Page 79 of More Than a Helping Hand

She nods. “Thanks for telling me.”

Then she reaches for me, and I lean down to let her hug me.

“And thank you for saving Bailey.” Her lips brush my cheek, then she turns and hurries away.

It takes every ounce of my willpower not to holler, “I love you.”

* * *

That night,I’m lying in bed when Primrose calls. “Hello.”

“Hi. I’m sorry to bother you, but I promised Bailey I’d call you.” Primrose sounds nervous. “She wanted me to thank you again for getting her out of the tree. Also, my mom wants you to know that you’re welcome to come to Thanksgiving dinner. That’s why Bailey called me. She wanted to remind me to invite you. I don’t want things to be weird for you, but we’d enjoy having you.”

“Tell your mom thanks for the invitation, but Brooke is coming to the ranch. Ava is planning a feast from what I hear.”

“You could bring Brooke with you to our house. We’d all love to meet her. My sister and her family are driving in. Paisley and her crew will be here. But we’ll have plenty of food.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You aren’t really Brooke’s favorite person right now.” I want to whap myself for saying that out loud. Then I add, “But I’m working on that. She just needs some time.”

“Right. Okay. Well, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving.”

“Is Bailey coming to the ranch anymore this week?”

“No. My sister gets in tomorrow, so Bailey’s staying with my parents while I work so that she can play with her cousins.”

“Fun. I’m glad it worked out for your family to be all together.” I should win an Oscar for this performance.

“Mom’s excited.” Prim’s quiet for a moment, then clears her throat. “I won’t keep you. You have to be up early to do all that cowboy stuff. But I’ll see you around.”

“Thanks for calling.”

“Bye.” She whispers the last word before ending the call.

* * *

The evening before Thanksgiving,Archer shows up at my door.

“Hi. Everything okay? Lettie’s not having that baby right now, is she?”

Archer shakes his head. “Due date is still a couple of months away. But she’s craving Mediterranean food, so I’m headed to San Antonio to get her some. Come with me.”

“Um, okay. Let me throw on my boots.”

“Great. I’ll be in the truck.” He walks off the porch.

I know he’s not asking because he wants company on the drive. While Dallas avoids talking about matters of the heart most of the time, Archer doesn’t. But if I don’t bring up Primrose, maybe he won’t either. It’s not like he knows we were dating.

I slide into the passenger seat and buckle in. “Cravings, huh? Does she get those a lot?”

“The other day I drove to Llano to get her potato salad from a barbecue place there. Making Lettie happy makes me happy.”

That fact is obvious to all of us.

The radio plays as we drive into town, and we’re both content just to listen. By the time we make it to the restaurant, I’m starting to think that maybe Archer did just want company. Or maybe he has a problem he wants to discuss. I’m so stuck in my own thoughts, it’s taken me a while to even ponder the idea that he’s having trouble.

At the restaurant, he gets the food and stows it in a thermal bag to keep it warm. Then we’re on the road again.

And when we’re on the highway, I break our quiet streak. “You and Lettie doing okay? If there’s something you need to talk about, I’m willing to listen.”

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