day. Making love to Molly...well, that hadn’t been his smartest idea, but he didn’t regret it.
As much as ranching wasn’t in his plans, he owed it to Mick to make sure that the place survived.
Despite his desire to ride the fences and see the acreage they’d discussed the night before, he didn’t want to wait another moment before putting their plan into action. That was why he’d left. It wasn’t cowardice driving him from her arms; it was determination. Or at least that was his story and he was sticking to it. He fiddled with the radio and had a flashback to this first ride out to the Bar T Ranch sitting in the front seat with Mick.
The older man had been larger than life and his voice the kind of quiet rumble that rolled through a room the way thunder did across the wide-open plains. He’d hit the different buttons on the radio and looked over at Jason—he’d definitely only been Jason back then—and said, “You like this kind of music?”
Jason hadn’t said anything. Still mad that he’d gotten busted for living alone and scared that legally he had to live with this guy.
Finally, after exhausting all of the choices, Mick turned to him, stared with those wise eyes of his and said, “You don’t like much, do you?”
Jason had shrugged. He’d been living alone for six months after his mom died. For most of that time there had been no electricity, no music. “I don’t know.”
“Fair enough,” Mick said. “Now that you’re living with us, you can figure it out.”
Mick had turned on a country music station. Not one of the modern ones. One that played classic country like George Jones, Hank Williams, Jr. and Conway Twitty. And Jason had been hooked. Mick knew it and kept him supplied with CDs and a new CD player in his room. It was the first thing he’d liked about his new life. That, and the fact that he didn’t have to worry about finding his next meal or keeping warm at night.
Now, he stopped on that old classic country station. “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?” by George Jones began to play, and tears burned the back of Ace’s eyes. He wondered if there’d ever be a man who could fill Mick’s shoes. Ace was determined to do right by Molly and the ranch. It was the least he could do for the man who’d saved his life and made this future possible.
And there was Molly. He wanted her to always have the land she loved. To always be able to get on her horse and take that midnight ride across the pasture. He didn’t want them to have to sell or lease a single acre.
He had texted Dennis as soon as he had a decent signal and told him he was coming to the base today. He got a response thirty minutes later confirming the appointment.
He thought he should probably contact Molly, but what would he say?
Last night, much like the day he’d first come to the Bar T Ranch, had shown him a glimpse of another life. He was tempted by it, by her, but his heart belonged to NASA, to exploring new worlds, discovering new places.
But he was tempted. For the first time since...well, since he’d first kissed her all those years ago.
As he drove on base at Johnson Space Center he still had that feeling of excitement he’d had the first time he’d set foot on the property. Being an astronaut had never become old hat to him—there was nothing routine about his life or about what he did for a living.
He was early for his appointment so he headed over to astronaut quarters. His apartment was in the Mercury building. He walked up the drive just as Hemi “Thor” Barrett was exiting.
“Ace, man, glad to see you. That was a short medical leave.” Hemi gave Ace a bro hug and stepped back. Hemi had been his right-hand man on many missions. Since the station was international they were often up there with astronauts from other countries and it was always nice to talk to someone from home. Hemi had on a pair of aviator-style sunglasses and his standard NASA-issued sweats.
“It’s not over, unfortunately, and I’m not here for long. But the situation is complicated and I don’t want to keep you,” Ace replied.
“You aren’t keeping me from anything except a five-mile run and I can do that any time before eight when I have a hot date. Is it coffee-or beer-complicated?”
“Beer, but it’s too early for that. Plus I’ve got a meeting with Dennis in thirty.”
“Walk and talk?” Hemi asked.
“Yeah...”
“So, besides exercising, what are you doing with your time?”
“Well, remember that ranch I grew up on?”
“Yeah, anyone who’s had to listen to your Conway Twitty CDs remembers it.”
Ace punched Hemi in the arm. “Watch it.”
“What’s up with the ranch?”
“I inherited half of it and I’m going to be there for a while straightening things out. Do you know much about the new Cronus training facility they’re talking about building?”
“Nah, just that they are looking to outsource it. Dennis isn’t happy about some of the bidders. He told us a few days ago that he didn’t like working with civilians. Why?”
Ace bit back a smile. That sounded just like Dennis. He liked everything military so no one questioned his orders. They’d reached the base headquarters and he and Hemi stopped in front of the program manager’s office.
“Drinks later? I want to hear what you’re up to. Or are you heading out after your appointment?” Hemi asked.
“I can do lunch,” Ace said.
“See you then.”
DESPITE HER DETERMINATION to join the hands for chores, Molly woke up late. Well, late for her. Her sleep had been plagued with haunting images of her ancestors frowning at her as she let the Abernathy family lease their land. She’d have no choice but to accept Wil’s offer if the bid for the training facility wasn’t successful.
She needed to do something to move their plan forward. She showered and got dressed and then looked at herself in the mirror and decided to leave her hair down today. She went downstairs to find Rina singing along to Beyoncé and cutting up meat to go in the slow cooker.
“Late night?” Rina asked as Molly went for the coffeepot.
“Yeah. Still not sleeping well,” Molly said. Last night had been different. She didn’t want to dwell on it as she knew Jason wasn’t long for Cole’s Hill and the Bar T Ranch. He’d be back up on missions as soon as he could make it happen, no matter what they decided to do with the ranch.
“Have you seen, Jason—I mean Ace—this morning?” she asked Rina.
Rina chuckled. “Yeah, that boy lit out of here early.”
“Oh? Did he say where he was going?” Molly asked.
“Nope. He wasn’t too sure he’d be back for dinner,”
