Chapter Nine #2
The three of them? Exactly what Jonas needed to think about.
In the house, he pulled out peanut butter, jelly, and bread. “You girls make the sandwiches, and I’ll pack up the rest.”
As he packed their lunch, it felt so much like more was happening than friends spending an afternoon going on a picnic together.
Sloane had never tried to talk him out of his single status.
So, he hadn’t suspected that she was unhappy with their status quo.
He frowned. Now that she’d said something, he had to do something about it, but he wasn’t sure what. “Ready?”
Clara nodded. A rare grin lit up her young face.
Sloane smiled at her sister’s enthusiasm. “It looks like we are.”
“Off we go, then.” He loaded them into the utility vehicle and took the meandering dirt road to the cottage while he listened to the girls talk about Duke and his mares.
“Can you teach me to ride?” Clara asked, wiggling in her seat.
She was such an engaging kid. Sloane cast him a curious look. Jonas couldn’t say no . Not that he would, anyway.
“How about Saturday?” He turned his gaze back to the road.
“I can pick Clara up in the morning. Blake, Malorie, and their kids will be here, and Nathan and Izzy. We’re having a family meeting about the rodeo and a barbecue.
You can join us when you’re done with work, or I can get Blake to drop her off on his way home. ”
“Can I?” Clara turned to Sloane. “Please?” The teen had only been with her sister one day, and already she was settling in as if they’d grown up together.
He could feel Sloane’s assessing gaze on his face before she said, “I guess that will work. When is the rodeo?”
What was she thinking?
“In a couple of weeks.” Clara’s interest in horses might give him the opportunity he needed to include the teen in his family events.
And Sloane, too. But would going on dates with guys she met on Perfect Match keep her too occupied and away from the Lohmen family activities? He would see about that.
That’s where he drew the line. All of his memories included Sloane. His life back then, and even now, would have been empty without his BFF.
Jonas stopped in the parking area near the cottage. His mom’s she-shed, converted into a busy Wedding Cottage business, stood tall and cozy in front of the mountains. The sunshine was warm, and the sounds of summer and the still-blooming garden slowed his thoughts.
The tables and chairs from the last wedding had been put away. Carrying their picnic basket to the garden area, he spread out a blanket beside the beautifully scrolled bench. His eyes on Sloane, he asked Clara, “What do you think?”
“It’s so pretty,” Clara said softly as she wandered off to smell the roses and investigate the raised beds filled with colorful plants.
Glad to have this moment alone with Sloane, he handed her one of the sandwiches. “Blake and Nathan did a good job of turning the shed into a wedding sanctuary,” he conceded. “Mom would have approved.”
“All of you did a great job,” she said, unwrapping her sandwich and taking a bite.
He had to start somewhere if he was going to salvage his relationship with Sloane. “I know I haven’t been fair about you using a dating app. Give it to me straight. How user-friendly is it really?”
“It’s fine. Not hard to use.” Her brows arched. He took that as a good sign. He’d always been able to smooth over their rough spots by admitting when he’d stepped over the line. She shrugged one shoulder. “But so far, it’s a bust.”
Jonas wanted what was best for Sloane. He couldn’t help where his thoughts took him. That might not be him. “What happened to Ken?”
She put her sandwich down on the napkin he’d given her. “I haven’t heard from him lately. How about you? Are you dating anyone new?”
That was one of the things he liked most about Sloane. She gave as good as she got. “No. I’ve been too busy with the ranch, moving back to Strawberry Ridge, and making a case for you and Clara to stay together.”
“I don’t think I thanked you for that. Thanks for taking our case.” The stiffness left her shoulders.
“No thanks needed. It’s what friends do, right? Help each other?” Glad that the distance between them seemed to be shrinking, he reached for her hand and felt like he’d won a victory when she didn’t pull back. “I’m just happy you didn’t hire another attorney.”
Her brown eyes filling briefly with regret, she reclaimed her hand and picked up her sandwich. “Tell me about your plans for the rodeo.”
She was right. He always had a plan. After pulling a sandwich out of the basket, he unwrapped it, determined to keep her talking.
“Nathan and Izzy are planning to enter Duke and Grace in the barrel racing category. If Duke can make the fastest time, he’ll be a champion.
Even if he makes a good showing, and if we have his DNA results, and we get him registered with the Colorado Ranger Horse Association by then, the Triple L’s financial problems should be on the road to recovery. ”
She finished her sandwich. “What’s next? Can we help with anything?”
He hesitated. Almost immediately, he realized it wasn’t the right thing to do. Her brows pulled together.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want her help. In fact, the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to see her every day. It was just that saving the Triple L was something he and his brothers had to do...
And then he remembered how much Malorie and Izzy had helped. He would never live it down if he kept Sloane out of the game. “All we’re doing right now is waiting to get the DNA results back.”
“Friends let their friends help, you know,” she informed him quietly, as if he didn’t already know.
“You’re right,” he agreed gently, leaving out the part that it was time for him to stop being a dunce. “As soon as there’s more to do, you’ll be the first one I contact.”
“Can we go to the rodeo?” Clara plopped down next to her sister.
Sloane immediately let go of his gaze to look at Clara. “That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”
“I’ve been thinking.” Clara took the sandwich Sloane handed her. “If I had my own phone, I could take pictures of this garden”—she made a sweeping gesture with the hand holding the sandwich—“and the horses, and the rodeo.”
The teen had spunk, that was for sure. She was almost as adorable as her sister.
Suddenly, Jonas was on shaky ground. Sloane came with a plus-one. And Clara deserved her own family, not just a guy who was considering taking a chance and pursuing a more serious relationship with his best friend.
“Not yet, kiddo. Let’s see how it goes with Ms. Owens tomorrow. Maybe we can think about getting you a phone when you’re fourteen.” Sloane patted Clara’s arm.
“Okay.”
For the rest of their picnic, Sloane seemed lost in her thoughts. There was a time when she would have told him what was on her mind.
When they were ready to return to the main house, he pulled Sloane aside and said gruffly, “I know it’s painful losing your mother, even though you haven’t seen her in years. It’s hard on you and Clara. I just want you to know I’m here for you. For both of you.”
“I wish I’d had a chance to watch Clara grow up.”
“Tracy might not have told you about Clara, but she didn’t throw the letter she wrote to you away, either. She left it where someone would find it if something happened to her. Maybe that was her way of making sure Clara would find her sister—” He put an arm around her shoulders.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she climbed into the UTV and sat close to Clara.
Taking the long way home, he drove them around the ranch, showing Clara all his favorite places, ending up at the pond with the tall grasses edging the north side.
Sloane tried to keep the conversation going, giving him a chance to tell Clara stories of when he and his brothers were kids, helping their dad and mom around the ranch, but he could tell her heart wasn’t in it.
There had to be something he could say or do to make her heart lighter. She caught him glancing her way when he could take his eyes off the road.
“I’m okay, Jonas... really.”
He had to take her word for it.
At the house, she followed Clara. “We’d better get going.”
“Can’t we stay a little longer?” Clara asked.
Sloane shook her head, her gaze glued to his. Before he could ask her to stay for dinner, she cut him off at the pass. “We have a lot to do to get ready for our meeting with Nora. We’ll see you tomorrow at your office?”
“Sure. I’ll make the arrangements. Say ten in the morning?”
Her chin dipped once. “Perfect. We’ll see you then.”
He didn’t have an argument that might persuade Sloane to stay, so he watched as they loaded into her truck and drove away without her usual wave goodbye.
It was dark by the time he helped Nathan put the horses in their stalls for the night, then checked his notes for the next day when they would meet with the social worker.
From everything he’d researched, unless another relative came forward, and he couldn’t see who that would be, Clara would remain with Sloane.
The last thing he checked was his email, where he found a notification from Perfect Match. He arched his brows and opened the email titled Your Profile is Complete .
What did they mean his profile was complete? He hadn’t signed up for the dating app.
Take advantage of our three-day FREE trial.
The message had come into his personal email account. Only his brothers and Sloane used that address. Had Sloane signed him up on the app? Before he could think about deleting the email, he followed the link to a profile with his picture. The name on the page was Jonas Adam .
What the heck?
Sloane wouldn’t have set him up on Perfect Match. Not without asking him. It wasn’t how she rolled. He would ask her after they finished their CDHS business tomorrow, but he already knew what her answer would be.
That left his brothers and what they’d been whispering about the other day. Blake and Nathan were up to their usual mischief.
Women responding to his profile was not what he needed. No Sloane finding out he had a page on Perfect Match was the last thing he wanted to happen. Not if he was determined to put things right with his former best friend.