Page 31 of A Cowboy's Trust
Sunday evening, as the sun set behind the mountains and a bitter chill settled over the ranch, Jake gathered in the living room with the others. The nightly tradition they’d begun was one of the only things that gave him a sense of peace.
The fire crackled warmly in the hearth, filling the room with a comforting glow.
Kevin sat quietly in one corner, thumbing slowly through a thick book, his brow furrowed in concentration. Chris had declined to join them, claiming he wanted an early evening. Aiden plucked at the strings of his guitar, filling the air with a soft, classical melody that wrapped around everyone with a calming stroke.
Petra and Jinx sat together, crocheting. Petra’s hands moved with practiced ease, creating delicate patterns from brightly colored yarn. Jinx muttered under her breath when the unfamiliar motion caused her to slip. Or maybe it was because Jinx spent more time watching Declan than her own fingers.
Jake’s oldest brother sat nearby leafing through an old catalog.
“Very high tech, Declan,” Jinx teased, eyes twinkling with mischief. “I didn’t know they even printed those anymore.”
Declan’s lip barely moved, unfazed by the ribbing. “Old-fashioned doesn’t mean outdated, kid. I find treasures in these.” He held up a page featuring a pair of carved bear statues, one perched high in a tree. “What do you think? Which one would look better by the barn?”
Jinx pretended to scrutinize the page. “Definitely the one on the left,” she finally said, nodding sagely. “The other one looks too grumpy.”
“Kind of like Declan?” Aiden pondered out loud.
“I’m not grumpy. I’m dignified,” Declan deadpanned.
Jake chuckled at their exchange, feeling the tension of the day slowly slip away.
These were the moments he loved most—the simple, quiet evenings spent together as a family. No chaos, no emergencies, just the warmth of the fire and the easy comfort of being surrounded by the people who mattered most.
The main reason for his current happiness, though, was that Tansy sat beside him on the couch, flipping through a colouring book. She’d convinced him to try his hand at it earlier, passing him a set of coloured pencils and coaxing him into filling in one of the pages. He wasn’t much for art, but he’d done it anyway, mostly because he couldn’t resist that it gave him a chance to sit beside her and share the pencils.
“Means you can’t make lists tonight,” she whispered quietly.
Which only tempted him to write on the edge of the colouring page. In fact…
It was tough to do on the sly, but he managed. As he shaded in a section of the page, Tansy leaned against him, her body warm and soft. She handed him another pencil, her fingers brushing his.
“Here, try this one for the sky,” she suggested, her voice soft. “It’s the perfect shade of blue.”
Jake took the pencil from her with a nod, though the truth was he didn’t care much if the sky was pink. The best part of the evening was the way she’d curled up beside him, head resting on his shoulder at times, sharing the quiet.
He could get used to this. Maybe the worrying sensation was him being an overprotective ass.
“Hey. What’s that?” She tugged the page out of his hands and lifted it to her nose. When she twisted the page ninety degrees, then snickered, Jake knew she’d found his list.
All around the outside of the picture he’d written in the smallest letters possible:
Kiss Tansy
Kiss Tansy
Kiss Tansy
Kiss Tansy
“You’re a goof,” she whispered.
Jake tucked his arm tighter around her and soaked in the sweetness of having her close and getting to maybe learn how to be more optimistic as well as spontaneous.
That idea flew out the window the next day when a new ranch hand showed up. The bruised eye the man sported was spectacular shades of green and purple and looked as if it hurt like hell, but when he quietly asked to speak to Declan, there was nothing belligerent in his actions.
But something seemed off. Jake and Aiden kept at their chores even as they both observed silently.
Not even fifteen minutes later, Declan brought the man to Room 1 in the bunkhouse area then motioned for Aiden and Jake to meet him inside the barn where they could talk privately.
