“That’s great! Is there a catch?”
“Well, I have to work six days a week, Monday through Saturday. I’ll be able to swap Saturdays for Sundays sometimes, though. Plus, I need to be available for emergencies.”
It sounded as if he’d be busy all the time, and she tried not to react at having to give up so much time with him. She pasted a smile on her face. “When do you start?”
“Tomorrow.”
She felt her heart drop into her stomach. So much for date night. “Oh.”
“What’s wrong, MJ? I thought you’d be happy.”
“I am.” She tried to bring some enthusiasm into her voice.
He reached over and took her hand. “I’ll still be able to go for counseling.”
“That’s not it. I was looking forward to having Saturdays as our day to ourselves.” She shrugged, pulling her feet off his lap and sliding them under the table.
“We’ll still be able to spend the day together sometimes. I’ll switch to Sunday when we’ve got something going on that we’re doing during the day. I won’t let it interfere with our date night, I promise.”
“Really?” It was ridiculous how much she wanted reassurance that she wouldn’t play second fiddle to his job.
“Really.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I was afraid you’d be too busy to spend time with Maverick and me.”
“I can understand that. Ranching is hard work and takes a lot of time, but I won’t let it stand in the way.” He traced her chin with his thumb and then leaned over and kissed her softly on her lips.
She breathed in his scent and kissed him back. She pulled back to look him in the eye. “Thanks. Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want anything to get in our way.”
“Me neither.” He stroked her face gently. “C’mon. Let’s get some dinner. I ran out of ideas of what to cook. I thought we could go out and celebrate my job. If you’re up to it, that is.”
She nodded. “That sounds good. Can I talk you into Chinese?”
“Sure.”
***
MJ leaned back in the booth at the Jade Tree, relaxed and content. She and Rob had talked nearly nonstop over shared Moo Shu Pork and Shrimp Fried Rice. “I haven’t had Moo Shu since forever,” she said, sipping her hot tea.
“It’s nice not to rush. Good food and good company.” He smiled at her.
She nodded. “I agree. I thought about going grocery shopping for our Thanksgiving supplies tonight, but I don’t want to jump into that right now.”
“Oh, shit,” he blurted, looking around to see if anyone had noticed his language. “Sorry. It’s just that I forgot to tell you. Tyler’s brother, Jason, isn’t coming. It turns out he’s representing Kent Barnard, and he wasn’t sure if you’d be comfortable having him over under the circumstances.”
“Oh.” She sat for a minute, thinking. “I know he’s a lawyer and defends all types of people, but somehow, it makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.”
“He must have guessed that. Tyler said he won’t come either if it will bother you to have him there.”
“That isn’t necessary. Tyler isn’t friends with Kent Barnard, is he?”
“No, but since his brother is defending him, he thought you might not want him to come.”
“It’s inevitable that there will be overlaps in relationships in a small town—you have both social and professional relationships. I run into my gynecologist at church all the time, and I know my mom checks out people in the grocery store that she isn’t friendly with, and my brother fixes cars for some people he can’t stand. This seems different, though. They aren’t inviting those folks over to their house for a holiday dinner.”
“I understand, and apparently Jason figured it might bother us. That says something about his character, doesn’t it? That he understands how traumatic the break-in was?” He paused. “How do you feel about Tyler coming?”
“I don’t have a problem with that. He’s your friend. We don’t know Jason and invited him because of Tyler.” She sat silently for a minute. “Do you want to invite your new boss? I’d like to get to know him. If his kids live far away, they might not come home for Thanksgiving.”
“Yeah, and I can’t see him leaving the ranch to travel to Atlanta. I’ll invite him tomorrow if you’re sure it won’t be too much bother.”
“No, it won’t. Is there anything we should ask him to bring?”
Rob shrugged. “I can’t think of anything. We’re pretty well covered.”
“Okay, invite him. He doesn’t have to bring anything.”
“Except maybe a soda can.”
“Why?”
“Um, he chews tobacco and spits.”
MJ made a face and shuddered.
“Yeah, not my taste, but I know some folks around here do it,” Rob said.
“We’ll get through it. Do you think Maverick will have a problem with all these people?”
“I don’t think so, but we’ll watch him.”
“Okay. Since you’re working tomorrow, I’ll do the shopping tomorrow morning. I think instead of frozen turkey, I’ll order a fresh bird from Bradley’s Poultry. I’ll see if I can pick it up Wednesday night after work.”
“Anything you need me to do to help?”
“Oh, believe me, I’ll have a list of things for you to do.” She smiled at him smugly.
“That’s only fair. I should be home tomorrow by five. I haven’t forgotten about date night. Plan to be ready by six. Wear casual clothes. Jeans are fine.”
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing?”
“Nope. I want it to be a surprise.”
She stuck out
