Page 49 of Enticed
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
JASMINE
Rowan: Who wants to come over and help me bake twenty loaves ofbread for the Honeysuckle Festival?
Jacek: there is nothing I would rather do LESS than that.
Jasmine: Sorry, bub, I’ve got riding lessons.
Iwas tempted to cancel them, though, since Rory was my student and that meant I’d have to spend an entire uninterrupted hour with Gabe. He’d been so busy this past week, I’d hardly seen him and had only spoken to him briefly, and every time I did, he wore a sad expression like a lost puppy. But I missed Rory, and she didn’t deserve to suffer because her dad was an idiot.
Rowan: Nash, I’m counting on you. Help your big brother out
It was several minutes before Nash’s response came through. I was shocked, but also pleased to see him actually participate in the group chat. When I opened his message, I burst into laughter.
Nash:
Rowan: I’m going to disown you all.
I finished out the rest of my chores in time to take Juniper on a ride before Rory arrived. She trained hard yesterday, so I wanted to give her a littlebreak but still ensure she got some exercise. When I passed by the rescue barn, I saw my dad, Gabe, and Rowan huddled together engaged in deep conversation, and my chest tightened. This whole time I’d been trying to convince myself that my family would eventually accept Gabe and me being together. I thought maybe if we showed them that this thing between us was real that they’d accept it. But what if Gabe was right? Maybe us being together would blow up all our lives, not just mine and his. The ranch was finally running like a well-oiled machine again. Rowan had everything in place to expand his rescue operation and establish an official horse sanctuary, and Dad had his best friend back. If I was wrong, and my family never came around to the idea of Gabe and me being together, all their hopes and dreams would crumble.
Still, there was this selfish part of me—a part I wasn’t proud of—who wished he would choose me anyway. I never wanted to do anything to hurt my family, but what if Gabe and I weremeant to be together? What if he was the love of my life and I never found true happiness because I couldn’t have him?
Swallowing the emotion clogging my throat, I continued down the trail and looped back around to the main barn. I was dismounting Juniper when I heard a car coming up the gravel drive. Celeste’s sporty little Mercedes pulled to a stop next to the barn, and Rory hopped out. She ran straight into my arms, and I hugged her tight to my chest, breathing in the scent of her strawberry shampoo. I was so excited to see her, I nearly blurted out that I had a surprise for her, but that needed to wait.
“I missed you!” Rory crooned.
“I missed you too, kiddo,” I said as she pulled back to look up at me.
“I get to go to the Honeysuckle Festival,” she announced, excitement gleaming in her eyes.
“You do?” I asked, gasping in mock surprise.
“Yes!” she squealed. “Dad is taking me, and I’m going to ride all the rides, and eat a funnel cake, and get my face painted.
“That’s awesome! You guys will have such a great time.”
“You’re coming too, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” I promised. It was the biggest event of the year in Poplar Ridge, and everyone attended. Just like at the ranch, honeysuckle grew abundantly around much of our small town and the surrounding area, and the festival took place when it was in full bloom. The tulip poplar, the state tree for which our town was named, bloomed at the same time. Main Street was lined with them, and they were dotted throughout the community park, creating an explosion of colorful blooms.
Rory continued to chatter away as Celeste approached. She offered me a kind smile. “She hasn’t stopped talking about that festival,” she began, then tilted her head and looked at me inquisitively, “or you.”
I stiffened, my gaze drifting anxiously to Rory who was now playing in the dirt with Tiny. “She is very fond of you,” Celeste continued. “It sounds like you’re good to her. I appreciate that.” My shoulders relaxed, and I released a relieved breath. “When you get divorced, you always hope your ex finds someone to … spend his time with who will treat your child like their own and not as an inconvenience,” she added, choosing her words carefully.
“Celeste, we’re not… He doesn’t—” She held her hand up to cut off my half-hearted denial.
“I see the way he looks at you and the way your face lights up when he’s around. There’s something there. Maybe it hasn’t happened yet, but it will.” I shook my head, wishing with all I had that she was right, but I was losing hope that Gabe would ever choose me. “Just be patient with him. He is noble to a fault. He will try to do the right thing even if it means sacrificing his own happiness. I watched him do it for nine years.” She smiled sadly, and my heart clenched. Gabe had given up his home and the job he loved to be a father and husband. Was I enough for him to risk losing them again now that he finally had them back?
“Get the lead out.The auctions start in fifteen minutes,” my grandmother fussed as I followed behind her, two oversized bags slung over my shoulders.
“Easy for you to say. You’re not carrying around fifty pounds of knitted animals.
“Oh, quit being so dramatic. They’re notthatheavy,” she retorted. I was being a little dramatic, but they probably weighed nearly twenty pounds each, and it was a long walk from the car to the auctioneer’s tent.
“They’re pretty heavy,” Hazel confirmed, and I shot her a grateful smile.
“Thank you. At least someone recognizes my efforts,” I said with a grunt as I hefted the bag slipping down my arm back onto my shoulder, playing up my exertion.
