Chapter 13

Link stepped into his bedroom, a towel around his waist, and found Mitch lying in his bed. "Hey," he said with a wave. "You okay?" He seemed maybe a bit pale, but Link wasn't sure

Fine, Mitch said as he sat up. Going out with Misty?

Link nodded and started getting dressed. He faced Mitch and signed. "What are you doing tonight?"

Mitch shrugged and got to his feet. Probably going to my parents'. Something.

"No summer dance?" Link smiled at Mitch and pulled his polo over his head.

Mitch shook his head. Link. He finger-spelled his name quickly, but Link caught it. Sometimes Mitch dropped the last two letters and combined them into a sort of swooping K, and that had become the sign for Link's name.

Link stilled, because Mitch wasn't his usual self. "What?" He didn't sign, but Mitch could read lips.

I'm not happy here, he ducked his head, but his hands kept moving. I'm going to talk to my parents about going back to Virginia. I've been talking to the director there, and she says I can come back any time.

"Mitch," Link said, but the man had his gaze down. Link stepped over to him, needing a belt to keep his pants up. But he could finish getting dressed after this conversation. "Hey, brother."

He grabbed onto Mitch's shoulder, and that got his cousin to look up. "I'll miss you," Link said. "But you have to do what makes you happy. I know it's not here. Not right now."

He backed up as Mitch started to sign. What if I'm not happy there either?

Link didn't spend a lot of time giving anyone advice, least of all Mitch. He'd been making the drive to church alone for a while, but he couldn't change what he felt or what he believed. So he said, "Maybe it's time to just put your head down, work hard, and let God guide you."

Mitch nodded, sniffed, and wiped his eyes as he looked away. I'll miss you, he said, his face and fingers and entire being full of emotion. Link imagined his voice if Mitch could use it, and it would be torn, ragged, and anguished.

He grabbed onto him and hauled him into his chest. "I love you, brother," he whispered, though Mitch wouldn't be able to hear him. Somehow, Mitch knew he'd spoken, because he nodded and pressed this hand in the I love you sign against Link's back.

They separated, and Mitch drew a deep breath and signed, Have fun on your second first date.

Link smiled and reached for his belt. He didn't want to go through all of his reservations about starting something with Misty he couldn't finish, so he simply ran his hands through his hair while Mitch left the bedroom they shared.

"It would be nice to have my own place," he said quietly, not that Mitch would overhear. At the same time, if he lived in the Top Cottage, he wouldn't have had this conversation with his cousin. His best friend.

He settled a cowboy hat on his head as he left the bedroom, and he grabbed his keys from the hook in the kitchen. No one had cooked tonight, and he didn't see Cutter anywhere. Mitch had already left, and Link exited through the front door.

He'd gone halfway toward his truck before he remembered he wasn't driving down to the Ivy Ridge apartment complex to pick up Misty. He did an about-face and started down the lane toward her cabin.

Before he could go up the steps and knock on the door—these cabins didn't have doorbells—Misty came outside. She wore a pair of dark blue shorts that went halfway down her thigh and a tank top with fluttering sleeves and a blue, white, and green floral print.

"Aren't you the prettiest thing on the ranch tonight?" Link came to a complete halt as she skipped down the steps. She wore a bright smile to go with her stunning radiance, and Link didn't care if he was starting something he couldn't finish.

Everything inside him wanted to be with this person, be next to this woman, have Misty in his life for as long as possible.

"You look amazing," she said as she moved right into his personal space. She slid her hand up his chest to his collar, where she gripped the fabric in her fingers. "Smell great, too."

"Thank you," he said. Misty had always been great at complimenting him, and she made him feel so good about himself.

His hands went around her easily, holding her against him. She smiled up at him, and Link lost his mind for a moment. With his ranch dogs watching, he leaned down and touched his mouth to Misty's.

She drew in a breath through her nose and kissed him back, which only made Link happier than ever. He kissed her and kissed her, only remembering he stood out in the open when someone catcalled loud enough for the sound to penetrate the high he found himself floating on.

He pulled back and filled his lungs with air. "Remember that time I kissed you before the first date?"

"Yeah," she whispered back. She ran her hands through his hair, which sent a tingling sensation through his whole body. "Remember when we had the most amazing first date ever?"

"Hmm." He leaned his forehead against hers, breathed in the clean, fresh scent of her skin, and straightened. "Okay, let's go then." Link took her hand and led her back down the road to his truck.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Around here, no one goes without food," she said. "But somehow, yes, I'm hungry."

"Great," he said. "Because I think you're going to love this place we're going."

"Where are we going?"

"Okay, so remember how we were going to eat at every little place around town?" He glanced over to her as he drove, barely catching her nod. "I'm not sure if we'll ever accomplish that, but?—"

"Positive thoughts," she said.

He didn't bring up that they only had another year, and they couldn't possibly get through all the eateries in Three Rivers by then.

He cast her a smile. "I'm pretty sure we were somewhere in the Cs," Link said. "And you were excited about trying Castleton, so…."

"Castleton?" Misty made a little shriek and gripped his forearm. "Link, they have the cornbread cookies this week."

"They do?" Link grinned at her.

Misty half-rolled her eyes at him. "You knew that."

"I may have looked it up."

"You're my favorite person," Misty said, and Link dang near slammed on the brakes. The mood in the truck sobered, and he shifted in his seat.

"Do you mean that?"

"Yes." She slid her hand down his arm to his, and Link laced his fingers through hers. "Don't go thinking you're special or anything, though. I only have like, three people in my life that I even like. It's not like your family, where you have a hundred people I have to weed through to get to the top."

Link laughed, because one, his family wasn't quite to one hundred yet, though if he brought in all the cowboys at the surrounding ranches, the way they did for big parties, weddings, or when someone needed help, that number could definitely go into three digits.

Two, Misty had been number one in his life almost since the moment he'd met her. He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed his smile there. "I don't think I'm special," he said.

"Good," she said.

He pulled into the lot at Castleton and went around the truck to open Misty's door. Being with her felt easy and fun, and since he'd made a reservation, they sat in a booth with a window view only a few minutes later.

The hostess handed them menus, and since Link hadn't been here before, he actually needed to look at his. Misty had ordered to-go from here before, so she glanced around. "This place is nice," she said.

"It has a good vibe," he agreed.

"How are you two tonight?"

Link looked up at the waitress, who shone with starlight. "Great," he said.

"Drinks?"

He looked across the table to Misty, and she'd picked up the drink menu. "Mm, yes, I'll take the Sour Cranberry." She set down the menu and looked up at the waitress. "And what are the chances of having dessert first?" She smiled over to Link.

"I can bring you whatever you want," she said.

"He wants a Diet Coke with lemon," Misty said. "The Sour Cranberry for me. And we're going to need a four-pack of the cornbread cookies to start with. The sooner the better."

"Wow," Link said as the waitress nodded and smiled her way away from the table. "A four-pack?" He laughed while Misty simply picked up her menu again. "I suppose I should've told you I have dessert plans too."

She peered over the top of the menu. "Dessert plans? When you knew they had cornbread cookies this week? You know they only have these for one week every year. One. Week, Link."

"And you forgot about them, because of the electrical fire."

"That blasted electrical fire." Misty giggled and shook her head. "But it did make me forget about the cookies." She sighed and gazed at him the way she'd kissed him. Like she really did like him.

He wanted to ask her about next summer, but something inside him seized. The words dried right up, and he reached for the straw as the waitress returned with their drinks and cookies.

Misty clapped her hands and pulled her mocktail and the box of cookies closer to her. "What's for dessert? I need to know so I can judge how many of these to eat."

"Coffee and cookies," he said.

"Americano and chocolate," she said, giving him a coy smile. "My favorite."

He nodded to the cornbread cookie already in her hand. "Really?"

She looked at it and then him. "They're tied."

"It's okay if the cornbread cookies are number one," he said.

She nudged the box toward him. "Try one."

He looked at them, the pale yellow cookies with a scoop of frosting right in the middle. It looked like honey had been drizzled over the top of them, and he did love honey. Still, he hesitated. "What if I don't like them?"

"Then there's more for me." Misty took her first bite of the cornbread cookie, her eyes falling closed in bliss. She'd put makeup on tonight when she didn't for work, and Link liked the darkness around her eyes and the flush in her cheeks. She groaned, and that only made him laugh.

They'd had a couple of serious conversations now. He'd introduced her to his parents. They'd snuck away from the bonfire last night, where she'd then told him how amazing it was to be surrounded by so much family, so many people who cared about each other.

So her joke tonight about the largeness of his family was in good fun. Yes, they could be a lot, but for a woman like Misty, they might just be exactly what she needed. Link had never viewed his enormous, loud, sometimes obnoxious family like that, but as Misty had talked over chili and cinnamon rolls last night, Link had felt how special they were.

He picked up a cookie. "Here goes nothing." He bit into the cookie, realizing he should've spread the frosting out a little bit, because he hardly got any. The texture surprised him—this thing had actual cornmeal in it.

It wasn't too sweet at all, and while his momma's cornbread had kernels of real corn, this didn't. It was almost like a sugar cookie with cornmeal, that delicious vanilla frosting, and honey.

He studied the cookie as he chewed, only switching his gaze to Misty when she asked, "Well?"

He swallowed and said, "I think that rivals cinnamon rolls dipped in chili." He grinned at her while she giggled, then took another bite. "Yeah, this is great."

"See? I knew you'd like them." She lifted her cookie to take another bite too, but paused. "And hey, I think this is the first thing we both like."

Link shook his head. "That can't be true. Remember when we went on the starlight hike? We both liked that."

"Food-wise, though," she said.

"It can't be," he said. "You ate like, six cinnamon rolls last night."

"But independent of the chili," she said. "I just couldn't bring myself to dunk it."

"Next time," he said like there really would be a next time. He wanted there to be a lot of next time's with Misty. The next time he held her hand. The next serious conversation they had. The next time he kissed her.

"Hey, so I think I'm going to be moving soon," he said.

Misty froze mid-chew. "What?" she asked around her mouth of cookie appetizer.

He grinned at her. "Is your heart beating hard?"

She stared back at him, those long, painted-black eyelashes blinking.

"If I'm not special, why do you care where I live?" he teased.

Misty thawed back to normal activity. "We're going there?" She set down the second half of her cookie. "Already?"

"I kissed you before we even got out of your driveway," he said. "So yeah. I'm going there already."

Misty sighed like he was insufferable, and she reached up to push her hair back off her face. "Fine, Mister Glover. You're special enough for me to care where you live."

He leaned back in the booth and folded his arms, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he said, "This is when you tell me something I won't like."

"You aren't really moving soon," she fired back.

"I am," he said. "I'm getting a promotion on the ranch too. I'm going to be the junior foreman, and he gets his own house. I'm moving into the Top Cottage over the Fourth of July weekend."

"Dang," she said without missing a beat. "I was hoping we'd take our get-in-the-truck-and-drive road trip over the Fourth of July weekend. Now you're moving?" She wrinkled her nose. "That's a terrible time to move."

Link had started up their game to see what she'd tell him, but she'd just twisted it all up. "You'd go on a road trip with me?"

"Maybe," she said.

"What's a cowboy got to do to get a yes to that question?"

Misty broke off a piece of her cookie and gave him a calculating look as she popped it into her mouth. "If I'm not special, why do you care if we go on a road trip together or not?"

Link grinned at her, though they both knew she'd just cheated in their little game. "Fine, Misty," he said quietly as the waitress arrived at the end of the table to take their orders. He hadn't even looked at the menu yet, and he picked it up as he added, "You're special enough for me to want to lock myself in a truck with you and drive for a while."

"Do you guys need another couple of minutes?" the waitress asked.

Link put down his menu. "Nope. She's gonna order for both of us."

Panic paraded across Misty's face, but she recovered quickly as she picked up the menu. "I want the French dip, please, with the French fries. And he'll have…." The pause lengthened, and just when Link figured he better open up his menu and save her, she said, "The crispy chicken sandwich. With fries."

The waitress nodded and left, and Misty looked past the cookies to Link. "Can't go wrong with a crispy chicken sandwich," she said.

"We'll see." He told himself not to get too keyed up over the fact that she knew him well enough to order for him. He could think about it later, after the date had ended and he'd gone to bed.

He'd been so bored in his life before, simply working the ranch every day, hour after hour, month after month. Misty had been the one bright ray in his life, and now that she was back, Link felt like he'd embarked on the greatest journey of his life.

Thank you, Lord, he thought. For helping me talk to this woman. For opening a door and giving me the courage to walk through it.

"So," he said. "I have to head up into the hills tomorrow to make sure Jed and Jimmer are okay with the dogs and the herd. We're takin' them some more supplies. But…Sunday? You and me and a pew in church?"

Misty took a moment to answer, and then she said, "All right."

"All right," Link said, glad to have another time and place to see her again. "Now tell me: if you could only go on one road trip in your whole life, where would you go?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "I don't know."

"Oh, come on. Name somewhere."

"You name somewhere," she said.

"Road trip," he said, his mind working fast. "I think I'd head north, to the Rocky Mountains. Have you ever seen them?"

"No, sir," she said.

"Me either." Link reached for his cola and squeezed the lemon into it. "Yeah, I think that would be a good adventure, and you like adventures."

She smiled at him and slid to the end of the bench seat. Alarm pulled through Link, but she just took the two steps to his side of the table and sat next to him. "I do like adventure," she said. "But Link, you don't have to do everything I like."

"I know," he said. "That's why we're getting coffee and cookies after this."

She smiled in that soft, gorgeous way she had, shook her head, and matched her mouth to his right there in the restaurant. Sure, he'd kissed her in public too, but only family could see them on the ranch.

Here, anyone could see them, but Link found he didn't care. With every stroke of her mouth against his, Link fell further and further in love with her.

How long will this last?burned through his blood, but Link ignored it by tasting that cornbread cookie on his girlfriend's lips.