Harley helped her mom get the roast beef, mashed potatoes, garden corn, and homemade rolls onto the table while studying her dad in his easy chair. He looked horrible. He and Mom had gone to the doctor a few times last week, but nobody wanted to talk about it. Harley was sick even thinking about the cancer eating away at his once-strong body.

Her dad caught her eye. “Stop looking at me like I’m a squirrel you’re roastin’ over the fire.”

Harley’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t look at you like that.”

“Yes, you did. Everybody wants to go where I’m going, so I don’t know what you’re all sad about anyway. I’m sad for you. You have to stay here, and I get to go to heaven and party it up with my parents and brother and a whole slew of people who know how to have a good time.”

Harley fumbled for a response, any response. Her tongue lay heavy in her mouth.

“But I’ll be sad for you having to stay on this boring earth without your witty, fun-loving papa.” His voice softened a little bit, but there was still fire in his eyes.

“Will you please stop it?” her mom begged. “Do you have any clue how much I’m going to miss you?”

“I know you’re going to miss me, darlin’, but that’s just ’cause I’m so easy to love.” He winked at the two of them. “I’m going to miss you more, sweetheart.” His voice grew more tender than Harley had ever heard.

Ryker came in the back door from checking on the calves. He glanced around, sensing the tension in the room. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing good,” her dad said. “Bunch of sobbin’ women, cryin’ buckets of tears.” He’d always loved Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

“That’s not fair, Daddy,” Harley protested. “You really want us to not be sad at the thought of losing you?”

“Yeah, I do.” He jutted out his chin. “Is that too much to ask? Put on your pretty smiles and let me enjoy your beautiful faces. Enlighten my mind with all your intellectual brilliance and keep me happy and distracted my last few days, because it’s awfully miserable to be sitting where I’m sitting!”

Harley’s mom sniffled, but Harley resolved to honor her dad’s request. Even if it was fake to pretend she was happy. She tried to think how she’d feel if she was in his place and realized he wasn’t very far off. She’d hate seeing everyone sniffling and boo-hooing about her future demise.

Harley walked over to his chair and leaned down, kissing his cheek and then wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Okay, Daddy. We’ll party it up then.”

He reached up and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, darlin’.” His voice choked up. Harley had never seen her dad cry, and she didn’t know if she could see it now without completely breaking down.

The front door opened and closed, and Harley straightened and turned. Crew strode into the great room. He looked almost as good in some gray shorts and a black T-shirt stretching nicely across his chest as he had in a suit. Almost. She’d sure loved him in that suit.

“There’s my boy,” her dad boomed. “Let’s eat so we can watch the game. I got it on DVR.”

Crew grinned. “Good. Then we can fast-forward the boring innings where the Dodgers are three up, three down.”

Her dad laughed, and Harley was so grateful to Crew for bringing that laugh out. A pallor of heaviness was filling their home, but Crew dispelled it easily. It reminded her of when she was in college and she’d allow herself to work on house plans on her computer after hours of poring over boring business textbooks. It always lifted her spirits.

Her dad pushed out of his chair and Ryker was quick to get by his side and help him to the table. Harley stood by helplessly. She hadn’t even thought of helping him up like that.

They blessed the food, passed it around, and had started eating the delicious homemade meal when her dad dropped a bomb that stuck the succulent roast beef in her throat.

“Crew! When you gonna take my girl on a nice long horseback ride? You know how she loves to ride, and all she’s done this past week is sit around trying to make me smarter, figure out how to save us a whole bunch of tax money with her brilliance, and make her beautiful jewelry.”

“Dad.” Harley grabbed a roll and hurried to butter it to avoid looking at any of them. Why did they have to try to match-make her with Crew? Just to keep her in Wyoming?

“What?” he defended. “You’d be happy to take her, right, Crew?”

“Of course, sir. I’d love to.”

Harley couldn’t resist raising her eyes and meeting his gaze. He looked mischievous and irresistible. Harley swallowed hard and took a too-large bite of her roll. The butter had melted on the fresh roll and the yeasty bread was wonderfully light, but she could hardly chew around the bite she’d taken.

“So tomorrow? Summer days are a-wastin’.” Her dad was not letting up.

Harley appealed to Ryker and her mom with her eyes, but they were sharing a secretive glance without her. Oh, great. Her entire family was involved in some ploy to hook her up with Crew. They all knew she would be marrying a debonair, educated man and seeing the world, and Crew definitely wasn’t the man who could do that with her.

“I have to catch up on quite a few projects with work tomorrow,” Crew said. “Tuesday morning would work better.” His gaze swung to Harley. “If that works okay for you?”

Harley finally got the bite down. “Tuesday is fine.” She quickly changed the subject before Ryker teased them or her mom started asking Crew’s measurements for the tux for their wedding day. “What projects are you working on around the ranch?”

Crew had just taken a bite of roast beef, so her dad answered for him. “Crew has just been helping around the ranch because I’m such weak-sauce and we’re shorthanded. He’s got two successful businesses.”

Her mom’s mashed potatoes were creamy and fluffy, but Harley hardly tasted the bite as she swallowed quickly. “Are you serious?” she asked. “I thought you were only a ranch hand.” What to make of this new information? Crew had not one but two businesses? That didn’t scream playboy who lives with mom and dad. Not that it mattered to her personally, but she was happy to see her friend be successful.

Crew simply stared at her like she’d dug up a secret he would’ve taken to the grave.

“Ouch. Did you mean to insult all of us in one fell swoop?” Ryker asked.

Harley looked around. Her mom appeared a little ashamed of her insensitivity. Her dad was kind of smirking like he knew she’d been picturing Crew as only mucking out horse stalls and had just been flipped on her head. Ryker looked a little peeved. Crew leaned toward her as if her response might determine world peace.

“N-no. I apologize. Ranching is a good, honest career, and I know you’re successful, Ryker. I just meant …” She didn’t know what she meant, but she really wanted to hear more about Crew’s businesses.

“You just meant that a ranch hand was beneath the educated princess, we get it.” Ryker’s words were harsh, but his tone was easy and his smile big. He wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. “Maybe you need to open your eyes, little sister.”

“We all have different paths, Ry.”

“Some that rocket us away from what’s important,” he said quietly.

Harley’s stomach tightened. She hated to offend her dad or brother, but she was cut from a different cloth from them. She needed books, intellectual discussions, ideas to improve and succeed, and fighting to climb the career ladder, but most of all she needed exploration and adventures, new vistas and people. The girls’ camp days of her youth had opened her eyes to all that was out there and set her on a path to adventure that she wouldn’t veer from.

“So what are your businesses?” she asked Crew before Ryker could expound or her messed up priorities. He’d been a great big brother growing up, protecting her, teaching her, teasing her, but he never understood how much she wanted England, education, and experiences. She’d never forget the day she came home from Camp Wallakee and confided in him about the Jane Austen Pact and how she was going to live in England someday and from there, explore new countries. He’d told her that was nice, but she’d grow out of wanting to see the world. No matter how she dug her heels in, he simply teased her or dismissed her dreams. She focused on Crew and tried to ignore the familiar sting.

“I own a construction company, and I have a side business where I build concrete sinks and vanity tops.”

“Oh.” Both businesses fit him. “How’s that going for you?”

He paused and glanced at her dad. Clint nodded encouragingly. Harley was confused. Why wouldn’t Crew want to brag about his success? She was happy for him.

Finally, he said, “Construction is out of control. I have seven houses in varying degrees of completion right now and four other buyers begging me to get going on theirs. The concrete sinks are more of a pastime, but I’ve got orders stacked up.” He said all of this with a quiet pride and an ease that showed he was comfortable doing what he was doing and being successful at it.

“Good for you,” she said, meaning it. She tamped down that old longing to be the one designing and decorating homes. She used to draw home plans in notebooks before she found a computer program that was even more fun, but that was before she’d gotten into Yale and focused on the world of business. Now she only played around with design when she had a spare minute and needed a break from textbooks. Weird that her old dreams would’ve fit so perfectly with what Crew was doing. She had new dreams now, and things were working out the way they should.

“It is good for him,” her dad said. “The boy’s only twenty-four and already people are clamoring to have him build their house. And I’m not talking some little starter home. These homes are for the richies, I tell ya.”

Harley watched Crew look down as if embarrassed by the praise. She knew that couldn’t be right, because he’d always been the cocksure super athlete with girls begging to date him. His little sister used to call him the Golden Boy. It would figure that his business would be successful.

“Thanks, Clint.”

“And here this boy takes the time out to feed cows and run to the auction for me. He’s a good one, Harley.” Her dad winked.

Harley’s face filled with heat. Crew had been sacrificing time he could’ve been working on his own businesses to help her family out because of her dad’s sickness. She could agree that he was a “good one,” but didn’t know how to say that without encouraging the entire group that she was ready to pick out rings and flowers. She understood that in their eyes she and Crew were the perfect fit, but it wasn’t meant to be, no matter how selfless, fun, good-looking, and successful Crew was. Dang, she needed to stop listing all his positive qualities.

Nobody said anything, and the silence was more than awkward.

“So I’ll plan on taking the day off Tuesday and getting that horseback ride in for you,” Crew eventually said.

“I’ll make some room in my schedule for you,” Harley teased.

Everyone laughed, and thankfully the conversation turned to baseball, letting her enjoy the delicious food and easy conversation. She took the opportunity to study Crew’s profile when he was talking to her family members. Her dad was right: he was a good one. It was an odd shift to realize that his designer suit and nice truck weren’t just a boy living beyond his means but the result of a hard worker becoming successful. Good for Crew.

* * *

Crew reclined into the leather couch, trying to focus on the baseball game on the flat-screen television, but he was too busy checking Harley’s location in the other room. He’d offered to help clean up but had been shut down by Harley and her mother, both of them urging him to go sit with Clint and enjoy the game. He knew they just wanted Clint to enjoy the game and neither of them were huge baseball fans, so they couldn’t talk trash with him about batting average or RBIs or which player might have a chance at a home run with which pitcher.

He was grateful to Clint for securing him an uninterrupted day with Harley on Tuesday, and he couldn’t feel guilty about taking her away from her family when her dad was the one who suggested it. He’d liked the surprise in her eyes when she found out about his businesses, but was it enough? He still wasn’t some Harvard or Cambridge grad. He should’ve told her about his drafting degree and how he read nonfiction books nonstop, but how did he bring either up without sounding like he was trying to paint himself better in her eyes?

He and Ryker were sitting on one couch, and Clint lay back in his overstuffed recliner. The women finished the kitchen cleanup and Harley headed for the bathroom while her mom came into the living room. Sadie sat on the other couch, on the cushion closest to the recliner.

“Ryker,” Clint whispered loudly. “Move by your mama.”

“Huh?” Ryker looked up just as Harley opened the downstairs bathroom door.

“Move,” Clint commanded.

“Oh!” Ryker jumped up and hurled himself at the other couch.

Crew tried to hide his grin but was probably unsuccessful as Harley walked into the room. She’d have no choice but to sit by him. She took in the seating arrangements with an arched brow; then she ran, jumped over the edge of the other sofa, and landed on Ryker.

“Hey!” he screamed, but he started laughing.

“You two,” Sadie admonished, smiling and shaking her head.

Clint simply grinned.

Ryker let out a roar and stood, hauling Harley with him. Now she was the one crying out in surprise. He strode across the living room carpet and dumped Harley into Crew’s lap. Crew didn’t cry out in surprise at all. He took the perfect package that had been dumped in his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

“Hey,” he said quietly, grinning down at her.

“Hey,” she whispered back.

She smelled so good, that distinctive vanilla flavor that he loved. Her deep brown eyes seemed to sparkle up at him. Crew would’ve kissed her then and there, but he had enough presence of mind to be aware of their audience.

He made the mistake of glancing over at her family, who were all watching them with interest. “It’s okay,” Ryker said. “Pretend we’re not here.”

Harley pushed out of his arms, standing. “Who wants pie? Mama taught me how to make her strawberry pie with our homegrown strawberries.” It was like she was giving a pie sales pitch to get away from him.

“I’ll take some,” Ryker said.

“Sure,” Clint said.

“Love some,” Sadie said.

Crew stood next to Harley. “I’ll help you serve it.”

She stared at him for a second before whirling and striding past the dining area and into the kitchen. He followed her, wanting so very much to talk her into giving him a chance, but this probably wasn’t the right time. Her family was just through the open space. They obviously approved, but Crew wanted Harley to love him for him, not to appease her family.

As he retrieved dessert plates and forks, she sliced the pie. He pulled out ice cream, at a loss for what to say.

“I’m sorry they keep pushing us together,” Harley muttered in a low voice, pointing the knife at her family.

“I don’t really mind it so much.” He grinned, hoping it was brilliant enough to serve as a beacon.

She placed a slice of pie on a plate, and he pulled out the ice cream scoop and started dolloping out a serving on each plate. “Just because you’re comfortable doesn’t make you the right choice,” Harley said.

Crew dropped the ice cream scoop into the container and stepped closer to her. His gut churned with apprehension. “What does that mean?”

“You know where we keep the ice cream scooper,” Harley pointed out. “You basically grew up in this house, Crew. You’re like an older brother to me, but you’re comfortable to them, so of course they want me to fall for you.”

Crew’s forehead scrunched and he could feel a headache coming on. She wasn’t the type of girl to try and spite her family, even though they were different from her. She was an academic and an adventure lover, and her brother and dad were very much the work-by-the-sweat-of-your-brow and stay-close-to-home kind of people. Harley definitely knew how to work hard, but she was the perfect mix of brains and hard work to him. Yet why did she have to talk herself out of liking him on every occasion? Did she think he wasn’t good enough for her? Did she really only think of him as a brother? Or was it all tied up in her twisted perceptions of needing an Englishman? Curse Jane Austen.

“Is this comfortable to you?” There was only one way to find out if she was attracted to him. He wrapped his arm around her back and scooted in closer to her until their bodies were pressed together.

Harley’s breath shortened and she stared up at him with her mouth slightly open. “Wh-what did you ask?” she said.

Crew grinned. He affected her, and he knew it. “You said I was comfortable. Do you feel comfortable right now?” His other hand trailed through her dark curls; they were smooth and felt like silk. He cupped her neck with his palm.

“No, not really,” she squeaked out.

He bent down closer. Her family might be watching, but he couldn’t afford to waste any opportunity to somehow convince her of his love and lifelong devotion to her.

She grabbed a plate of pie and shoved it a little too hard into his hands. The pie and ice cream squished into his abdomen, covering his shirt and slopping down onto the floor.

“Whoa.” Crew stepped back.

“Oops.” Harley grinned at him unrepentantly, setting the ruined piece of pie and plate on the counter. “That should cool you off a little bit.”

Crew swiped his finger through the ice cream and red glaze on his shirt and trailed it down her cheek. “Almost as sweet as you, but you do the opposite of cooling me off.” He winked.

Harley laughed. “My sassiness should.”

“You wish. That sassiness just draws me in.” He restrained himself from stepping closer to her again. That didn’t seem to be doing him any favors, but he sure did love being close to her.

“Harley!” her mother reprimanded. “What on earth are you two doing?”

Harley grinned. “We got it, Mama. Don’t worry.”

Crew picked up two plates of pie and extended them to her. Harley looked warily at him. “You go serve the pie,” he said. “I’ll clean this up.”

“I should clean up. I made the mess.”

“I’m used to cleaning up after you.”

She took the pie and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I have no clue what that’s supposed to mean. I don’t make messes.”

She stomped regally off and Crew couldn’t help but chuckle. Grabbing a roll of paper towels, he wiped at his shirt for a while, then swiped at the mess on the floor. Harley made him irrationally happy, at least when she wasn’t telling him why a cowboy wasn’t good enough for her. He’d happily spend his life cleaning up after her.