program back to the herd that his dad had developed.

Nathan stuck his head in the doorway. “I’m out of here.” He frowned. “Do you want me to put Duke and the ladies in the pasture before I leave?”

“Nope.” Jonas came from behind the desk. “I’m on it. Now get out of here. And hug sister-in-law for me.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Nathan said and yawned as if that was the most tiresome thing he’d heard all week.

Shooing his brother out of the house ahead of him, Jonas watched from the barn while his brother waved and took off. He was happy. Jonas was glad. Both of his brothers deserved to have what their parents had—the kind of love that would bring them peace and purpose for all the years to come.

Peace and purpose.He could use some of that too. With Sloane. Waking up next to her every morning. Raising horses—and, hopefully, kids—together. The years they would spend side by side stretching into the far future.

He brushed down the horses and put them out to pasture, then cleaned out the stalls before inspecting the apartment over the barn. It could use a light dusting but otherwise would work when they had to hire hands to help with the horses as their numbers grew.

Checking the time, he went back to the ranch house and placed a DoorDash order from Luke’s Diner to be taken to Sloane. She wouldn’t take a break until she was too hungry to keep going. And if she wouldn’t agree to a meal with him, then he would send one to the stubborn woman. At least, she would know he was thinking of her, and perhaps she would clue in that he was offering something more than just their everyday friendship.

Showered, he returned to the office and the pedigree record. He had nothing more to add for now, so he pulled out a sheet of copy paper and spent the rest of the afternoon drawing plans for the house he wanted to build on the north side of the pond for him and Sloane and Clara. Since he wasn’t building a home just for himself anymore, he hoped Sloane would want to live on the ranch after they were married.

Married.He hadn’t even kissed the girl yet.

His phone pinged an incoming text.“Thanks for lunch.”

He stared at the words on the screen, then texted back.“You’re welcome.”

He put the drawing aside, unable to entertain the idea that she wouldn’t want to live there with him. Until she told him to his face that she wouldn’t marry him even if he was the last guy on the planet, he would remain hopeful.

Jonas shook his head. It would serve him right for fooling himself—and Sloane—all these years.

Restless the next morning, stopping to check the mail on his way to the rodeo grounds, he shifted through the stack when he got back into the Mustang, throwing all but one into the front passenger seat. It was from the lab. Holding his breath, he opened the envelope and quickly read through the pages, his grin growing as he came to the pedigree at the end.

He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand and whooped when he got to the results. “Hot dog!”

They’d done it! They could register Duke with the CRHA and get started on their breeding program. Finances would be a little tricky while they put the Triple L on its feet, but they could stop worrying about losing the ranch. And if Duke won his class in the barrel racing competition tomorrow, that would be the cherry on top of the icing.

Jonas laughed and turned up the music as he drove to the rodeo grounds. He couldn’t wait to tell Sloane. And his brothers, of course.

He found his family, Sloane, Clara, and her dad, Ron, manning a table near the ticket booth. Stepping up in front of Sloane on the other side of the table, he held out the letter from the lab. “Look what I got in the mail this morning.”

“What’s this?” Cautiously, giving him only a glance, she took the letter.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Read it.”

He watched as her pretty eyes scanned the pages. Her lips twitched into a smile.

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