Red raised his hand. “I insist. And if my ranch manager hasn’t already extended the offer, I’d like to invite you to join us for dinner tonight.”
“Thank you, sir. As a matter of fact, I spent last night at your place. Had one of the best meals I’ve ever had right here at this lake.”
“Well, I hope you’re able to stay another night with us. Again, I’d like to think that offer has already been made to you.”
It hadn’t been, because the woman in the two-fer cabin was due back tonight. They’d apologized that the other cabins were booked and there weren’t any open rooms in the main lodge. They’d given him the name of a place in town where he could stay, but he hadn’t gotten around to calling to see if they had any vacancies.
“I’d love to stay for dinner, appreciate the invite,” he answered. He’d deal with where he was going to stay later. He guessed that things might be different now that he knew Bree was the woman on the other side of the adjoining door.
Dinner was served in the main lodge, and the food was as good as it had been the night before, but Jace wasn’t paying any attention to what he was eating.
Bree’s cheeks were pink. Was it from the time she’d been spending outdoors or the wine she drank with dinner? Whatever it was, it looked good on her. Damn good. Somehow, her eyes were even bluer than he remembered. She kept her dark hair cut short, but it had grown some since he last saw her. It was just long enough that it curled around the edges of her face. He longed to wind his fingers through those curls and pull her close enough to brush his lips over hers.
He heard what sounded like live music coming from outside the dining room and saw other guests making their way in that direction.
“You wanna go see what’s goin’ on?” he asked her.
“I’m okay sitting here a while longer, unless you want to.”
“I’m good,” he answered. He leaned forward so he was only a couple of inches from her, rested his arm on the table, and looked into her eyes.
“How’ve you been, Bree?”
“I’ve been good,” she paused. “No, that isn’t true. I haven’t been good at all. I’ve been terrible, in fact.” She shook her head and laughed.
Jace laughed too, although he sensed the conversation was about to turn more serious. When she rested her hand on the table, he ran his fingers over her knuckles. “Tell me,” he whispered.
“I decided I couldn’t hide from it any longer. I had to face it.”
“Zack?”
She nodded. “He and I spent a week at this ranch. It was part of our honeymoon. I thought, if I came back here and let myself remember, maybe I could also let myself grieve.” Soft tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“I have to do this, Jace. I can’t keep denying he’s gone.”
He could tell her he understood, but he didn’t. He missed his brother so much there were times he felt as though he’d die from the ache of it. But Tucker was still alive. If he wanted to see him, he could. He might not be welcome, but he could see him. Bree couldn’t see Zack.
“I’m sorry I never answered your texts.”
“Yeah, about that,” she laughed through her tears. “What the hell, Jace?”
“I just didn’t—”
“You don’t have to explain. I understand, and I’m not just saying that.”
“You were awful mad at me the last time I saw you.”
“I handled that badly, didn’t I?”
He leaned closer, so close he could almost kiss her. “You handled it honestly. Somethin’ I’m tryin’ to do more often.”
“Jace…I’m sorry about you and Tucker.”
“Nothin’ for you to be sorry about, darlin’. Did that all on my own. Can’t say as I blame Tuck for not wantin’ to see me. I wouldn’t want to see him if the situation were reversed.”
Jace looked up just as Red turned to leave the room. “Red? Can I help you?”