Page 73 of A Cowboy's Bride
“I think my blood got thinner over the summer.”
He tickled her side lightly. “You’re from a place very close to what they affectionately call Winter-peg. It’s barely below freezing right now. What are you going to do when it’s officially winter?”
She trapped his fingers and held them tightly to her belly. “Keep the fire inside the house going hot enough we’ll be down to shirt sleeves and shorts.”
He snorted. “Thank you for the heads-up. I’ll immediately order some ridiculous board shorts to annoy my brothers.”
In the distance, a large SUV slowly took the turn off the highway. “There they are,” Petra told him happily. “I’m so excited we’re at this milestone.”
They got to their feet. Aiden wrapped his arm around her waist, pacing slowly toward the parking area to meet their guests. “Where’s Jinx?”
“Already in the studio. She and Sasha had some kind of surprise they wanted to set up.”
The idea should’ve made him nervous, considering the elegant looking man exiting the car with Rose Fields and Tansy was someone they needed to impress.
But Jinx had an idea, and he was going to support her no matter what.
“Good if I make the introductions?” Petra asked quietly.
“Of course, but I doubt you’ll get a word in edgewise considering this isTansy’seventual brother-in-law.”
Which meant they were laughing when they arrived.
Tansy examined them with one brow raised. “Why do I have a sneaky suspicion you were talking about me?”
Petra snickered. “Because you have an overinflated sense of self?”
The tall gentleman’s lips twitched. “I see you know my future sister-in-law very well.”
An enormous sigh escaped Tansy. “I amsomisunderstood. Well, not really,” she added immediately before performing a grand presentation arm sweep. “Aiden Skye, this is my imminent brother-in-law, Chance Gabrielle. You know my sister, Rose. Chance, this is Aiden. Co-owner of High Water ranch and Petra’s eye candy of choice.”
Aiden held out a hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“And you. There’s been a lot of speculation about what you’re doing here. When you called and offered a tour, I felt as if I’d won the lottery.”
Another vehicle pulled in behind the SUV, and a dark-haired girl with tight curls popped out, waving her arm in the air. Sunlight glinted off the metal hook of her prothesis. “Don’t start without me.”
“Our youngest sister, Fern,” Tansy added. “What’re you doing here, short stuff?”
“I invited her,” Chance said. “I hope you don’t mind, but Fern is working with me at the art studio, and she’s very involved in all of the educational activities we’ve coordinated around Heart Falls.”
“Not a problem,” Aiden insisted. He offered his hand to Fern as well as she joined the group. “Fern.”
She had a firm grip and a sparkle in her eyes. “Good to finally meet you. I think I spotted you and Petra on the dance floor one night at Rough Cut, but that’s not a place that encourages deep conversations or lasting friendships.”
Aiden’s mind shot back to meeting Petra there, but he focused on the task at hand. “If we’re all here, let’s give you that tour.”
He led the way the short distance to the entrance staircase to the upper level. The staircase wrapped around the outside of the building, where a cleverly constructed angled roof protected the stairs from the snow and rain. An ample landing on the second floor gave a chance for the first step into the upper rooms to hit with full impact.
Even though Aiden had been looking at the view every day for the past couple of months, it was a sight to behold. With the walls painted a sunny yellow and sunlight reflecting off the polished pine boards underfoot, the entire place glowed. With the recessed lighting overhead, that same wall colour turned into a beautiful candlelight glow in the evening, without shadows but no longer eye-blinkingly bright. A cozy place where people could talk and visit.
Small private rooms lined the sides. The back of the main room, with its long counter, multiple sinks, and small kitchen, was accessible to the entire studio yet somehow unobtrusive.
Near the southern bank of windows, they’d set up a series of easels, each one catching the light perfectly. In the opposite corner they’d arranged a set of comfy couches, with places to relax and share at the end of the day or sit and read a book.
From the overhead speakers, a soft lilting flute sounded, a timeless melody played a little slower than usual, but the music mixed with the presentation of the space so perfectly Aiden wanted to applaud Petra for having come up with the idea. How she had managed to organize it, he had no idea.
“Oh, wow.” Fern wandered past, staring around her in awe.
