Holding the door open for her mother, Taylor nodded. “Maybe, we’ll see. Today has been a whirlwind day and I honestly can’t think about next weekend.”
Amanda smiled lovingly. “I’m sure. Okay, we’ll talk later. Bye, sweetheart. Love you.”
“Bye, Mom, I love you too.”
I opened the door for Amanda and helped her up into the truck. “Thank you, Jase,” she said with a wink. “If you’re buttering me up . . . save it for Brad. I’m afraid he’s the one you have to win over.”
With a light-hearted chuckle, I replied, “I’ll remember that.”
Of course when I pulled up to the house, Brad, Scott, and Jessie were all sitting on the back porch.
“Do I dare get out or should I just floor it and flee?”
Amanda laughed as she looked over at me. “Jase, I know the two of you have been through a lot. I have to be honest, I haven’t seen Taylor with this much life in her eyes in a long time. Not to mention the smile she’s wearing.”
“I want you to know if I could go back and do it again, I wouldn’t be so stupid. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt her. I love her, Mrs. At . . . I mean . . . Amanda.”
“Life is all about mistakes. It’s how we learn from them that matters. Now come on, let’s risk it, shall we?”
My heart stopped as I pushed the door open and got out of the safety of my truck. Swallowing hard, I followed Amanda up to everyone.
“Mr. Reynolds, I have to tell you your ranch is beautiful.”
Scott grinned as Brad looked away and mumbled, “Kiss ass.”
“Stop it, Brad,” Amanda whispered while hitting him lightly on the stomach.
Clearing his throat, Brad glared at me. “So. You helped my daughter move her stuff; are you heading to your own house now?”
Glancing over my shoulder to my truck quickly, I stumbled on my words as I faced Brad again. “Well . . . um . . . she’s kind of expecting me to come back.”
“I see.”
Stepping between Brad and me, Scott winked at me. “Jessie made a casserole for Taylor. Why don’t you take it to her and y’all can have it for a late dinner?”
“I figured she won’t make it to the store for a few days, so will you please let her know she can join us for breakfast tomorrow?”
With a smile, I replied, “Yes ma’am, I’ll let her know.”
Jessie moaned, “Please call me Jessie, Jase. You don’t have to be so formal. Now, follow me in and I’ll get that casserole.”
“Yes ma’am. I mean, Jessie.” Walking up to Brad, I extended my hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you, sir.”
With the look he was giving me, I should have been down on the ground laid out dead. Gripping my hand tightly again, he pulled me closer to him. “I know people who will bust your knee caps and make it so you don’t walk for months.”
“Ah . . . that’s good to know, sir.”
Lifting his eyebrows, he slowly nodded. “Yes, it is good to know. That means if you hurt her ever again . . . you’ll be hurting a lot worse than her.”
“May I be honest with you, sir?”
“Yes. I expect it always.”
My eyes drifted over to Scott who was attempting to hold back his smile. Placing my attention back on Brad, I fought for my mouth to form words to speak. “You scare the hell out of me.”
I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone smile like how Brad was. “Good. That means I’ve done my job.”
Amanda walked up and pulled Brad back. “All right, that’s enough, Rocky. Don’t pay any attention to him, Jase. He’s trying to scare you.”