Page 68 of A Cowboy's Bride
“I’ll check with Petra, but I think it’ll work. We’d enjoy that.”
On the return journey, Jinx walked quietly at Aiden’s side, Dixie prancing between them. It was the type of quiet that was less about being peaceful and more about having a million things running through your brain so quickly that they tripped over each other.
Aiden recognized it because he was pretty much facing that same sensation inside his own head these days. With so much he wanted to accomplish, and so much he hoped for, at times it felt as if the only thing he could do was sit and let his mind race faster than it was possible to plan or hope or dream.
Still, as Jeff would have done, Aiden cleared his throat. “You got anything you need to talk about? If not with me, then Petra?”
Jinx wrinkled her nose. “It just feels—” She glanced up. “How come everything’s working out so well?”
Ah. Aiden considered for a moment, thinking back to when Jeff had taken control and kept their world from falling apart. “Maybe you need to consider a little harder that this is what life is supposed to be like.”
She stopped walking and stared, her big grey eyes full of questions.
He shrugged. “There are a lot of things that happen in this world that shouldn’t. You got into a tough place through no fault of your own. But that’s not what your world was supposed to be like. If you want to use big fancy words, that was never really your destiny. You didn’t deserve the bad, but you definitely deserve the good. And it’s not going to go away, we promise.”
They stood at the edge of the clearing with the animal rescue and future studio in front of them. A blue autumn sky hung overhead as tears filled Jinx’s eyes. She swallowed hard then nodded. “Okay. Okay, I can think about that when I start to feel scared.Thisis where I’m supposed to be, and that’s why good things are happening.”
Aiden wanted to shout to the sky. He wanted to sweep this girl up and swing her in a circle and ensure her thatyes, this was where she belonged and that the good things were going to continue.
What he did was tilt his head toward the barn. “Just enough time for you to deal with the chickens before supper.”
Jinx nodded and took a couple steps toward the barn before coming back and looking up at him bravely. “Thank you.”
“Of course, kiddo.”
He watched her all the way into the barn, Dixie sticking to her heels. Then he took a stroll to give himself time to get his emotions under control.
He was still thinking about the conversation the following week when a shiny red truck pulled up in front of the house just as he and his brothers were headed toward the barn to keep working on the renovations.
“Finally.” Jake paced forward to meet the dark-skinned man climbing down from the cab. “Kevin. Welcome.”
Aiden glanced at Declan. “I thought he wasn’t going to make it until next week.”
“Not going to complain that he’s here ahead of time,” Declan said, following along after Jake.
The man was lean to the point he was nothing but sinew and muscle stretched over bone. He moved smoothly, grabbing a rucksack from the truck bed and throwing it over his shoulder before turning to face the brothers.
His dark brown hair was cut short to his head, with expressive dark brown eyes and a wicked looking cut that ran down the left side of his face, narrowly missing his eye. The wound was closed but still healing.
Kevin held out a hand to Jake and shook it firmly. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“Thanks for saying you’d join us.” Jake shook his head and pointed at his own face. “That’s new.”
Kevin raised his uninjured brow. “Parting gift from my last job.”
Declan stepped forward and offered his hand. “Hopefully we won’t have any close calls for you here.”
“People are unpredictable,” Kevin said without malice. He greeted Aiden as well then stepped back to take an admiring look around the place. “I know you said you’re not ready, but I don’t mind swinging a hammer. Might be a nice change of pace for a while.”
“We’ll take any kind of help you want to give,” Jake assured him, slapping a hand on his shoulder and guiding him toward the living quarters. “We do have one resident already, but we’ll introduce you when the time is right.”
“That’s right. You warned me about that,” Kevin nodded. Then he opened his hands wide. “Put me to work, boys.”
Petra and Jinx were on the schedule to make supper that night. Aiden slipped in ahead of time to give them a heads-up there would be one more at the table.
“He’s the therapist we told you about,” Aiden reminded Jinx quietly. “But he’s also here because he needs a home like High Water as well.”
Jinx leaned against the counter, slipping closer to Petra without being aware of it. “I don’t want to talk to him. Not tonight.”
