Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Miranda
What Are the Odds?
The sound of the kitchen door crashing open was Miranda’s first clue something was wrong.
“Andy, did you know Renn is a pro football player?” Jeremy’s voice boomed through the room.
She nodded with her hands in the soapy water in the sink where she was washing the breakfast dishes.
“Just found that out over the weekend. Crazy right?”
“Let it Rip Walker has been helping us out at the ranch all this time and coaching me on my spirals. And I think he has a big crush on you. Unbelievable. Do you think Mrs. Hart and the sheriff knew this?”
“Ya, I’m one hundred percent they all knew and were just giving him privacy while he was in town.”
“I guess you’re right. I just can’t believe I have the next quarterback of the Aces giving me private lessons.” He grabbed a muffin off the rack and headed out of the kitchen but then came back in. “You think he’ll keep coming back once the season starts?”
“I don’t know, Jer, you’ll have to ask him. Did you feed the horses?”
“Ya, I mean Renn and I did, then we did some drills.”
She looked out the window and spotted Renn leaning up against the fence where Beast was grazing. “You better get ready for camp. The bus will be here soon.”
She was torn on going out to see him knowing he wouldn’t be in town too much longer and just letting go now.
From what she read online he was due to sign a new contract and start training camp by the end of the week.
She was grateful he’d spent his morning coaching her little brother and helping out with the horses.
But she also knew she was already attached and she couldn’t keep him.
But never one to miss a chance at more heartbreak she poured two cups of coffee and walked out to the barn. The earth smelled damp still, but the warm morning sun was already promising to dry out the remnants of mud left over from the recent rainstorms.
“Morning, cowboy,” she said, handing him the pink neon coffee cup filled to the brim.
“Morning.” He accepted the cup with a smile. “Have you heard anything more from Dixon or the other ranches yet?”
“Not yet.”
“I’m sure you’ll have Beast booked up with dates in no time.”
“You tell the Aces you’ll take their deal?”
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t explain it, but it’s like the second I sign that contract all this will change. Publicity, interviews, it’s all part of the deal.”
She nodded. “And?”
“And I just got my brothers, and Mrs. Hart. It feels like home here. But what if the Harts don’t want people talking about their dad’s castoff. I don’t want to embarrass them.”
“Those boys don’t strike me as the type to let other people’s opinions sway them. But why don’t you just ask them?”
Renn sipped his coffee.
“You can’t hold on to something that doesn’t want to be held,” Miranda said.
Renn set both their cups down on the wood fence. And she stepped into his arms, letting his warmth wrap around her. She breathed in his scent.
“You’re right,” he whispered, “no matter how much we want to.” Renn held her as the sun took its place high in the sky.
The last bits of pink turned blue. She didn’t want to let him go but she needed to be on her own right now.
And he was about to be the most sought after man in the NFL.
Even if he didn’t know it yet, his life was going to get busy, and it would be too hard to be tied down to her.
“I better get to work,” she said, stepping out of his arms. “And you better go sign that contract.” She grabbed her cup and headed toward the barn, not knowing when would be the last time she saw him before he headed back to Atlanta but not wanting to say goodbye.
*
She didn’t see Renn the rest of the week, making it a point to not head outside until he was done each morning helping Jeremy with his spiral, and then she’d watch him drive away.
“You sure you want to let that boy go?” Sara asked.
“He’s not mine to keep. He’s got a big future, and it wouldn’t be fair to try and rope him in right before he spreads his wings.”
Sara sighed. “I guess we’ll see what he decides for himself then.”
“In the meantime, I’m counting on several bookings for Beast to come through, so I’ll be on the road a lot the next few weeks. But the day and night nurses are lined up and Jeremy’s going to manage the mares.”
“It’s all going to work out, my gumption girl,” Sara said with a big smile.
“I think you’re right,” Miranda said, forcing a smile she didn’t really feel. Even though her business was taking off, each day she didn’t spend with Renn felt like a punch to the gut. And she knew he’d be gone for good soon.