Page 15 of A Cowboy's Trust
“Looking forward to it.”
Tansy snagged him by the hand and hauled him through the house. It wasn’t exactly messy, but the place was filled from top to bottom with interesting things. He wouldn’t have minded a slower tour, but suddenly he was pushed through the kitchen and face-to-face with Tansy’s older sister.
Pale white hair cut in a bob framed her thin face, and she blinked at him for a moment before offering a smile. “Hello. Did you bring home a stray, Tansy?”
“He’s housebroken,” Tansy promised. She turned to her sister. “Ivy, this is Jake Skye. One of the owners of High Water ranch, brother-in-law once removed to Jinx Tremont who is now your niece Sasha’s bestie.”
It was amusing as heck to see that was how Tansy introduced him. “Nice to meet you,” Jake said. “May I offer you my heartiest congratulations on surviving being sister to Tansy.” When Ivy’s lips twitched, he winked. “I hear you have three children somewhere in the house.”
Her smile only widened. “And a husband to go with the three sisters, two parents, and two grandparents. A plethora of blessings.” She glanced over her shoulder then pointed to the far corner of the room. “The girls are with their great grandma. Which means my son is outside with his Great Grandpa Ashton.”
Tucked in the corner of the room was an oversized recliner. In it sat an older woman with silver white hair and little girl tucked under each arm and a book in her lap. In another one of those interesting twists, Jake knew exactly who she was even though he’d never met her face-to-face.
She and her husband were the previous owners of the animal rescue they’d bought. She read expressively even as her gaze darted over to take in Jake and Tansy.
“Excuse me.” Ivy slipped away, headed into the kitchen where she joined her father working at the stove.
Tansy twirled around Jake for a moment, tugging him toward the side wall. “The rule is if somebody leaves suddenly without much of a warning, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Not offended,” Jake assured her. He took another glance around the room. “I hear voices at the front door, which I assume would be your sister Rose along with her fiancé. If I’m counting right, there’ll be over a dozen people here for dinner.”
She considered for a moment then nodded. “Sounds about right.”
It was not at all what he was used to. “On a Thursday night, for no special reason.”
“Family means there’s always a special reason,” Tansy insisted. She frowned for a second and then her face took on that interesting twist. “It’s not an official party, but it is Grandpa Ashton’s birthday. Also, I hear Chance and Rose’s voices, and it sounds as if Chance’s brother came along as well. Have you met Cody yet?”
Jake had. Which meant this impulsive evening was turning out to be a whole lot more interesting and less about putting himself into an awkward situation than expected.
The combination of putting himself out there and having a good time seemed to be hitting the nail on the head a little too hard, though. It had to be mostly a coincidence.
Tansy nodded briskly. “Okay, I’m going to go see if anything needs to be done in the kitchen. Wander, make yourself at home. There are drinks on the island, and my brother-in-law Walker is around somewhere.”
He was about to reassure her he’d be fine when she patted his cheek, whirling away a second later and leaving him standing there.
Another pat to the cheek. Definitely getting the vibes that he was either being humoured or treated like some sort of overgrown St. Bernard. Either way, right now he didn’t mind one bit.
He made his way to the island and found a bucket filled with long neck beer on ice. Across the room he spotted Walker Stone and lifted a beer at him in question. When the other man nodded, he grabbed two, popped off the tops, and took a stroll to join him.
Somewhere in the middle of this evening, Jake might just lose some of the grumpiness that had been plaguing him for the last while. Although it didn’t help that the thought kept coming back?—
Tansy had been involved with every incident of him having a good time recently.
It was something to be thought over a whole lot harder before he did anything about it.
As usual,hanging out with her family was a little slice of heaven. They’d finished stuffing themselves, and now Tansy curled tighter into her sister Rose’s side and rested her head on Rose’s shoulder.
Her sister linked their fingers together and leaned right back. “You okay?”
“Peachy keen,” Tansy informed her. “I mean, I miss you, but at the same time, it’s been really neat to wake up in the morning and do something different than I’ve done for years and years.”
“You’re still cooking,” Rose pointed out. “Although, I suppose there’s a big difference between cooking family style and the short-order stuff at Buns and Roses.”
Tansy thought for a moment. It wasn’t only about the work she was doing. But it wasn’t her secret to tell about the underlying mission behind High Water, so she kept her mouth shut on that part.
But somehow knowing that she could make a difference in someone else’s life—the potential was there—made her world a whole lot more sparkly.
Six-year-old Harper climbed into Tansy’s lap. She pressed her hands to Tansy’s cheeks and stared her intently in the eyes. “Auntie Tan.”
