Chapter Seven
“C ome on. I’m starving,” Lainey said, tugging on Jason’s hand when he pretended to drag his feet as they walked across the parking lot at a truck stop.
The restaurant had great reviews, and there was also a movie theater at the complex.
She figured if she had a salad for dinner, she and Jason could share a bucket of popcorn while they watched an action movie.
It had been so long since Lainey had actually gone to the movies, she felt almost giddy with excitement.
Normally, Jason and Shaun traveled together, but since she’d started working on the rodeo Faces book, Jason was just as likely to ride in Lainey’s van with her.
Yesterday, when she’d invited him to ride with her as they’d driven to a rodeo in Washington, Jason had seemed eager to spend the time with her.
The rodeo venue was just a few miles down the road, but Lainey had heard about the truck stop from a friend and thought Jason might enjoy an evening away from the rodeo crew.
Last month, when she and Jason had sat at the campfire, and she’d poured out her past to him with all its hurts and grief, she’d known then, without a doubt, that he loved her.
He’d been so sweet and caring, not to mention comforting and kind.
He’d let her cry and didn’t act squirrelly like some men did when women shed tears, gently holding her hand.
Perhaps most importantly, he understood her.
She knew by the tenderness in his tone and touch, as well as by the light shining in his eyes, that he truly loved her.
The problem was that she loved him back. With all her heart.
And she hadn’t the faintest idea what to do about it.
Long ago, she’d promised herself she’d never fall in love again. Losing her parents, her son, and her husband had made her withdraw emotionally, terrified to allow herself to love anyone else.
Up until she’d met Jason and his family, she’d done a good job of keeping her heart safe behind the walls she’d built.
Sure, she could be friendly and cheerful and talk to just about anybody, but no one really got to know her. Nobody knew the dreams that had died with her loved ones, or the hopes she could no longer allow to take wing.
Then Jason Price had come along and knocked on the door of the barricade she’d kept around her heart. And if that weren’t enough, he’d brought along his family, whom Lainey adored, from his aging father to his tiny granddaughter, who had wrapped her little fingers all the way around Lainey’s heart.
She’d known the night of the campfire, Jason had been about to declare his feelings for her. To say that he loved her.
Only she couldn’t bear for him to do it. Not when she was still convinced love wasn’t in her future because it had been buried four times over in her past. So, she’d kissed him into silence.
In the weeks since then, if he started to sound like he was about to begin a discussion that involved his love for her, she distracted him with kisses, or questions, or anything that came to mind to shift the focus off their feelings.
And because he was such a great guy, Jason let her.
Lainey had no idea what would happen when she finished her rodeo book and no longer had an excuse to spend time with Jason because of her interviews for work.
While she was having a fabulous time taking photos and interviewing interesting people, she’d already concluded the reason she was so ridiculously excited about the new book was because it kept her in close proximity to Jason.
The sensible part of her brain told her to step away from the project and let the publisher know she’d come up with a different idea.
Only it was far too late to pull the plug on the rodeo book.
The publisher had loved the first few images and interviews she’d shared and was anxious for Lainey to send more chapters of her work.
Dust, Grit, and Grace was going to be a fabulous book. With Celia Kressley’s encouragement and guidance, Lainey had even taken a few action shots that were going to look marvelous in the book to accompany the interviews.
So far, her favorite subject, other than Jason and his family, had been Cooper James.
The rodeo barrelman was handsome, and the camera loved him, but it was more than that.
He might act like a clown in the arena, but he adored his wife and son, treasured his friends, cared about others, and was far more intelligent than he led people to believe.
The day Lainey sat down with him and Paige, she’d been impressed with them individually and as a couple because it had been clear from the start that they were deeply in love and partners for life.
In spite of what her head knew, Lainey’s heart still longed for that kind of connection and relationship.
To have someone to love. To be a partner and friend.
To come home to a special person at the end of a busy day.
Someone who would hold her hand and sit quietly as they watched a sunset, or run with her into an adventure.
But it just wasn’t meant to be, no matter how much she wished otherwise.
“This the place?” Jason asked when they reached the interior doorway to the restaurant.
The restaurant was busy but not completely packed. Tantalizing aromas drifted out to remind Lainey that she’d skipped breakfast and that lunch had been a quick snack eaten on the road.
“Looks like it,” she said, stepping up to the hostess station. They were escorted to a table for two by a window.
Jason pulled out Lainey’s chair and waited until she was seated to settle into the chair across from her.
“This doesn’t look like any truck stop I’ve been in,” he mused, taking a gander around the restaurant.
“You might be surprised what’s out there, Mr. Price,” Lainey said as she picked up her menu and scanned the options. “What looks good to you?”
“A few things,” he said softly.
When Lainey lifted her gaze from the menu, it was to find Jason staring at her. She had a feeling he wasn’t talking about the menu, but she chose to ignore his comment.
Thankfully, their server appeared. Although Lainey had intended to order a salad, the chicken cordon bleu caught her eye.
She ordered it and a glass of lemonade, while Jason went for a chicken-fried steak.
She knew he chose healthy options as often as possible and figured with his fit physique, a few plates of chicken fried steak wouldn’t be the downfall of him.
“How are your interviews and photos progressing?” he asked once the server had brought Lainey’s lemonade and Jason’s iced tea.
“Great. I connected with the silversmith you mentioned, who creates pieces for rodeo courts and as prizes. We’ll meet up next week when we’re in town for the rodeo.” Lainey took a sip of her lemonade and leaned back. “I say ‘we,’ because I assume you’ll ride with me.”
“Of course I will. I’m grateful for any opportunity to spend time with you, which you should know by now. There’s also the fact that Brylee helps Shaun drive, and it gives them a little more breathing room if there aren’t three adults and two car seats in the pickup.”
“Well, there is that.” Lainey had nearly laughed herself silly the day Jason had offered to ride in the back seat with Caitlyn and Carter.
Caitlyn had placed glittery stickers all over Jason’s face and shirt, and Carter had drawn stick figures on the back of his hand with a permanent marker no one seemed to know where he’d found it.
To see a big, tough cowboy get out of the pickup with sparkling pink stickers on his cheeks was quite a sight to behold. Unable to stop herself, Lainey had snapped several photos and fibbed about deleting them because, every time she looked at them, she giggled.
Lainey lifted an eyebrow and grinned. “You’re just afraid of what Caitlyn and Carter will do to you if you fall asleep in the back seat with them again.”
Jason grinned. “Darn tootin’, I’m terrified of those two. It’s bad enough they got a heaping portion of Shaun’s orneriness in their blood, but Brylee was never exactly timid and meek. That girl is full of gumption and stubbornness. She’d have to be to let Shaun back into her life.”
Lainey nodded, finding the story of Shaun and Brylee’s rocky path to their happily ever after inspiring.
When Shaun had left Brylee the first time they were married, neither of them had known Brylee was expecting.
She’d given birth to a daughter who’d greatly resembled Dani.
And then the little one had become ill and passed away.
She and Brylee had hugged and cried, understanding the depths of misery that came with losing a beloved child.
Yet, through patience and prayer, Brylee and Shaun had found their way to the other side of their pain and problems to a pathway that led to happiness and love.
Lainey figured it was all part of God’s wondrous plans, and she was glad the couple seemed happy with life and each other.
She took another sip of her lemonade and looked over at Jason. Was she pushing away her opportunity to be happy? Did she feel like it was punishment for somehow letting those she loved most die?
Possibly.
Tonight, though, she wasn’t in the mood for introspection or self-awareness. She just wanted to enjoy the evening with Jason. When she got back to her van, she intended to spend time praying about the next steps for her future.
Their meals arrived and tasted as excellent as they looked. Jason shared a bite of his chicken-fried steak and potatoes while Lainey gave him a few samples of her chicken, although he skipped the rice.
Lainey excused herself to visit the restroom while Jason finished the last bite of his dinner. She’d just walked back into the dining area when a man who looked familiar stood and blocked her path to Jason.
A memory of another truck stop, when a guy had left her feeling threatened and vulnerable in her bunny slippers, popped into her head.
“Reuben!” she said, throwing her arms around her rescuer and giving him a big hug. “What are you doing here?”