Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
K issing Trinity was everything Spencer hoped it would be. Tender. Vulnerable. Exciting in a new way that he hadn’t experienced yet.
He’d kissed plenty of women before. Back at the cattle ranch, there was even a woman that worked as a farrier for the horses that he sometimes dated when their schedules lined up. Some people might have even labeled them a couple for a short period of time there. But it wasn’t anything serious, and his heart hadn’t reacted with her the way it currently was with Trinity.
It was an echo in his ears, a kickdrum beat that sped so fast it almost made him dizzy.
He took his time kissing Trinity, letting his lips linger on hers until they adopted a slow, gradual rhythm that grew in intensity the longer their mouths were pressed together.
His fingers knotted in her hair to angle her head upward, tipping it back so he could deepen their kiss. A shallow moan escaped from the back of Trinity’s throat, and he took that as a sign that she was enjoying this just as much as he was. Her arms were threaded under his, her hands hooked over his shoulders so she could pull him down toward her. They were grasping one another, all chasing breaths, insistent lips, and full hearts.
It was perfect…until it wasn’t.
“Mommy?” a child’s voice called from outside the barn.
Spencer had never been shoved so hard, so quickly. He rocketed backward and stumbled toward Bluebell’s stall, his hand shooting out to grab the railing to keep from toppling over.
But he wasn’t mad about it. He understood Trinity’s sudden panic, the need to keep this scene from Mia for now. He honestly had a little chuckle at her unexpected strength.
“Yes, sweetie?” Trinity frantically smoothed her hair, the front of her shirt, her jeans. Her thumb pressed to her bottom lip, still swollen from their kiss. “How did the costume fit?”
Her voice was uncharacteristically strained, eyes wild.
“It’s perfect!” Just then, Mia jumped into the barn’s entrance, her arms splayed wide at her sides as she showed herself off. She all feathers, fabric, and a wide, gap-toothed grin. “I love it!”
Trinity spun toward her daughter and folded her into her arms. “Oh, look at that! It’s perfect on you.”
Mia’s nose scrunched. “You smell like a boy.”
Guilt-stricken eyes shot back toward Spencer, but Trinity tried to reclaim her poise. “Hmm. That’s weird.”
“Nana Jo told me to make a lot of noise before I came down to the barn so you would hear me. Not sure why.”
“How come she didn’t come down here with you?” Spencer stepped toward them.
“Her knees were bothering her or something.”
Her knees? Why hadn’t she said anything to him about her knees before? He knew she was still having issues with her shoulder, and the recent thing with her blood pressure. But nothing about her knees. “I should probably check on her,” he said to Trinity, gently touching her elbow.
“We should be on our way too. Don’t want to overstay our welcome.”
“Not possible.” Without thinking, Spencer pressed a light kiss to Trinity’s forehead.
A slight intake of breath pulled sharply through her lips, and they both looked down to find Mia gawking up at them with the biggest, widest gaze Spencer had ever seen.
“You just kissed Mommy.”
“I did.” He couldn’t lie. She’d seen the whole thing.
“Do you like her?” Mia plucked at a loose feather from her costume and spun it between her thumb and finger.
“I do,” he admitted. No sense in denying it. “How does that make you feel?”
“Happy.” The little girl beamed and then went on spinning and twirling in fast circles that made a few more feathers release from the costume and flutter to the ground.
“Me too,” Spencer said. “Makes me happy, too.”
“Me three,” Trinity echoed.
Something about hearing that she hadn’t regretted it made Spencer’s chest swell with relief. He figured things could go one of two ways, and he was happy with this particular outcome.
“But we should be going. It’s late and I’m sure my parents are ready for bed. Thank you again for everything tonight.” She placed a hand on Spencer’s forearm when she emphasized the word everything .
Spencer felt like he was walking on a cloud as he made his way back up the hill to the ranch house. His steps were light, his heart stretched so full to the point of bursting. Apparently, the evidence of that feeling had made its way all the way to his face, because the first thing Nana Jo said when he opened the front door was, “What’s got you smiling?”
“Nothing.”
“Spence, I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m no idiot when it comes to matters of the heart.”
He closed the door behind him and followed his nana into the kitchen. It smelled like apples and cinnamon, and his mouth watered in response. “You sent Trinity down to the barn, didn’t you?”
Josephine passed her grandson a mug filled with her famous cider, and he cradled the cup, enjoying the warmth that spread onto his palms.
“’Course, I did,” she admitted readily. “And I also told Mia to make a big fuss on her way back down. Didn’t want her interrupting anything.”
“Thank you for that.” He tipped his mug toward his grandmother and took a seat next to her at the kitchen table. It must have been their costume making station because he could still see a few loose strings and threads scattered across the tabletop like crumbs needing to be swept away.
“Did she?” Nana Jo asked.
“Did she what?”
“Did she interrupt anything?”
Spencer coughed, practically choking on his mouthful of cider. “ Nana Jo .”
“I know you’re not a man to kiss and tell.” She shrugged not-so-innocently. “I was just curious.”
The woman had no shame. And he was too excited to keep it to himself.
“I told Trinity how I felt about her,” he said.
“And how do you feel about her?”
“I like her,” he added, drawing in another sip of the warm drink. “And as it turns out, she likes me, too.”
“Could have told you that.”
“You know, Grandma, not everything is as obvious as you think it is.”
“Sure, but with the two of you, it’s obvious. And let’s be totally honest here, Spencer, you’ve never really been able to keep your feelings hidden. You’re a what-you-see-is-what-you-get sort of guy.”
“Hmm.” He placed his mug onto the table and ran his thumb down the side, eyes focused on the caramel-colored liquid inside.
“Hmm, what?”
He looked up. “That’s how Trinity described her late husband, too.”
Nana Jo got quiet for a moment, just observing her grandson. Then she straightened a little in her chair when she said, “You know, I wouldn’t say the two of you were all that similar. Not on the outside, at least. What I knew of Calvin was that he was a gregarious man with an infectious laugh and a big personality. But on the inside where it counts, I actually do think the two of you are more alike than you may think. He was a man of deep faith and conviction. And he always put others first. Those are qualities I see in you, Spencer.”
It was a compliment, but in a way, Spencer almost felt uncomfortable hearing the words. He didn’t want to be like Trinity’s husband, if only for that fact that he knew he would never be able to live up to the man’s legacy.
“What are you thinking?” Nana Jo pressed over the table between them, bringing herself closer.
“That those are some big shoes to fill.”
“Good thing you don’t need to fill them.”
He gave his grandmother a perplexed look. “What do you mean?”
“Is Trinity asking you to replace Calvin?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Of course not.”
“She’s not looking for someone to fill in where Calvin no longer is. That’s the past, and it can’t be repeated. All that she has to look forward to is her future, and the future is always new. New adventures. New relationships. New opportunities for love.”
“I worry that I won’t be able to give her what she needs.”
Nana Jo’s age-lined hands came over Spencer’s and cupped them gently. “Have you asked her what she needs? What she’s looking for?” Then she gave her grandson a playful swat on his arm when she added, “Or were you two too busy making out to have an actual conversation?”
“Nana!”
“Hey, I might be old, but I’m not dead. I know what goes on between two people when they’re in love.”
“We are not in love.”
“Maybe not yet, but that’s always the hope, right? That like turns into love,” she asked. “That’s my hope for the two of you, at least. More accurately, it’s my prayer.”
“You pray about stuff like this?”
“The happiness of my grandchildren? ‘Course, I do. And it looks like my prayers are being answered for both you and your sister. Couldn’t be happier.”
“Clara?” What did his twin have to do with all of this?
“She’s dating Anthony again.”
Spencer very nearly fell out of his chair. “Excuse me?”
“Dating might not be the correct term. What is the stage before that? Talking? Is that what you young kids call it?”
He blinked twice, certain he hadn’t heard this correctly. “When did all of this happen?”
“Recently, I believe. But you can ask her. She’s coming up tonight to stay through the weekend. It’s a good time, actually, because we’re light on reservations anyway.”
It was hard not to be offended by the fact that Spencer’s twin sister hadn’t told him any of this and that he had to hear it from Nana. Then again, Nana Jo always did have her finger on the pulse of town gossip and goings on. Frankly, Spencer didn’t like the idea of Clara and Anthony spending any amount of time together. Yes, it had been a long time since their breakup, but he knew his sister hadn’t ever really gotten over Anthony. And that was a dangerous place to be—when your heart still beat for the one who broke it.
He didn’t have long to think about this puzzling new situation, because not even ten minutes had passed when his sister came through the front door. She had her duffel bag from college slung over her shoulder and a wary expression on her face as she stepped into the kitchen to find her brother and grandmother still seated at the table.
“Well, this explains my burning ears.” She dumped the overnight bag at her feet and pulled up a chair, then commandeered Spencer’s mug that he’d just refilled with a fresh batch of cider.
“What makes you think we were talking about you?” he asked his sister, completely bypassing a hello or how have you been?
“Nana’s got her gossip face on.”
Nana Jo gasped. “I wasn’t gossiping. Just filling your brother in on the latest with you and Anthony.”
“Nana, if a person is not present and you’re talking about them, that’s considered gossip,” Clara asserted.
Nana Jo shook her head vehemently and clucked her tongue. “It’s called keeping everyone in the loop. There’s a difference.”
“You get away with it because you’re?—”
“Old?” Nana Jo supplied for her. “At least there’s one perk to aging.”
Clara just rolled her eyes and then caught her brother looking at her, his expression unreadable. “You don’t need to worry, Spence. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?”
A huff parted her lips. “Yes, I do. Plus, nothing is really going on with us. We’ve just been talking on the phone, texting a little. He suggested I come up this weekend to attend an event at the library. Something about one of his favorite authors being in town for a signing. It sounded fun.”
“Since when have you cared about reading?”
“Since when have you cared about floral arranging?” she quipped so quickly it was like she had the comeback on the tip of her tongue, ready to deliver.
“I’m interested in Trinity. I’ll own up to that. But the difference with my situation is that Trinity hasn’t already broken my heart.”
“No, she’s just had hers completely shattered, which actually might be more of an issue.”
Clara hadn’t meant it the way it came out, Spencer was certain. She hadn’t meant for it to knock the wind from his lungs. But it had. He had to gulp to get a breath.
“Trinity has done a lot of healing,” Nana Jo piped up. The tension between the twins was thick, but nothing she hadn’t dealt with before. “And she deserves the love of a good man.”
“So do I,” Clara said, like Nana’s statement had somehow implied she didn’t.
“No one’s saying you don’t, sweetheart. If seeing if things with Anthony can go somewhere is what you want, then I’m fully supportive of it. It’s no secret this town had its share of issues with him back when he wrote that awful article about Snowdrift. But he’s since redeemed himself. There’s been a lot of growth there, professionally at least. Hopefully there’s been the same amount of growth relationally, too.”
“He’s a different person from the boy he was back then,” Clara defended. “And if I’ve learned anything from you, Nana, it’s that people deserve second chances.”
“And thirds and fourths,” Nana Jo added.
“If you’re able to forgive him, that’s great,” Spencer finally added to the conversation. “But I’m not there. I might never be.”
“That’s fine,” Clara said. “And I understand if you’re not able to. If your need to protect me doesn’t allow you to forgive him, that’s okay. For now. But if Anthony and I do end up dating again, or if this goes somewhere, then I expect you to get onboard. Okay?”
He could do that. Maybe. “Okay,” he consented, even though he still didn’t like it.
“He actually wants to meet with you.”
“What? Why?”
“I said something to him about what you’re doing with your new place, and how Trinity’s been helping you with the whole decorating side of things. Somehow it came up when he was talking to one of his coworkers. She wants to interview the two of you for an article she’s publishing in Snowdrift Summit Living. It’s about local ranch renovations and the community efforts involved.”
Spencer didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, it might be good exposure for Trinity’s flower shop, and it might also highlight some of the contractors he’d been working with on the whole house build. He knew they’d appreciate the publicity. But the other part of him wondered how things might look to the average reader; if they’d be able to interpret the way he felt about Trinity through the images, the text, the story. Would that be an issue?
The only way he would know would be to ask Trinity herself.
“The journalist is going to give you a call tomorrow,” Clara added.
Looked like he needed to give someone else a call first.