But somewhere between Marshall’s announcement of his engagement on Sunday morning, and his actual wedding on Monday, there was Dad’s bombshell. He gathered all of us together, including Cody, and told us that he was seeing Meryl Justice, and had been for months.
And none of us had ever figured it out.
To be fair, he had been pretty sneaky about it. It made sense now—the way he’d gulp down the one cup of coffee I poured for him in the morning, then turn up at Kelli’s Coffee Wagon every morning at about ten so he could pick up something for Meryl. The way he would slip off upstairs whenever there was no work to do so that he could talk to her on the phone. All the beef jerky vanishing before the rest of us got it, because he was taking it to her 4-H meetings and passing it around for the kids. The quick way he’d reach for his texts lately and the random chuckles we would hear from behind his closed bedroom door.
My dad was in love again.
I couldn’t quite decide how I felt about that. Meryl was an amazing person—everyone would tell you that. Not many people enjoyed the kind of respect she commanded in town, and she had a kind heart. How many people spent thirty years volunteering as a 4-H leader when they’d never even had their own kids? If Dad was going to be seeing someone, Meryl Justice was as good as it got.
But dating? Mydad?
No one expected him to spend the rest of his life alone, but I don’t think we had considered what it would be like if he ever found someone else. Someone who wasn’t Mom. She’d been gone for more than three years, and I could hardly remember what her voice sounded like until I dug up old videos of her on my phone. Then, it was like she’d never left. Was I ready to see someone else by my dad’s side?
But I couldn’t process all that right now. I couldn’t worry about Marshall’s hasty marriage, and I didn’t have time to fret about Dad maybe following in his footsteps. I couldn’t possibly think of anything but that I was supposed to pick up Jess in an hour.
It’s nothing,I kept reminding myself.Not a date.She wasn’t getting in my truck because she liked me, or because I’d finally said what was on my heart. It was just luck, a matter of convenience. Just a couple of volunteers who found a way to do their job better together.
But I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding all day.
She was standing by the gate when I pulled up, grinning and waving. And it was just…oh.She was so cheerful and radiant; pure as gold, like the shining hair curling round her shoulders, and warm as the rosy cheeks that glowed against the winter snow. And she had no idea how amazing she was.
I rolled down the window as I drove through the gate she’d opened, and the words stopped in my throat.“Good afternoon,”seemed way too formal.“Hey,”was too… too kitschy or something. Maybe if she was my girlfriend, but she wasn’t. I just swallowed and blurted out, “Hi.”
Her smile got even brighter. “Hi, Dusty! Just pull in. There’s room to turn around. I’ll grab Nash.”
I parked the truck and moved to open the door, but before I did, I thought of something. This was a work truck, but it was just fancy enough to have heated seats. I’d never met a lady who didn’t rave over them in the middle of winter. I reached over and turned her side on to warm up while we got her horse loaded.
Five minutes later, her gentle old roan gelding was standing in the trailer beside my Duchess, and Dakota was in the back seat greeting Daisy the Border Collie, who’d begged to tag along. And Jess was beside me.
She glanced down as she got in and smiled at me. “Thanks for the seat warmer. Feels good on a day like today.”
I just returned her smile and nodded. There was probably a smooth answer to that, but I didn’t know what it was.
“So, I hear congratulations are in order,” she said. “New sister-in-law, huh?”
I chuckled. “That’s not the half of it. My dad is… well, I guess he’s dating someone. Want to guess who?”
“Meryl Justice,” she replied with a smug grin. When I looked over in surprise, she just laughed. “I think everyone knew but you guys.”
“What? How?”
Jess leaned back and traced her fingers over the window ledge. “You probably didn’t want to know. Don’t tell me the signs weren’t there.”
I shrugged. “They were. You’re right.”
“So, how do you feel about it?” Her voice was gentle but probing.
“I don’t think it matters how I feel about it. It’s his life.”
“But it affects you. Just like Marshall and Cody getting married and leaving the ranch. Of course, you’re going to have feelings about it.”
I frowned and adjusted the visor. The afternoon sun was already hanging low enough to shine the glare off the snow. “I really don’t know yet,” I finally admitted. “It will take some getting used to.”
“How did your brothers feel?”
“Hah. Luke is all for it, and so is Marshall—I guess because he doesn’t have any room to complain. Cody loves Meryl because she was practically a mom to Morgan. And Evan said she’d be good for Dad. Didn’t talk about his own feelings, though.”
“And what did you say?”