The Texas Rancher's New Family. Allie Pleiter

the Pine Method.

      “So now we can get on with the new season without having any of that drama getting in the way. I gave the legal guys a ‘good-on-ya’ bonus for handling it quiet-like. That’s not the kind of press any of us needs.”

      The new season is already being planned? You can’t wait forever, mate, you’ll have to tell him soon. But “soon” doesn’t have to mean “now.”

      “No new season talk for a bloke on holiday. I’m glad for this news, but the rest can wait.” He ignored the pang of guilt he felt for changing the subject. “What’s this big surprise that’s taking you so long to ship Sophie for her birthday?”

      “Should be there soon. She’s gonna love it.”

      Hunter had a flair for grand gestures that often defied common sense or, at least, parental wisdom. He relished his role as the indulgent favorite—if only—uncle, and had been known to go a bit overboard. There was a tricked-out, pink-and-purple ride-on Jeep on Hunter’s ranch with “Sophie” painted on the side to prove it.

      “Does it require safety gear?” It was only half a joke.

      “Not a bit. Smaller than a breadbox, this one.”

      “What do they say about big surprises coming in small packages?”

      “Relax, mate, you’ll like this one. Although I’ll say this much—it’s something you’d never get her.”

      “Well,” Cooper laughed, feeling a bit of the strain vanish between them, “that leaves the door wide-open.”

      “I’ll be in on the eighteenth and we can catch up then,” came Hunter’s voice. “Gotta run—we’re heading off to the last location in an hour. Kiss Sophie for me.”

      “Will do. ’Bye.”

      Cooper sat back after putting the phone down, a bit disappointed in himself for throwing away another opportunity to have his much-needed talk with Hunter—but still glad to know that whole business with Lynette was behind him. He ran his hands down his face, remembering the one mistake of a kiss. He’d been so careful up until then, knowing he was only on the outer edges of his grieving for Grace. He’d kept the loneliness at bay with business, but as Lynette had proved, it hadn’t solved anything.

      Will it get worse or better out here, Lord? Help me be more careful. I can handle a problem like Lynette, but Sophie will latch onto anyone I let close.

      Anyone like Tess Buckton. Had she already gotten too close? Could he keep things within clearly defined margins where those intriguing blue eyes were concerned?

      The barbecue might tell him soon enough.

      * * *

      Tess’s cousin Witt Buckton raised an eyebrow as he handed a big package of bison burgers over the meat counter window. Officially in charge of the Blue Thorn Ranch’s food truck that sold burgers and sides in downtown Austin, he wasn’t at the Blue Thorn Store very often. Some of that had to do with his professional focus. A lot more had to do with the truck’s pretty chef, Jana. Tess only had to see those two together for a handful of minutes at Ellie’s wedding to know things had heated up in more than the truck’s tiny mobile kitchen. The couple had married last August, and Tess had been sorry not to be able to make it back in for her cousin’s wedding.

      “Who’s coming to supper?” Witt asked, noting the large amount of burgers she’d ordered.

      “Cooper Pine and his daughter.”

      “I heard he’s renting the old Larkey place, but I didn’t know he had a family. Y’all getting a new neighbor?”

      “It’s anybody’s guess. He says it’s just him and his daughter for the summer. Gunner and Luke think he’s got plans—maybe to buy the place and make it part of the Pine Method franchise—but Cooper won’t say. I warned him he’ll get more of a grilling than the burgers, but he’s coming anyway.”

      Witt laughed. “Brave soul.”

      “How’s Austin’s latest foodie power couple?”

      Witt nearly glowed. “Will it sound dumb if I say ridiculously happy?”

      Everyone within the Buckton family seemed ridiculously happy these days. Everyone except her, that is. It felt almost freakish to be nursing such private, painful wounds among all these gleeful relatives. “You’ve put on a few pounds,” she teased. “Being married to a chef obviously agrees with you.” The spark in Witt’s eye clearly had to do with more than just good cooking.

      He came out from behind the counter. “So, Ellie thinks you’re back to stay—are you?”

      It was a fair question, seeing how Gunner, then Ellie and then Luke had all returned to the ranch for good. Even Witt, who had grown up only visiting the Blue Thorn from his father’s ranch, had chosen to join the Blue Thorn business. Still, the number of times she was asked that question was beginning to niggle under her skin. She tried to laugh it off. “I’m here for a stretch, between the twins coming and Luke’s wedding. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

      She fingered the selection of bison yarn gloves and scarves that hung on a nearby wall, evidence of how her sister Ellie had added to the family business. Now, Ellie was busy putting the final touches on baby blankets and booties. More happiness to envy and not have. She wouldn’t ever be asking Ellie to knit scarves or hats for Bardo. Those joys would belong to his foster parents, not her. She planted a “happy auntie” smile on her face. “I’m in between assignments, so everything’s up for grabs. Could be back to Adelaide, could be off to the Alps.” That wasn’t entirely true. She’d sold nearly all of her equipment to pay the adoption fees her adviser, Jasper Garvey, had required. Jasper had also made her believe he was helping because he loved her. She’d been ready to ditch her globetrotting lifestyle to settle down with Bardo, at whatever job would keep her in one place. She could try to roust up new freelance jobs and the equipment to cover her debts—and probably ought to—but that would take confidence and bravery she no longer felt she had.

      Tess changed the subject. “I hear there’s a second big blue bus in the works?” Everyone teased Witt for the bright, almost eye-searing color he’d chosen for the food truck, but no one could deny it stood out, making it easy to spot—an important trait for a food truck in a competitive market.

      His smile widened. “Launches in about a month. Jana says Jose is ready, and with Marny coming in the store full-time to fill in for Ellie, we’re ready to expand.”

      Jose, who had been a protégé of Will and Jana’s, was about to become a food truck chef in his own right rather than working with Jana as her assistant chef. Marny was a girl Ellie had mentored through a teen program at the church who’d had her share of problems but had made a way for herself thanks to Ellie and work at the Blue Thorn Store.

      Gunner, Luke and Ellie were settled and happy. Not that they—or even Gran—hadn’t known hard times. It was just that they’d all come shining through those challenges, and Tess couldn’t clearly see that in the cards for her anymore.

      “Are you and Jana coming tonight?”

      Witt shook his head. “The truck’s got to be downtown for an event. It’ll be a hot date night in the hot kitchen, I’m afraid.” His words spoke of work but his eyes beamed with the pleasure of working with his bride.

      I’m only twenty-five, Tess told herself. That’s too young to feel like that will never happen for me.

      “Have fun tonight,” Witt called as another customer came into the store.

      “We’ll have something tonight,” Tess replied, recalling the tense nature of her conversation with Cooper Pine. “I’m just not sure it will be fun.”