Amy watched the paper lantern lift into the sky, the small fire beneath it propelling the entire thing up to join the others, thousands of them looking like so many stars in the darkness. She leaned close to Jack, staying silent until she could no longer see which lantern was theirs. “So, what do you think?” she asked him as she looked across the throng of people celebrating the festival.
Jack gave her a little squeeze. “Way better than Bastille Day in Paris.”
Amy nodded in agreement, her eyes still on the sky as her thoughts drifted to their daughter and son, so far away.
“You’re thinking about Spring Valley, aren’t you?” Jack asked her, his cornflower blue eyes studying her face.
She smiled. He always knew when she was missing home. “Darcy would love this,” she told him, picturing their four-year-old daughter shrieking with delight as the lantern flew away, her blue eyes sparkling just like her father’s were.
“She would,” Jack said, “and we’ll definitely need to bring her and Archer when they’re a little older. For now, I’m sure they’re perfectly content getting spoiled rotten by all three grandparents. Remember how happy Archer was when we did that video call this morning?”
Amy knew he was right, but she was still itching to see them. Archer had only been adopted the year before, and it still felt odd to leave him for a few days, no matter how good of hands he was in. “You don’t think they’re jealous that Jessie got to come?” she asked, putting a hand on the small swell of her belly.
“By the time we’ve given them all their gifts, I’m not sure they’ll even remember we were gone for any reason other than to buy them stuff. It’s a good thing the rodeo school is doing so well or we might need a second mortgage on the ranch to pay for this trip.”
Amy knocked him playfully with her shoulder. “Those are business expenses. I’m going to write a great article series on how to haggle.”
They stood silently as another hundred lanterns joined the rest, then Jack asked, “Should we get back to the hotel?”
Amy nodded. “My feet are exhausted. Just one last thing,” she said, diving into the crowd.
She was back a minute later with at least a dozen more paper lanterns piled in a big stack. “Now we can have our own little festival in Spring Valley,” she explained.
Jack gave her a wide grin. “The kids will love them,” he said.
Amy agreed. “Everyone will have a great time lighting them off. That, or someone will burn the house down. Either way, it’ll be a good story. And we have insurance that covers paper lanterns lit on fire, right?”
Jack laughed and shook his head at his wife’s silly sense of humor. “I love you, Amy McNeal-Stuart,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.
They kissed, and the noise and crowds of the festival faded away as they held each other.
* * * * *
If you loved this book, look for the previous book in Ali Olson’s SPRING VALLEY, TEXAS series:
THE BULL RIDER’S TWIN TROUBLE
And more, available now at Harlequin.com!
Keep reading for an excerpt from REUNITED WITH THE BULL RIDER by Christine Wenger.
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