Graham got Laney settled. He got his brothers back on airplanes headed back to their homes, with promises from them to be back in Coral Canyon as soon as they could. Eli had projects to wrap up, and a house to sell, and arrangements to work out with his nanny. Andrew likewise had obligations he had to figure out before he could come back, and Graham didn’t like how empty and silent the lodge was once everyone had gone.

With January came regular life, with working out in the morning, feeding horses before breakfast, and pulling sixteen-hour work days for Springside Energy.

And now he had Laney to consider as more than someone he could text when he didn’t know what to do with one of his horses. She was insanely busy after being away from the homestead for so long, and their conversations took place through texts.

Graham hated talking on the phone, something he had to do for work and couldn’t seem to bring himself to do with Laney, even though he missed the sound of her voice. Sunday morning came, and he hadn’t been able to see her yesterday though they’d made plans. Bailey had come down with a stomach bug, and Laney had cancelled last-minute.

So Graham got dressed in his black slacks, white shirt, and bright blue tie, positioned his cowboy hat on his head just-so, and drove himself down the hill to Echo Ridge Ranch. His brothers had shoveled the driveway and sidewalk up to her front porch, and she’d kept it clean and salted though they’d had one light skiff of snow.

He knocked on the door, hoping he wasn’t being too forward. Then wondering why he cared if he was. He hadn’t seen her in six days, and he really didn’t like living in that lodge all alone. Even having Celia, Annie, and Bree come and go wasn’t enough to make the place feel like it had a soul, the way it had over Christmas.

Bailey said, “It’s Graham, Momma,” and a moment later, she pulled open the door. She wore a pale blue dress that made her eyes look like the inner part of a flame—bright blue. “Hey, Graham. Momma’s just putting in her earrings. She said you can come in.”

“Why, thank you, Miss Bailey.” He grinned at her and stepped into the house, pulling the door closed behind him. The place smelled like cinnamon and sugar, and his mouth watered. “Did your momma make something for breakfast?”

Bailey giggled and slipped her six-year-old hand into his. “No, silly. I made cinnamon rolls, just like Celia taught me. Come see.” She tugged him down the hall and into the kitchen, and his whole heart filed his chest, so full he thought he’d burst.

The kitchen looked like a sugar, cinnamon, and dough bomb had gone off, and Graham stopped and stared at it in mild horror. “Where was your mom while you made cinnamon rolls?”

“Feedin’ the horses.” Bailey sounded real proud of herself. “You want one?”

He couldn’t even see something edible, but he said, “Sure,” anyway. She bypassed the island, which was smeared with flour and melted butter, and used a spatula to scrape a mostly cooked roll off the sheet tray. She plopped it onto a paper plate and presented it to him with a broad smile.

It was definitely undercooked, but Graham took a big bite anyway. At least it tasted right, even if it needed a few more minutes in the oven. Or ten. He chewed and swallowed. Okay, twenty more minutes in the oven.

“Tastes great,” he said, because at least that was true. Laney walked out a moment later, her heels making clicks against the hard wood and saving him from having to take another bite of the nearly raw roll.

“Hey, stranger.” She slid her fingers along his jacketed forearm and a shiver moved through him. He discreetly set his plate down on the counter and grinned at her.

“Did you brush your teeth?” Laney asked Bailey.

The girl frowned, a glob of the inner part of a cinnamon roll on her finger. She licked it off and said, “Not yet.”

“Well, go get it done. We don’t want to be late for church.” She watched the girl skip down the hall and into the bathroom before turning back to him. “Better kiss me quick.”

Graham wanted to take his time, but he didn’t waste a second taking her into his arms and matching his mouth to hers. “I missed you,” he murmured and kissed her again. “I was hoping we could go to church together.” Another kiss.

“You aren’t worried about the town gossip?”

He kissed her again, his need for her almost insatiable. Something banged down the hall, and Laney stepped away from him, smoothing down her blouse, then her skirt, and finally her hair.

“You cut your hair,” he said, reaching for the ends of it.

“Just a little,” she said.

“At least six inches.”

“It was getting too long.” She smiled at him, and he found a pretty blush in her face. “And wow, you’re a brave soul to eat that cinnamon roll.”

“It just needed more time in the oven.”

“Teeth brushed,” Bailey announced, and Graham spun around, hoping she hadn’t heard him.

“Great,” Laney said. “Graham’s driving us to church.”

Once they were loaded up, Graham wished he owned a truck so he could have Laney’s leg pressed right against his. Her perfume and her presence filled the SUV, but he wanted to hold her hand, feel the warmth of her body, and kiss her at every stop sign.

As it was, he made small talk about his brothers, asked about her mother, and engaged Bailey in a conversation about a school project she was doing about Martin Luther King for the upcoming holiday.

The church sat on the corner of Ponderosa and Third, a quaint, old building made of pink brick. Additions had been put on the back and north side for additional classrooms, and a large, field stretched toward a copse of trees. The pastor’s wife held potlucks in the summer on that field, and relay races, and barbeques.

Graham liked being part of this community, and as he walked into the church, his hand securely in Laney’s, more than a few people looked his way. He didn’t mind. He was used to staring whenever he left the lodge, as it didn’t happen often.

Usually at church, though, people had gotten used to him being there. No, he didn’t say much, but neither did a whole lot of other cowboys in Coral Canyon.

“You survived the storm,” a woman said, and Graham turned toward the sound to find Bonnie standing there beaming at him. “Come sit by us. Hello, Laney.” She positively beamed at the pair of them, and Graham almost rolled his eyes.

Bonnie bounced her baby boy on her hip and gestured. “Come on, come on. Sam will be glad to see you.”

Graham looked at Laney, who shrugged slightly. So he followed Bonnie into the chapel and down to almost the front. “Really?” he hissed to his friends. “Could we be any more on display?”

“Scoot over, Sam,” Bonnie said in a voice she couldn’t think was quiet. “Graham and Laney are here with Bailey.”

Surprise streamed across Sam’s face, but he collected the diaper bag and moved down the bench a bit. Not nearly enough, but another family had already taken up the other half. Graham squeezed himself onto the bench, as did Laney and Bailey.

Well, he’d gotten his wish of Laney’s leg flush against his, her hand gripping his, but he wasn’t going to kiss her. Not here on the third row where every busybody in town could see. Not in church at all—unless they’d just said “I do,” and she was now his wife.

Wife.

The word bounced around inside his head, making it hard to hear the pastor’s sermon. Finally, Graham pulled himself together and managed to hear the last ten minutes of Pastor Landy’s message. The pastor was younger than him, something Graham appreciated, as he felt like the man understood what it was like to live in today’s world.

Though Graham hadn’t heard the whole thing, he’d gotten the gist of the message—the Savior loved and accepted everyone, even the sinner. They had the same responsibility.

Graham thought about Mike. It was hard to love and accept him. And forgiving him? Graham had only met the man once, and he hadn’t liked what he’d done to Laney.

You’re still a work-in-progress, he told himself. The meeting ended, and he spoke with Sam and Bonnie for a few minutes.

“You three should come to dinner,” Bonnie said, an abnormally huge smile on her face.

“Oh, we—”

“Yeah, that would be fun,” Laney interrupted him. She stood and ushered Bailey into the aisle. “We’ll wait for you in the lobby.” With that, she left, and Graham watched her go until she was out of earshot. Then he turned back to Bonnie.

“I’m forty years old,” he growled. “You’re embarrassing me.”

Bonnie trilled out a laugh and patted Graham’s arm like he was her son. “You’re doing just fine. She held your hand for the whole meeting.”

“Stop it,” he said, though a sliver of happiness threaded through him. “She seems to like me, right?”

Bonnie sobered, though the sparkle in her eyes didn’t go out. “Graham. Of course she likes you. I told you the two of you would be good together.”

“I know.” Her suggestion had plagued him for weeks, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “Okay, well, now that we’re back to normal life, I don’t get to see her much. So I’ll see you guys later.”

“Graham?” Sam stood, the diaper bag over his shoulder making him into such a dad. “Just be yourself.”

Graham nodded and made his way toward the lobby, which seemed to swarm with people. Laney stood near her mother, talking, and Graham joined them.

“Afternoon, ma’am.” He tipped his hat at her mother. “Would you like to join us for lunch today?”

“What’s Celia making?”

“Oh, she’s off today.” He leaned down, a smile on his face and pure joy in his heart. “But she left a pizza noodle casserole in the fridge.”

“I love that stuff,” Bailey said, and Graham chuckled.

“Me too, kid,” he said. “Me too.”

Days later, Mother Nature decided Wyoming didn’t have enough snow. Somehow, six feet didn’t satisfy her, and Graham trekked through the falling flakes to the barn to make sure his animals had enough to eat and drink and would stay cozy in the stables. He thought of Laney, and as soon as he made it out of the weather, he texted her to offer his help.

I’d love that, she responded. I’ll wait for you to come down.

So while he had reports to read and three phone calls from the general manager of Springside to return, he methodically went through what it took to maintain his animals and then he drove down to Laney’s house.

He knocked at the same time he opened the door, calling, “Laney? Bailey?”

“In the kitchen,” Laney called.

Graham closed the door, hoping he hadn’t let in too much cold. Something didn’t feel quite right in the house, but he found Laney spreading caramel popcorn on a long sheet of waxed paper on the island.

“Mm, this looks good.” But he didn’t snatch a chunk of the warm treat. He wrapped his arms around Laney and buried his face in the hollow of her neck while she giggled. He couldn’t believe how right it felt to be with her, how easy it was.

None of his other relationships had been this simple, this carefree, this wonderful, and he wondered if it was too easy.

“Stop it,” she said. “Bailey’s right over there.”

But the little girl lay asleep on the couch. Graham kissed Laney and said, “Well, get dressed so we can go get your horses fed. It’s really coming down out there.”

She did, and they got her farm all taken care of. He liked working with her, liked watching her whisper to the horses and talk to the barn dogs like they were real friends. He enjoyed her strength and drive, and as they walked back to the house, he thought he might be in love with Laney McAllister.

She opened the back door and entered the house, along with a gust of wind. Graham followed her, glad for the warmth inside.

But it wasn’t right. It wasn’t warm enough.

Laney seemed to notice too, because she said, “I need to check the furnace.” She kept her coat and boots on as she went downstairs, and a few minutes later, she came back up wearing a worried look.

“It’s out,” she said. “The pilot light is out and I can’t get it back on.” She picked up her phone and started dialing.

“So you’ll just come up to the lodge,” he said.

She shook her head, pressed her lips together, and said, “Hey, Mom. Can Bailey and I come stay with you tonight? My furnace is out.”