Page 61 of A Rancher's Vow
“You knew he was putting your picture up with Dustin’s.”
“Yeah. He texted and asked permission. I said it was okay, but wow.” It was a little overwhelming to see herself online again, this time next to Dustin and mixed in with the family. And the picture they’d found was…
Wow. Again.
Two Christmases ago Charity had helped organize a Not-So-Nutcracker fundraiser, and Dustin had been a willing victim during the event. He’d ended up dancing with the children she taught, which meant she’d spent time making sure his dance moves coordinated with the kids. Someone had snapped a shot of just the two of them while they were goofing off. She’d never seen it before.
Dustin had his arm around her shoulders, both of their chins lifted in laughter. The wood behind them had been part of the set, but in the picture, it could have been any of the barns at Silver Stone.
Charity wore a pair of fake reindeer antlers on a head band, the fuzzy things poking up through her curls and turning her into an adorable holiday creature. Dustin wore the silver cowboy hat with a princess tiara on the brim that his nieces had made for him.
It was a fun picture, and compared to the others of his siblings, a lot more light-hearted and youthful. They looked good.
They looked goodtogether.
“It’s great.” Charity said the words firmly, as if saying it would make her less aware of how much she didn’t belong, no matter what the pictures said. She clicked off the screen and handed the phone back to her friend. “If it makes Dustin’s life easier, I’m glad.”
Fern accepted her phone silently. But her expression said volumes.
Charity frowned. “What?”
“Nothing. Just wondering what the plan is now.”
Good. They needed to move off the topic of the pictures of her and him that madethemlook too connected for her heart’s good. “We’ll be doing some stuff together with you and Shim over the next while as usual. To make sure the dating story keeps up steam.”
“You’re really thinking of attending the auction?” Charity nodded, her mouth full of pizza, and Fern looked thoughtful. “It’s not a bad idea. I’m helping coordinate, by the way.”
Charity swallowed her mouthful then responded. “The bachelor auction?”
“Yeah. Rose and Tansy finished most of the grunt work already. But my brother-in-law Chance got a last-minute invitation to some swanky art gallery opening in Ireland, and he ended up taking the lot of them with him. Rose, Tansy, his brother Cody. They left yesterday and won’t be back until the tenth.”
“That’s exciting.”
Fern grinned. “Rose was over the moon. She’s wanted to go to Ireland ever since Chance came to town. But back to the auction, my dad is emceeing, as usual. If you guys are in the crowd, I can make sure Dad knows to do a brief spotlight on you at a time that works for you to get away safely.”
Being in the spotlight sounded scary, but at the same time, it might help. “Not a bad idea. I’ll ask Dustin, and if he says yes, then your dad is the perfect one to deal with it.” Charity laughed. “What’s your father going to do this year without Tansy there to annoy him by bidding wildly for every cowboy?”
“There’s always some excitement when she’s around, isn’t there?” Fern shrugged. “You and Dustin will be our excitement this year.”
“I hope not.” Charity refilled her plate. “Okay, next step. Finish supper, then relax.”
“To power relaxing.” Fern raised her pizza in the air. “And to friends, whatever that looks like.”
Charity’s brain chugged like a piston while Fern clicked on a movie for them to watch. Friends, yes. Butfriendsdidn’t look the way she and Dustin did in that picture.
They looked likemore, and she wasn’t sure what to do with that information.
Turningup the approach to Silver Stone ranch was both familiar and foreign. The main gate that had been open forever stretched across the asphalt, blocking his path.
One of the hands popped out from a wooden security building beside the road that hadn’t been there before Dustin left.
“Damn.” He pulled to a stop and rolled down his window, dipping his head at the familiar face. “Roy. This is new.”
“Hey, Dustin. Yeah, Tucker and Caleb decided it was easier to stop the invaders here than to get them to turn around and leave later.” Roy stepped to the side and pushed the button to make the massive gate sections roll apart. “You get harassed much when you were down at your uncle’s?”
For a second Dustin wondered that Roy would mention the animosity between him and his uncle, then he realized the man was talking about the media bullshit. “No one showed up, thank God. You guys dealt with the bulk of it, I’m sorry to say.”
Roy shrugged. “Not a bad thing to get attention on Silver Stone. Your info being handed out—that wasn’t right.”
