“Don’t you get it?” I ask. “You’ve always been a part of my life. I don’t want us to screw that up!”

I look in his deep green eyes and see the fear that floats over the surface. He’s scared, too. It may not be for the same reasons, but it’s there.

“You’re actin’ like I think we should get married. We’re friends, we’ll always be friends, and maybe we can be more.”

“I’m not sayin’ that. I worry that I’m going to lose something that means a lot to me.”

“Which is?” Cooper asks.

“Our friendship.”

Cooper gets closer and shakes his head. “You’re not going to. Trust me.”

I do trust him, it’s me I don’t trust.

“So, I’ll keep workin’, and you can decide about dinner.”

The least I can do to show my gratitude is have dinner with him. Cooper has been here, busting his butt, and I am eternally grateful for it. Plus, after being with him all day, I want to keep hanging out with him. He makes me feel different. I don’t worry about pissing him off and him disappearing. It’s easy and light. Not everything is this big deal, and he’s sweet.

“All right. I’ll have dinner with you.”

“How about we avoid driving?” Cooper suggests and gives me a grin. “Lessens the chance that we’ll blow a tire again.”

“As friends?”

“As friends, just dinner. I can cook if you want,” Cooper offers.

There is no way out of this, and if I don’t really have a choice, I might as well make sure the food is edible. “I’ll cook. Lord knows we don’t want to eat whatever you make. Come over to my place tonight, we can talk, eat, and see about a second chance at a date.”

“Then I get to pick the movie,” he tacks on. “If you’re cookin’ then I’m providing the entertainment.”

I know Cooper’s taste in movies. “I’m not watching some John Wayne movie. You’re going to have to pick a movie made from this millennium.” I point my finger at him, and he laughs.

“They all suck.”

“No, they don’t. You’re stuck on the same five movies. It’s time to broaden your horizons.”

Cooper leans in, kisses my cheek, and then walks toward the door. “I’ve got a lot of work to do on that tractor. You’ve got some food to make.” He grins. “Get to it, woman.”

My hands brace the edge of the barn door and my temple rests against my knuckles as I watch him walk toward the tractor. I almost think he’s going to leave without looking back, but then he turns and smiles.

“Hey, Grace?” Cooper questions. “This may not be a date, but don’t be surprised if I bring flowers again.”

He seems persistent about doing this, and honestly, I’ve warned him all I can. Emily is right, he’s a big boy and isn’t going into this blind.

I lift my head and muster my courage. “Be there by eight.”

“I have the perfect movie,” he yells back.

“Which is?”

“Not tellin’. I’ll see you tonight!”

Cooper waves once before he disappears. Dinner at my house, no chance of tires exploding, and just two old friends sharing a meal.

What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter 10

Trent

“D ad , stop.” I swat at his hand as he tries to fix the line on my rod. I’ve been fishing since I was three, and he still treats me like an idiot. Today is not the day to fuck with me. I’m in no mood. We’ve been out here for hours, and I still haven’t caught a damn thing.

“Does Daddy need to fix your line again?” Wyatt tries to piss me off, which happens often.

I flip him off and go back to adjusting the fly.

“Trent has always been a little special,” Zach starts in. “Has he ever won?”

“I won twice, thanks . . . asshole.”

Not that it’s all that much of a competition to catch fish in this lake since we stock it every year specifically for the Hennington fish off. It doesn’t mean I don’t absolutely dread this day, though. Sure, Zach and Wyatt have won at least ten times each, but that’s because they’re losers who fish every day. I would much rather be shooting or working out. I’d love to see one of them try to compete in a shoot off. They’d both lose.

“Ohhh,” Wyatt says while laughing. “Twice.”

“Enough!” My father puts a stop to our bickering. “You three are still as annoying as when you were teenagers.”

All three of us look at each other and shrug. We’re all close in age, stubborn, a little dense, and yet there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. My brothers are everything to me. When Wyatt lost his shit last year, I was at his house every day. When Zach got hurt, I flew out to California to get him home. Being back in town together is all I could ask for.

Family is the only thing that matters. And Grace, but she let me know where I stand.

“How’s work, son?” My father asks.

“I’m hiring another deputy. This way I can work a little less.” I finally got the approval last week.

“And how are things goin’ with gettin’ Grace back?”

“It’s not. It’s done.”

“He got his head out of his ass a little too late,” Zach tosses another insult.

Dad clears his throat. “Don’t waste time, Trent. If you don’t cherish every second with that woman, you’ll regret it. Trust me on this, if you want her, you need to prove that to her.”

My father loves my mother more than any rational person cares for another. It’s a relationship my brothers and I always envied and, in our own ways, tried to find for ourselves. My mother and father can have a complete conversation without words, which probably came in handy when raising us.

“I’ve told her what I want.”

“Then win her back,” he retorts.

“It’s not that simple.”

He snorts. “The hell it isn’t. You can’t expect her to believe what you tell her. She needs to see that you’re changin’.”

Dad has always been pushing all of us to find a love like that. I’m surprised he hasn’t brought Grace up before now.