do.”
“Maybe for some. Not for me.” She finished off the contents of her mug and handed it to Rosie. “Hit me.”
“You’ve got it, girlfriend.” She poured more coffee into Hope’s mug and added enough Baileys to get a sailor drunk.
“You gave me too much.”
“You don’t have to finish it. The boys gifted me with a case of the stuff last summer when they thought I was gonna go toes up.”
“What? I didn’t hear about that!”
“I was stressed about losing the ranch, and everyone thought I’d had a heart attack. Turned out it was a reaction to the thought of giving up Thunder Mountain. I’m fine now, by the way.”
“Good.” Hope sighed and leaned back in her chair. “What a scary thing.”
“It’s called broken heart syndrome. Behaves exactly like a heart attack, but in most cases you make a full recovery in a matter of days.”
“Amazing.” She remembered having chest pains a year ago. She’d dismissed them. “Guess you need to hang on to this ranch, huh?”
Rosie nodded. “And not just for me, but for all the boys we took in. Herb and I thought we were providing a temporary home for them. Not so. They look to Thunder Mountain, and to us, for their security, their sense of self.”
“That’s quite a responsibility.”
“It is, but there are rewards, like watching Liam find someone like you. Which brings me back to the problem at hand. We have Grady and Liam in one cabin and Finn and Chelsea in another. The newest cabin will be the backdrop for the wedding since building it brought Damon and Phil together. That leaves one more. I’ll give you the key.”
“You really don’t have to do that.”
“It’s more civilized than the barn. The bunks are singles, so it’s not perfect, but pull a couple of mattresses down on the floor. That’ll work.”
“If I hadn’t ingested a fair amount of Baileys, I’d be horrified by this discussion.”
Rosie laughed. “But you have, so you’re not.”
“No, and since I’m fairly smashed, I’m going to tell you the truth about Liam and me, because you deserve to know. We’re not in it for the long haul, or I’m not, and he agreed. We’ll have fun this week. End of story.”
“Is that so?” Rosie didn’t sound particularly upset, maybe because she didn’t believe Hope.
“I mean it. After my last boyfriend, I vowed never to get serious about another guy.”
“I don’t blame you, honey. Most men are wonderful, but if you get a hold of a bad one, he can sour you on the whole lot. You have a good time this week.”
“If you think Liam’s going to change my mind, he won’t. Riding off into the sunset with the love of my life has been permanently scratched off my to-do list.”
“What a colorful way to put it! Are you sure you’re completely done with writing?”
“Done with writing, done with the happily-ever-after dream.”
“Hmm.” Rosie sipped her coffee.
“You don’t believe me.”
“What I believe or don’t believe isn’t important. But I’d feel better if you and Liam were tucked into a cabin instead of making out in the barn. That could get nasty.”
“Like straw in my hair?”
“I wasn’t going to mention it, but since you did...”
“All right. I’ll take the key. And thank you.”
* * *
H OPE SLEPT LATER than normal the next morning, but remarkably she didn’t feel any effect from the Baileys. When she walked into the kitchen, she found Rosie, Lexi and Phil’s stepmom, Edie, slicing, dicing and cooking food that was probably for the rehearsal dinner.
Rosie glanced up from a steaming pot and smiled. “Good morning, sunshine. Sleep well?”
“Too well and too late. What can I do to help?”
“We’ll put you to work in a little bit,” Edie said. “Grab some coffee and I’ll scramble up a couple of eggs if Rosie can spare me a burner.”
“You can tuck in right here.” Rosie moved over. “And there’s juice in the fridge, Hope. Help yourself.”
“I can scramble the
“Maybe for some. Not for me.” She finished off the contents of her mug and handed it to Rosie. “Hit me.”
“You’ve got it, girlfriend.” She poured more coffee into Hope’s mug and added enough Baileys to get a sailor drunk.
“You gave me too much.”
“You don’t have to finish it. The boys gifted me with a case of the stuff last summer when they thought I was gonna go toes up.”
“What? I didn’t hear about that!”
“I was stressed about losing the ranch, and everyone thought I’d had a heart attack. Turned out it was a reaction to the thought of giving up Thunder Mountain. I’m fine now, by the way.”
“Good.” Hope sighed and leaned back in her chair. “What a scary thing.”
“It’s called broken heart syndrome. Behaves exactly like a heart attack, but in most cases you make a full recovery in a matter of days.”
“Amazing.” She remembered having chest pains a year ago. She’d dismissed them. “Guess you need to hang on to this ranch, huh?”
Rosie nodded. “And not just for me, but for all the boys we took in. Herb and I thought we were providing a temporary home for them. Not so. They look to Thunder Mountain, and to us, for their security, their sense of self.”
“That’s quite a responsibility.”
“It is, but there are rewards, like watching Liam find someone like you. Which brings me back to the problem at hand. We have Grady and Liam in one cabin and Finn and Chelsea in another. The newest cabin will be the backdrop for the wedding since building it brought Damon and Phil together. That leaves one more. I’ll give you the key.”
“You really don’t have to do that.”
“It’s more civilized than the barn. The bunks are singles, so it’s not perfect, but pull a couple of mattresses down on the floor. That’ll work.”
“If I hadn’t ingested a fair amount of Baileys, I’d be horrified by this discussion.”
Rosie laughed. “But you have, so you’re not.”
“No, and since I’m fairly smashed, I’m going to tell you the truth about Liam and me, because you deserve to know. We’re not in it for the long haul, or I’m not, and he agreed. We’ll have fun this week. End of story.”
“Is that so?” Rosie didn’t sound particularly upset, maybe because she didn’t believe Hope.
“I mean it. After my last boyfriend, I vowed never to get serious about another guy.”
“I don’t blame you, honey. Most men are wonderful, but if you get a hold of a bad one, he can sour you on the whole lot. You have a good time this week.”
“If you think Liam’s going to change my mind, he won’t. Riding off into the sunset with the love of my life has been permanently scratched off my to-do list.”
“What a colorful way to put it! Are you sure you’re completely done with writing?”
“Done with writing, done with the happily-ever-after dream.”
“Hmm.” Rosie sipped her coffee.
“You don’t believe me.”
“What I believe or don’t believe isn’t important. But I’d feel better if you and Liam were tucked into a cabin instead of making out in the barn. That could get nasty.”
“Like straw in my hair?”
“I wasn’t going to mention it, but since you did...”
“All right. I’ll take the key. And thank you.”
* * *
H OPE SLEPT LATER than normal the next morning, but remarkably she didn’t feel any effect from the Baileys. When she walked into the kitchen, she found Rosie, Lexi and Phil’s stepmom, Edie, slicing, dicing and cooking food that was probably for the rehearsal dinner.
Rosie glanced up from a steaming pot and smiled. “Good morning, sunshine. Sleep well?”
“Too well and too late. What can I do to help?”
“We’ll put you to work in a little bit,” Edie said. “Grab some coffee and I’ll scramble up a couple of eggs if Rosie can spare me a burner.”
“You can tuck in right here.” Rosie moved over. “And there’s juice in the fridge, Hope. Help yourself.”
“I can scramble the
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