Chance slowed the truck as he approached Dr. Johnny’s house. Jean was out in the flower bed by the front door and she looked up and waved.

“Hi, Chance. I hear you’re making dinner up at the house tonight.”

He nodded, feeling a little guilty. Perhaps they should have invited her and Johnny? “Well, I’m in charge of the grill, Hope’s in charge of the veggies, and Seymour’s taking care of dessert.”

Jean laughed. “That’s so wonderful. I never thought I’d see the day Seymour would pitch in to help make dinner.”

“It was his suggestion.”

Jean nodded. “Yes, he told me as much. I think he was offended when I expressed my surprise, but he can hardly blame me. It’s the first time I’ve known him to do anything like that in forty years.”

Chance smiled. He liked Jean; he understood where she was coming from, but he felt the need to defend Seymour. “I think you’ll see a lot more changes in him in the coming months. Go easy on him? I think he’s ready to start living his life a little differently, and that can be hard. It’s easier to stay in your rut than to break out of it.”

Jean met his gaze. For a moment, he feared he’d offended her, but she nodded slowly and smiled. “Thank you, Chance. I hadn’t thought about it like that, but you’re right. He’s trying to open up, isn’t he? He’s experimenting with letting himself really live again. He needs our support, not teasing.”

Chance smiled, glad she understood.

“You’re a smart one, aren’t you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but I can relate to where he’s coming from.”

“I’ll bet you can, but you’re a few steps ahead of him, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I guess I am.”

“Do you think we might be hearing the sound of wedding bells any time soon?”

He frowned.

“I’m sorry. That’s overstepping. It’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s not that. I don’t mind you asking. I just … I guess …” He didn’t know how to explain it, so he decided to just spit it out and say it. “I want to marry her. I want to ask her. I’ve asked for and received Seymour’s blessing. What I don’t know is the best way to ask Hope. I keep thinking I want to make some big gesture, but I don’t know what she might like.”

Jean smiled kindly. “She likes you. She loves you. You should do what comes naturally to you, Chance. Hope isn’t the kind of girl who needs fireworks and grand gestures. She just needs to know that you love her. That she’s the most important thing in the world to you.”

Chance nodded. He’d heard it before and he knew the truth of it, but it didn’t help him figure out what to do. “No big ideas, then?” he asked with a rueful smile.

Jean shook her head. “Sorry, you’re on your own with that one. I’d better let you get going, too; I don’t want to be the reason you’re late for dinner, especially since they’re counting on you for the main course.”

“Yeah, I’d better get up there. If we don’t poison ourselves, maybe we can do it again soon and invite you and Dr. Johnny.”

“That’d be nice, but it’s important for the three of you to bond first, build a good foundation as a family.”

“Yeah.” He tipped his hat to her and pointed his truck up the driveway to Seymour’s place. When he pulled up in front of the house, he sat there for a moment. He didn’t like to just run up the steps and let himself in. He wasn’t comfortable enough to do that yet. On the other hand, he hated the thought of ringing the doorbell and waiting to be let in like a visitor. He fished his phone out of his pocket and called Hope.

“Hey, are you going to be here soon? Dad and I got a great day’s work done, but we should start thinking about dinner soon.”

“I just pulled up.”

“Great.”

He looked up to see the front door open and she came outside and smiled at him. “Are you coming up?” she asked with a smile.

“On my way.” He hung up and grabbed the cooler off the backseat.

She greeted him with a kiss at the top of the stairs. “How was your day?”

He nodded. “It was good, business as usual, but I’m worried about Maverick. He’s favoring his offside hind leg again. He’s not lame, but he’s feeling it. I want to rest him up tomorrow, but I don’t know who I’ll take out instead. Rio’s gone on the guest ranch roster now, so he’s not available.”

She smiled. “It sounds to me like you need another horse or two to call your own. What about Archie? Did you talk to Lily about him?”

“I did; in fact, I called her today about him.” He shook his head. “It’s probably a bad idea.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because he’s not the ideal candidate. I’d have to train him to be a cow horse. He’s young and headstrong, and there are probably a dozen more suitable horses right here in the valley that I could buy and not have to transport here from California.”

“How do you go about transporting horses over long distances like that? Is it hard for them, do they hate it?”

Chance shrugged. “It depends on the animal. Some of them travel well, some of them don’t. It’s not ideal for them, but it’s a fact of life.”

Hope nodded, looking thoughtful.

“I’ll figure something out.” He held up the cooler. “For now, I’m more interested in getting to work on dinner. These rib-eyes should be pretty good.”

He followed her through to the kitchen where the sight of Seymour wearing an apron and with a smudge of flour on his cheek made Chance smile. The guy looked so much less intimidating like that. In fact, he looked kind of vulnerable, and, for the first time, Chance noticed how old he looked.

“Don’t laugh,” he said with a rueful smile. “I’m new to this baking lark and I haven’t mastered it yet.”

“I have no doubt you will, though,” said Chance with a smile.

“The results have been wonderful so far,” said Hope.

Chance nodded his agreement. Hope had brought home a batch of Seymour’s cookies earlier in the week and they were good. Very good.

Seymour nodded at the cooler. “What are we having?”

“Rib-eyes.”

“Perfect. I’ll pick us out a decent red, then.”

Chance hesitated. He didn’t want to decline whatever wine Seymour might offer, but he did want to offer an alternative. He reached into the holdall he’d slung over his shoulder and pulled out a bottle of the Cab Franc. “I know it’s not what you’re used to, but would you at least give this a try?”

Hope looked a little surprised, but Seymour nodded eagerly. “I’d love to. I’ve been stuck in a rut with my wines, I need the encouragement to try something new.”

Chance smiled, remembering his conversation with Jean not ten minutes ago. “You might not like it, and we can crack open one of yours, if that’s the case, but you might find you love it. And if you do, I’ve got a couple of bottles in here, and I’ll get you a case sent over.”

“Thanks.”

~ ~ ~

Hope smiled to herself. She loved the dynamic between the two men. They were both tough guys who, for probably the first time in their lives, were allowing themselves to be vulnerable—and to help each other out. She loved them both for it and she loved that she was the one who had brought them together, and more than that, brought them to the point in their lives where they each were right now.

“Shall I get some glasses?” she asked.

“Please,” said her dad, holding up his floury hands. “I probably shouldn’t do it.”

She brought the glasses and Chance poured Seymour a taste. She was proud of them both—that Chance didn’t pour a full glass to start with and that her dad didn’t make a big deal of swilling and sniffing. He took a sip and smiled. “This is good.”

“Really?” asked Chance. “You don’t have to drink it just to be polite.”

Hope laughed. “Believe me, he wouldn’t. I can tell by his face that he likes it.”

“I like it a lot,” said her dad with a grin.

Chance raised an eyebrow at Hope. “Is a lot code for, I can stand a glass or two of this stuff?”

She laughed again. “It’s more likely code for, I like it so much I might buy the winery.”

They both laughed with her. “I hadn’t thought of that,” said her dad, “but now you mention it …”

“I don’t think the guys who own the place would ever sell out, but I think they’d probably love it if you want to invest.”

“You know them?”

“Kind of,” Chance said with a smile.

For the next half hour, they all worked with and around each other in the kitchen. Chance prepared the steaks. Hope was a little concerned that they might be too plain for her dad’s taste. All Chance did was salt and pepper them on each side and then he left them to sit while he got the grill ready. Her dad kept himself busy at the island, preparing sheets of cookies and little cakes. She wasn’t sure what the cakes might be; they were a new one on her, but it didn’t matter. He was enjoying himself doing something simple and spending time with her and Chance. She prepared a big salad and sautéed a huge pan of green beans. They were one thing she knew both her dad and Chance loved. It was hardly the healthy option, but she cooked them in butter with mushrooms and garlic and a good splash of the wine.

Once her dad had taken his last tray of cookies from the oven, he smiled at her. “Do you mind if I go and talk to Chance while he grills?”

She raised an eyebrow, wondering what he might want to talk to him about.

He smiled. “Stop worrying. I’m not going to interrogate him. I want to learn from him. I haven’t grilled a steak since we lived here. I’ve forgotten how, and I wasn’t very good at it then. I want to learn again, and I have a feeling your Chance is the man to teach me.”

She smiled. “He does grill a great steak and burgers and kebabs and pretty much anything on the grill.”

“See?” He came and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “He can teach me a lot.”

She smiled to herself as she watched him go. Things were working out so well—for him as well as for her.

Once the beans were almost ready, she left them on a low light and made a light salad dressing; she didn’t want anything to detract from the steak. Once she was done, she looked around the kitchen, and finding nothing left to do, she went to check on Chance and her dad. She slowed when she saw them out on the deck and her throat tightened. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve two such amazing men in her life. They were polar opposites in some respects and yet so similar in others.

Chance was turning the steaks and her dad was watching closely, asking questions all the time. She moved closer, enjoying seeing them getting along so well. It seemed they weren’t talking about the steaks, but about the ranch.

“I expect you to run the herd however you see fit, and I have every faith that will be the right way. I’m not doubting you, Chance.”

“I know.” Watching his face, Hope knew Chance was frustrated. He was trying to make a point but hadn’t chosen the right words to get it across. “What I mean is …” He shrugged. “I promise you, I won’t let you down.”

Hope’s jaw dropped. Had she heard that right? Had Chance just made a promise?

Her dad turned and saw her. “Are you coming out to join us?”

She shook her head. “I just wanted to see how long the steaks will be. Everything else is ready to go.”

Chance met her gaze with a smile. “Two minutes. Then we can let them sit a minute or two while we dish up.” He looked at Seymour. “You always need to let the steaks sit and keep cooking a minute or two when you take them off the grill, it helps the flavor to no end. And don’t ever do that fancy eat your salad first thing. You dish the salad right up along with everything else. The meat is the star of this show.”

Her dad smiled. “See, Hopey. I told you I had a lot to learn.”

She nodded and went back through to the kitchen. She was still trying to process hearing Chance make a promise. He didn’t do that. Ever. What had changed?

~ ~ ~

It was dark by the time they left Seymour’s place. Chance looked at Hope as he pulled away from the house. “Are you okay?” It had been a great evening, but she’d been quieter than usual while they ate.

“I’m a little tired. That’s all.”

He nodded. She had been working with her dad all day before he arrived. “We’d best get you home to bed, then.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

That wasn’t the response he’d been hoping for, but maybe she was too tired to joke around with him. And he shouldn’t be thinking about what they could do in bed other than sleep. He reached over and touched her arm. “You really are beat, aren’t you?”

She met his gaze and shook her head. “No, I’m not that tired at all, if I’m honest. And I need to be honest.”

“Why, what’s up?” Something was bothering her, and it looked like something big.

“When you were grilling the steaks with Dad, I heard you make him a promise.”

Chance wondered what she was getting at. “I did. I promised him I won’t let him down, and I won’t. I’m a man of my word.”

“I know that. You’ve always been a man of your word, but I thought you were a man who didn’t make promises. Ever.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I haven’t made a promise for eighteen years, as you know.”

“So, what changed?”

He shrugged. “When we were at the lake and I saw Renée, we talked about that. I told you that being there made me see that so many of the things I believed about life and about myself were just old superstitions that I clung to in an attempt to still feel close to Chloe. Renée kicked my butt about the promises thing. She pointed out that the promise I made to her that night probably didn’t make any difference to what happened, and, that even if it had, it was time to forget it, to let it go like everything else.”

Hope nodded.

“What’s the matter? I thought you might be pleased. I can see how dumb it was now, but it was important to me for all those years.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I am pleased. That’s a huge step for you.”

Chance turned off East River Road into the driveway of Remington Ranch. “You don’t sound pleased.”

When he pulled up in front of the cabin, she reached across and hugged him. “I am. I’m happy for you. I’m being silly, that’s all.”

“Want to tell me about it?”

She shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather let it go. I know I’m being stupid, so let me talk myself around?”

“Okay.” He didn’t like to see her upset and not understand why. He didn’t like that she didn’t want to explain it to him, but if anyone could understand, it was him. That had been his MO all these years. He didn’t explain himself. He went off by himself and worked through whatever was bothering him and came back when he felt better about it. He was trying not to do that with Hope. They were a team; they said they’d tell each other everything.

She opened the truck door and got out. “Come on, it’s late.”

He got out and slid his arm around her shoulders on their way into the cabin. “Whatever it is, don’t let it blow up in your mind?”

She reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “That’s what I’m talking myself out of. I don’t want you to see how silly I was being. I just need to talk myself down.”

“I won’t think you’re silly.”

She smiled, and it was more genuine this time. “I know.”