pushed past and walked out the door. He turned to the window that looked out over the street, willing his body to calm down. Reminding himself that he was always in control. But with Molly he wasn’t. She rattled him.
Maybe staying at the ranch was stupid, but he’d never been one to back down from a challenge—and this was most definitely a challenge.
He wanted her. Wanted to prove to himself that he could have her and still go off on the adventures that had always defined him. But what about Molly? She’d said she wanted to live for the moment. Did she really understand what that meant? What it would be like when he had to leave?
The door opened behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Shirley standing there.
“Molly asked me to show you how to fill in the paperwork,” she said.
He nodded and walked around to the other side of the conference table, sitting down across from Rupert’s secretary.
“Tell me what you want to use the ranch for,” she invited.
He told her, but his mind was on Molly. Where was she? Had she run from him again?
No, she hadn’t. She strolled in a few minutes later. He could tell she’d splashed water on her face. She sat down next to Shirley.
He relaxed as soon as she did and he knew that what he’d been telling himself, that making love to Molly would bring him back to normal, had been a lie. There was no way that he was ever going to feel normal where she was concerned. She rattled him on a soul-deep level and made him want things he didn’t think he’d ever really be able to have.
Shirley and Molly went to the other room to get more forms and he sat there wondering what was wrong with him. He could see himself living on Mars or spending his life up amongst the stars, but he couldn’t imagine being in a romantic relationship that wasn’t fleeting.
When she came back in, he read over the typed notes and the asterisk she’d added at the bottom that said if he was off the planet for more than two years she would be solely responsible for managing their inheritance.
She knew he wasn’t staying.
And still she had kissed him like she wasn’t going to let him go.
* * *
SIGNING THE PAPERS took them into the late afternoon. Rupert wanted them to come back to his office once they knew if the NASA plan would be moving forward. If it didn’t work, they’d be back to square one.
Molly listened to Jason telling Rupert about the facility and realized she was out of her depth. She only understood about an eighth of what was said in the meeting. She had a lot of work to do to prepare for this. Though she hoped her main responsibility would simply be liaising with the facility and keeping the ranch and NASA elements separate.
Seeing Jason in his element, listening to the passion in his voice as he spoke about the long-term missions, awed her. When the meeting ended, Rupert stepped out and Jason turned to her, catching her staring.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “This is really different than ranching. I don’t know how effective I’ll be as a co-director.”
He winked at her. “I’ll handle the space stuff. You’re a great manager,” he reminded her.
“I think I’d be better as a liaison,” she said, gathering up everything she’d brought with her today and putting it back in her bag.”
“Okay, that works, too. Are you expected back for evening chores?” he asked.
“Rina isn’t expecting me. I wasn’t sure how long this would take.”
“Good, would you join me for dinner?”
“That would be nice. What did you have in mind?”
“Ray’s Bar-b-que,” he said.
Ray’s was an institution in Cole’s Hill. There were some folks who drove all the way over from Houston or down from San Antonio to eat there. It was a big old smokehouse where they pit-roasted brisket for some of the best barbecue she’d ever had.
“Sounds good. If you go get dinner, I’ll pick up some cold beer at the grocery store. We can eat in the park,” she said.
“Sounds like a plan. See you there in thirty minutes.”
He walked out of the conference room and she sat there for a few more minutes before Shirley came in.
“Are you almost finished?”
“I am.”
She left the law offices and walked down to the small grocery store to pick up drinks and dessert. Then she carried the bag back to the park. She sat on the same bench they’d used that morning.
The day hadn’t turned out at all as she’d expected. Everything had changed—how she saw Jason, what the future of the ranch might be. She felt panic in her stomach the way she did whenever things changed. Sometimes she felt like the big, worn oak tree that stood behind the barn. Rooted so deeply that the wind barely made the branches sway. She liked it. Consistency was what she wanted and needed. She knew things couldn’t stay the same, that change was necessary. But as much as she knew she needed to accept Jason’s plan for a new facility in order to keep the ranch in the family and to ensure its continued success, she wasn’t too sure about it.
“You’re looking way too serious for a picnic,” Jason said as he walked up to her. Now he had a baseball cap on, not his usual cowboy hat, and his sunglasses hid his eyes from her.
“Dad used to say I could worry about a new pair of shoes.” It wasn’t much of an answer, but maybe he’d let it go. Please, she thought.
“You always have been very serious. I have a suggestion, if you’re game.”
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” she said.
“Good. I parked next to your truck. Why don’t we head back toward the ranch? I know a nice, secluded spot where we can eat our dinner.”
That suited her just fine. She needed time alone with her thoughts.
They went back to the trucks, and Molly followed Jason’s pickup until he pulled off the road. Then he got out of his truck and hopped in the cab of hers.
“This is our property,” she said.
“I know. Drive toward that copse of trees,” he said.
She nodded, putting the truck back in gear. They bounced over the field as the sun started sinking low toward the horizon. She parked near the trees. Jason got out and then walked around to the bed of the pickup. He put down the tailgate as she joined him and he climbed into the back of the truck, unfolding a blanket that he must have tossed back there before he’d gotten in the cab.
“You’ve thought of everything.”
“I try. Part of my job is being prepared for anything,” he said.
“You must be very
