As hard as it was to be away from Willow, something told him that Renie was the one who needed him more right now. Willow was in good hands with his mom and dad. Renie needed to be in his hands. She needed to know that he loved her, as much as ever. Just because Willow was in the picture, it would never change how he felt about her.
“Are you going home now?” she asked, as though she was reading his mind.
“Nope.”
“When are you going home?”
“I haven’t decided yet. But isn’t gonna be today, or tomorrow. It might not even be the day after that.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why aren’t you going home?”
“Because you need me to stay.”
It was all she could do not to cry. The tears she fought were of relief. He was right, she did need him to stay. She needed to know she mattered.
When they got back to the barn and were walking the horses inside, Renie reached out and took his hand in hers.
“Thank you for staying.”
“I love you, Irene Fairchild, and I’m stayin’ until I’m sure you believe it.”
Once the horses were settled, Billy pulled her closer and lifted her, so her legs wrapped around his waist. One hand held her bottom while the other circled behind her neck, pulling her in, so he could get his lips on hers.
“How soon do you think we can be alone?”
“Soon, I think.” She unwrapped herself from him and planted her feet back on the ground. “My mom is pregnant.”
“I know. How are you feeling about it?”
“Weird.”
He laughed. Poor Renie. There was a lot she’d be getting used to, and all of it had to do with babies.
Jace could not get Irene Fairchild out of his head. He and Tucker had been traveling all over Spain, eating, drinking, and having fun. He loved hanging with Tucker, and under normal circumstances, he loved the female attention he and his twin seemed to get wherever they went. But this time, Tucker was enjoying the attention all on his own. The girl he spent the summer with at the dude ranch was under his skin.
He’d told her he’d be back in Colorado for Thanksgiving, but they hadn’t made any plans beyond that. He thought about calling her, but talked himself out of it. A couple days ago, he broke down and sent a postcard. Ben Rice was his cousin, his mother had his address, and so he went ahead and did it. Now he questioned whether he should have. It wasn’t so much sending the postcard that he questioned, it was what he wrote.
Don’t think I’ve ever been as thankful as I will be this Thanksgiving. Counting the days until I see you again. Love, Jace.
He might have gone too far, but they’d spent the entire summer sharing sheets, and then instead of going straight home, she came to Aspen and stayed with him a couple extra days. She had to be feeling the same things he was. Had to be.
He talked to Tucker about it before he sent it. His advice was to say what he felt. If it bothered her, then she’d say so. That was typically Tucker’s advice. Say what you feel. Do what you want. Jace believed he shared the same philosophy, until he met Irene Fairchild. There was something about her that made him rethink his approach. He cared more about what she thought than any other woman he’d ever known.
He hoped he didn’t scare her off by so boldly telling her what was in his heart. Even when she left that day in Aspen, he hadn’t used the word love, as much as he’d been tempted to, as much as he’d been feeling it for her. When Jace told Tucker he was in love with her, Tucker said he knew.
“You’d know too, if it were me.”
Jace supposed he would.
“I miss her, man.”
“Yeah, I feel that too.”
It was the twin thing. Not something they hadn’t felt before, or heard before. That’s how twins were, people said. Jace couldn’t say it was true with other twins, but it was true for Tucker and him. Even when he was still in the States and Tucker was in Spain, he felt what his twin was feeling. It was the reason he still came, even though he’d wanted to stay in Colorado, and spend more time with Irene. He knew his twin needed him.