Page 40 of Light on Love
“But how am I supposed to know that’s what he wants unless he says something? I can’t just invite myself to be here with him forever.”
“You could ask him,” Mary suggests gently.
Laurel’s fingers absently twist the loose strand of hair that’s fallen around her face, questions racing though her mind.What would I do, walk away from a career to be here with him? Does me want me to? What would I do here?Her thoughts reeling, she determines she’ll see where Brett is at with all of it. Tomorrow. She’ll talk to him tomorrow, and just let today be about celebrating the end of a successful year.
Meeting Mary’s kind, knowing gaze, Laurel nods before turning to the ‘to do’ list they had made the day before. TakingLaurel’s cue that she wishes to end the conversation, the ladies are fast to divide the tasks and begin cooking. With meats in the smokers and multiple tins of au gratin potatoes in the oven, Mary starts on biscuits, Laurel moves to pies, and Gracie begins roasting vegetables.
Gracie had wrangled Wyatt and Cooper to bring up another table and some benches to the dining room and start a fire. Sliding the pies in the second oven, Laurel now understands why this kitchen has so many appliances. She sets the timer and heads into the dining room. Seeing the extra table and fire ablaze, she feels a bubble of excitement at everything coming together.
Laurel opens the box in the corner of the room that Mary had brought with table décor, uncovering brass candle stick holders with cream taper candles and amber colored bud vases. She works to scatter them down the wooden, aged tables before turning to the plastic bin Gracie contributed. From there she withdraws an array of dried wildflowers and deposits these in the bud vases, stepping back to survey her work. The mountains out the window, the wood fire crackling in the corner, and the rustic tables, she has never seen a more inviting space for a gathering.
Laurel heads back into the kitchen to check on her pies just as Gracie is pulling out a bottle of red wine. She smiles as she holds it up, “it’s close enough to dinner, let’s get a head start on these boys.”
The women finish preparing the meal while swapping stories and laughing over wine. Laurel’s heart swells from the ease of the camaraderie. The way Gracie grips Laurel’s arm when she laughs hardest, the way Mary snorts when Gracie says something that shocks her, it feels natural.
Losing track of time, Laurel looks up in surprise to see the cowboys approaching the farmhouse. As each man enters, theywork their way between the woman with hugs and thanks. Wyatt breaks his embrace of Laurel just as Brett appears at the door.
A smile fills Brett’s face when he enters, his eyes meeting hers. She’s rendered momentarily speechless by the rare sight of him so openly happy around others, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners from the smile. Without breaking eye contact, he moves through the crowd, deeper into the house until he reaches Laurel.
Brett wraps an arm around her waist and dips her back to plant a kiss on her lips. A round of whoops fills the air and while Laurel’s face heats, Brett ignores them. As if they were the only two in the room, he holds her there to deepen the kiss for another moment. “Thank you, honey,” he whispers against her mouth, bringing her upright again.
Mary instructs everyone to grab a dish and bring it to the dining room, ushering them as if she’s the cowboy doing the herding. The meal is leisurely, with as much talking as there is eating. Rounds of compliments drift across the tables as everyone tries the different food items and then reaches for seconds. “These burgers are amazing,” Grey offers between bites. “How are these so good?”
“Laurel seasoned and smoked them,” Gracie replies with a smile, “you should try her brisket.”
“Yeah, this brisket is something else, no wonder Brett stopped working himself all night and comes in for dinner now,” Wyatt muses.
“I don’t think that’s the only reason he stopped working at night,” Grey says so quiet that Floyd and Mary can’t hear from their end of the table. “Then again, I don’t think our guy is limiting himself to just nights in here either,” he adds, shooting a smirk in Brett’s direction.
Laurel coughs on her wine at Grey’s insinuation and without pausing between bites, Brett reaches out and slaps Grey on the back of the head.
“Enough you two! Greyson don’t disrespect Laurel like that,” Mary scolds, having heard the whole thing.
“Hey, it’s a good thing! It’s about time the guy got a life,” Grey shoots back.
Thwack.
Chuckles escape people as Brett slaps the back of Grey’s head a second time. What they don’t notice, is that Brett reaches over with the other hand and squeezes Laurel’s thigh under the table, leaving his hand there the remainder of the meal.
Dinner turns in to dessert. Then as the sun begins to dip from above the ridge, the ranch team makes their way from the dining room to the living room for drinks. In lieu of a drink, Cooper has snatched a whole pie for himself and now he’s carrying it over to an armchair.
Laurel smiles as she watches him, thinking of how they all adopted him when he needed them most. The sense of family here is something so special, the thought tugging at her heart. Still seated in the dining room, Brett lifts his hand from her leg and throws it over her shoulders. He leans over to whisper, “sneak out and take a walk with me?”
They manage to pass through the kitchen and grab their jackets before sliding out the back door with only Floyd noticing. He gives a small nod to them and turns back to his conversation with two wranglers Laurel had only met once or twice. Brett holds out his arm to Laurel and guides her down the snowy hill. They walk slowly, tight to one another as the night breeze sweeps through Laurel’s hair, pulling strands free. Brett smiles at the sight, stopping to brush one of the wild strands from her face.
“Can we go to the stables?” she asks, leaning into his touch. He trails his knuckles along her cheek and Laurel shivers at the gentle caress.
“Of course, let’s go see your boy,” he replies, throwing his arm around her and leading the way once again.
The barn is warm and inviting when they step inside and as if sensing she was coming, Dune has already moved to look out over his gate. She smiles and strolls over to him, grabbing a handful of apple and oat treats on her way. She feeds and pets the horse; unaware Brett has moved to lean beside her.
“The last time we had a ranch gathering, when you first got here, I couldn’t believe how Dune reacted to you. He loved you the minute you met.”
She turns and smiles at him, resting her cheek against the horse. “Is that why you were looking at me funny that day?”
“No, it may have added to what I was already feeling, but... I was looking at you like a man who has a burning need to kiss and hold you.”
“Even then?”