Chapter 20

The next time Misty came to Link's house, she held up a black bag to go with her grin, her brightly colored tank top, and her denim shorts. "Ready for this?"

Link would do anything for her, and he backed up as he said, "If you are."

"I've been watching a couple of videos online."

"Oh, well, now I'm reassured that you know how to cut my hair." He grinned at her and took the bag of hair-cutting supplies from her. "Hey, am I allowed to say it's great to see you?"

"Of course you are, Mister Glover." Misty grinned at him like their serious conversation from a couple of weeks ago hadn't changed anything in their relationship. Maybe for her it hadn't. For him, well, Link wasn't sure how things had shifted yet, because they hadn't quite settled.

He felt like he'd been thrown back in time twelve months, when he'd sat down outside the coffee truck with Misty and asked her for her number the first time.

"You're looking at me like that again," Misty said, stepping out of his arms.

"Like what?"

"I don't know." She brushed her hair over her ear and took her scissor kit over to the table. She opened it and added, "Come on, now. I'm not going to do anything that can't be fixed."

Link followed her over to the table and pulled a chair out. "All right," he said. "I trust you."

"Do you?"

"Yeah." He looked back to her, over his shoulder. "Hey, remember when we went to church together and then went to the End of Summer picnic? And we danced and laughed and maybe even saw some summer fireflies?"

"Fireflies?" Misty asked. "Really?"

"It's been a bit rainy and cooler," Link said. "They like that, and I—ahem—read an article that said there have been a lot of them in the Amarillo area lately."

"Then, yes," Misty said as she snapped on the clippers. "I totally remember going to church with you and then attending the End of Summer picnic where we saw a whole herd of fireflies."

Link burst out laughing, glad he could still do that with her. She giggled with him, which also helped him settle. He said, "You forgot the dancing."

"I never forget dancing," she said as the first tendrils of his long hair started to fall to the floor.

"Fireflies don't come in herds."

"They come in something."

"It's called a glow."

"You're making that up."

"I am not," Link said.

"That's so…perfect," she said, the smile he couldn't see sitting in her tone.

"I mean, it could be a swarm, but I liked glow better as a kid."

"Did you have a lot of questions about fireflies then?" Her teasing tone wasn't lost on him, but Link nodded slightly.

"After my parents died, my momma told me I could always feel their love in the sweet light of a glow of fireflies." He gave himself a little shake. "I didn't remember that until now. And with the article…." He trailed off, not sure why these memories, this part of his life, had come forward now.

"That's amazing," Misty said quietly. She kept working on his hair, and Link did his best not to shiver at every touch of her delicate fingers along his neck, his scalp.

To distract himself, he prayed. Dear God in Heaven, he started. He wasn't sure how to continue, and all of his prayers in the past fortnight had been similar. He could start, but he wasn't sure where he was going. He wasn't sure what he deserved, and he wasn't sure what God would grant and what He wouldn't.

So, because his parents had taught him to express thanks for what he had and spend less time asking God for what he wanted.

I'm trying to forget myself, he thought. Misty's touch faded away as Link escaped into his own mind. I really am. I want to be a good man, and I'm trying to put my head down and work every day. I'm grateful for this life I have. For this ranch, and so many good men to teach me.

He closed his eyes, the images of his parents, his siblings, his aunts and uncles filling his mind, overwhelming him.

I'm grateful to be a Glover, he prayed. Bless me to be the best one I can, and— He cut off the thoughts, because he'd just asked for something, and he wanted this prayer to be outward focused.

It wasn't about what he wanted or needed. It was about what he'd already been given.

I'm grateful for the time I have with Misty Granger, he prayed. Several weeks ago, I told You I'd take whatever time I could get with her, and I've lost sight of that. I'm trying to get back to it, so thank You for putting her in my life.

Thank You for good parents, and an amazing horse, and the two dogs who follow me everywhere.

A smile touched his soul and worked its way to the outside. To his face, where he let it show.

"What are you thinking about?" Misty asked. "I see that smile."

"All the things I'm grateful for," he murmured. "Don't go thinkin' you're on the list."

"I would never," she said as she moved around his right side and in front of him.

Link opened his eyes and looked up at her. He felt like he was seeing her again for the first time. He reached toward her, expecting to get burned by her glorious light. She was simply so angelic, and Link had liked her from the very moment she'd twirled into him at that summer dance over a year ago.

She lowered her scissors. "What?"

"I don't know." He caught her fingers with his and tugged her onto his lap. "Is it okay if we don't know everything?"

"I think that's the very definition of life, Link." She stroked his hair back. "Isn't it?"

"Yeah, maybe." He cradled her face in his hands. "After this, can we go get coffee?"

She gave him a small smile. "I'd like that." Misty looked up to his hair. "But you won't want to go like this." She started to get off his lap, but Link's grip on her tightened.

"Kiss me so I know the past couple of weeks haven't broken us," he said. "I honestly didn't mean to push you anywhere you didn't want to be. I didn't—don't know where I am, either." He took a deep breath and looked up from the neckline of her tank top.

"You've been worrying," she said. "When I told you not to worry."

"Yeah," he admitted. "It's hard for me, with Mitch gone. I don't have anyone to talk things through with, and the quiet here can drive a cowboy insane."

"You can talk things through with me."

"Not when the things I need clarity on are you."

She smiled. "I suppose it's nice to have Janie to bounce things around with."

"I'm sure." He wasn't super-keen on her talking about him to Janie, but he wasn't surprised. "Do you and Janie live together in Dallas?"

She gave half a laugh. "No, sir. I have my own place there. We just got paired for this assignment."

"Tell me about your last assignment."

"Can I cut your hair while I do it?"

Link released her, noting she hadn't kissed him. He had kissed her in the past couple of weeks, and he really wished he could do what she'd asked of him—to stop worrying.

"I worked on this really great old church in the Texas Hill Country," she said. "The state bought it a few decades ago, and it needed a lot of structural work."

"Lots of art in a church."

"Yeah," she said. "I went for that, and the structural conservationist was this guy named Porky Dillard."

"That was not his name."

Misty giggled. "I swear to you, it was." She took a breath, her scissors snip, snip, snipping away. "Anyway, our lead manager—like what Ralf does—was this woman named Clarice Terry. She didn't like me much, and I managed to live with her for sixteen months."

"So how much time do you actually spend in Dallas?"

"I'm usually there for a solid year or so between assignments," she said. "We do trainings, take a couple of classes, and work on small projects in the area." Before he could ask her something else, her phone rang. "Oh. It's Janie. Just a sec, baby."

She moved away to take the call, and Link searched his memory to see if she'd ever called him baby before. Nothing came to mind, and Link turned to watch her wander into his kitchen as she talked to her best friend.

Misty spun back to him, her eyes wide. Link got to his feet, a dart of worry spiking through him. "What?"

"I'll tell him," she said. "Thanks, Janie." She hung up, her smile growing into laughter. "Link, guess what?"

"Seems like something you're excited about," he said as he arrived in front of her. He strung his first finger through the belt loop on her waist, wanting to be close to her.

She blinked at him. "Roberta found us a house in town." She bounced on the balls of her feet. "Isn't that great?"

He grinned at her. "Yeah, that's fantastic."

Her smile cleared. "I mean, we've loved living here too, Link. It's just a long?—"

"Way to town," he said. "I know. When can you move in?"

"This weekend." She laughed and danced back over to the table. "Come on, baby. Let's finish your hair and go celebrate with cookies and coffee."

Link grinned at her. "Yah," he said. "Let's do that." He returned to his seat, still feeling a little bit lost. But Misty had told him not to worry, and she had admitted that she was falling in love with him, and she had said she was seriously considering moving here.

Either he trusted what she told him, or he didn't, and as she finished up his hair and they left the ranch to get cookies and coffee, Link took strength from the summer sunset. God had painted the sky with colors Link loved.

It reminded him that he was loved, and not only by God.

You're special because you're a Glover.

Misty had told him that, and it had sunk into his brain and refused to let go.

"Can we go by the house first?" she asked, and Link glanced over to her.

"For sure."

"Great." She looked at her phone. "Turn right up here then."

He wanted to give her the dream house, the dream family, the dream life. Now, he just had to figure out how to do that—and how to be her dream man. Oh, and sooner rather than later would be nice.

"It's just me," Link called as he walked in the front door of his parents' house. The scent of marshmallows hung in the air, and Link knew what that meant.

"Link," Sunnie said as she came rushing out of the kitchen. "We just made rice crispy squares. Come see."

"There better be some with coconut," he said. "That recipe of Auntie Etta's is my favorite." He grinned at his younger sister and followed her into the kitchen. His momma worked there, pressing down another batch of marshmallowed rice cereal into a sheet pan.

"There you are," Momma said with a warmth in her tone only mothers could achieve. "Your daddy is still out on the tractor, and Smiles is picking up Heather from the pool."

"We got done early in the southern fields," Link said. And he hadn't gone home to shower first. He squirmed as he sat down, and though Momma wasn't even looking fully at him, she paused in her work and did exactly that.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Link opened his mouth to say nothing, but the word wouldn't come out. "Mom, how did you know to marry Daddy?"

Sunnie opened the microwave, seemingly oblivious to the conversation. Momma cast a glance over to her and then went back to pressing the treats into the pan. "I knew, because I didn't want to go to bed alone for another night." She turned to help Sunnie with the bowl. "Just stir it as best you can, hon. Then it goes back in for another minute."

Link let her look right at him as she faced him again. They'd talked about Misty before, but not much since Link had started seeing her again this summer. "Of course, I had to wait a few more months before I didn't have to go to bed alone." She smiled at him. "You and Misty are getting along?"

"Yeah, seem to be," he said. "I mean, it's not like we have every single thing in common or anything."

"No one does."

"What? Everyone does," he said.

"Link." She flinched as Sunnie slammed the microwave. After casting a glare over her shoulder at the girl, she sighed. "Of course they don't."

"You and Daddy do."

"Me and Daddy absolutely do not," she said. "He wants to go to every high school football game, and Smiles won't even start." She folded her arms and gave him a glare. "I am not doing that."

Link grinned, the idea of his momma sitting through every football game because Smiles was on the third string team grew into something hilarious. He started to laugh, and Momma gestured to him.

"Exactly," she said. She returned her attention to helping Sunnie stir in the cereal, as well as a bunch of chips in a variety of chocolates. White, semi-sweet, dark, and milk.

"What are the rice crispy squares for?" Link asked.

Momma glanced at him. "End of Summer picnic in a couple of days." She helped Sunnie butter up her hands so she could press this batch into a cookie sheet. "Link, if there's anything I've learned since coming to Shiloh Ridge, it's that every relationship will look and feel different."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm friends with all of my sisters-in-law, right? But not a single one of them looks or feels the same. I'm closer to some than others, but at the same time, I love them all. I'd call your aunt Oakley for anything, but when I want help with a recipe, I head down the road to Etta's. If I need to know how to hang a new light fixture, I call Montana. If I need to complain about Daddy, I call Zona."

"Or Uncle Cactus," Link said with a smile.

Momma grinned back at him. "I try not to do it at all, but sometimes that man forgets he's not twenty-five years old."

"My boots are a mess," Daddy called, interrupting the conversation.

Momma looked toward the back door and sighed. "Or the fact that he can take his boots off outside if they're a mess."

"Hey, Link's here." Daddy spoke with pure warmth too. "There's a couple of muddy spots out there." He leaned in and kissed Momma on the cheek. "Mm, you smell nice."

"It's marshmallows," she said with a grin. "You left your boots by the back door?"

"Yeah," he said. "I might have tracked a little on the rug there." He looked over to Link. "What are you doin' here?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you guys if you'd have me and Misty for dinner one night."

"Yes," Momma said instantly. "When?"

"Hold on," Daddy said. "You sure you want that?"

"She's moving off the ranch," Link said. "Tomorrow. And I don't know, I feel like I might…like it might put a bunch of distance between us. Like, the physical distance will cause other kinds of distance too."

Momma looked at Daddy, who looked back at her. "We managed to make it work," she said.

"Yeah, and Uncle Preacher got in a car accident trying to bridge the distance between him and Charlie," Link said. "I don't know. I need to stop worrying so much, I think. I just don't know how."

He looked at his parents, desperate for them to tell him how to stop worrying. Neither of them said anything.

"When I'm worried about something," Sunnie said. "Momma helps me make a plan. Then it's easier to see how things are going to go." She looked at Link with wide, bright blue eyes. "So, like, just make a plan with Misty, and it'll be fine."

Momma grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah, Link. Make a plan with Misty."

Link loved his younger sister, and she did make things sound so simple. "A plan," he mused. Yeah, he just needed to make a plan to keep Misty close even when she lived further from him.