SUNNY’S PULSE LEAPED like a startled rabbit, only this surprise was welcome.
“Really?”
Dean nodded, and she had to resist the urge to hug him. Or maybe she should. That would point toward their sudden dating being real, right? Still, something stopped her. She’d already hugged him once outside the hospital, and she didn’t want to make things weird.
Well, no weirder than fake dating would be.
“I can’t believe we’re going to do this,” she said.
“Me neither. But, hey, I could use a little excitement in my life.”
She laughed. Dean was a great guy, a good friend, had been popular when they were in school, but he’d never been Mr. Excitement. Thrill seeking wasn’t his thing. He obviously was the type of man who just wanted to live a good, honest, hardworking life, and she admired him for that. She was a big proponent of knowing what you wanted from your time on Earth and going for it.
“Thank you.”
Again, he nodded.
“So, how does fake dating work? Do I obviously come to the house at some point and ask you out? I have no experience with grand gestures, just so you know.”
“Let’s try for a bit more subtlety,” she said, smiling at her lifelong friend. She owed him big for this, and she planned to repay him by helping him achieve his dream. Sunny had to admit it eased the ache in her heart at the thought of losing the ranch that she would be leaving it with someone who loved it every bit as much as her family did. In a way, Dean and his parents were family.
“So...?”
“How about we do a picnic with the twins down by the river tomorrow?”
“Is the aim to have your dad come along or not?”
“I don’t think he can manage that on crutches, do you? I’ll say it’s a thank-you for helping with Lily today but maybe, I don’t know, act a little differently somehow while mentioning you.”
She’d seen enough romantic movies to be able to come up with something.
“Okay, plan for lunchtime so I know when to be available?”
“Sounds good.”
With a nod, Dean headed off to resume whatever work was on his to-do list. He’d spent a lot of time with her today, so she felt bad that it had likely put him behind. But she was asking him to continue to carve time out of his schedule for her, and with only a possibility—not a certainty—that he’d be able to buy the ranch as a reward. She needed to find other ways to make this undertaking more beneficial to him during the process in case things didn’t work out how she wanted.
As she turned to head inside, the first idea of how to pay him back for his generosity came to her. Since they were going to have a picnic anyway, she’d bake him his favorite cake. That seemed like something that someone who was smitten with a guy would do as well, so bonus.
The sound of an approaching vehicle caused her to pause and turn to see who it was. She smiled when she saw the little cobalt-blue hatchback, remembering the giant smile Maya had worn in her “Here’s my new car” post a couple of months back.
Maya Pine skidded to a stop next to Sunny’s rental car and got out with her hands on her hips and a lifted eyebrow.
“I finally decided that if I wanted to see my best friend, I was going to have to come to her,” Maya said.
“You’re scolding me? It’s not like I’ve been here a week or something.”
“You have been in town twice.”
“Once, I hadn’t even been home yet. And today I was at the hospital.”
“Okay, fine. Details, details. I heard about Lily’s fall. Is she okay?”
“Thankfully, yes. Though I think I aged ten years.” Sunny pointed toward her hair. “I’m sure I have a nice patch of gray now.”
“You do not. You’re as beautiful as ever, darn you.”
Sunny laughed and opened her arms. Maya abandoned her scolding and hugged her as if they hadn’t seen each other in years instead of only six months. It didn’t matter that they texted literally every day. Being able to hang out in person was so much better.
When they went inside, Maya cooed over the babies like another adoring auntie. Truth was she got to see the twins more often than Sunny did. Guilt punched her that she had hatched her plan to move her family to California without telling Maya. They shared everything. But Sunny also knew that her bestie was likely going to tell her that she’d lost every last one of her marbles when she found out. If she didn’t let her in on the secret soon, however, Maya wouldn’t forgive her.
Maybe she’d give it a few days, see if she and Dean could actually stick to the plan, before revealing the truth. No sense telling Maya about her really-out-there plan if she or Dean decided that they couldn’t go through with it.
After they fed and diapered the babies and got them to fall asleep, she and Maya retreated to the kitchen, leaving her dad in his recliner reading the Casper paper and probably on his way to a nap of his own.
She poured two glasses of lemonade but didn’t sit across from her friend. Instead, she started searching the pantry to see if Judy had stocked up enough to allow Sunny to bake Dean’s favorite carrot cake with cream-cheese frosting.
“Are you baking me a cake because you missed me so much and feel guilty for not coming to see me sooner?”
Sunny shot her friend a “you’re pouring it on thick” look before shaking her head. Time to commence Operation Make Dad Think Dean and I Are Dating.
“It’s for Dean.”
“Dean? His birthday isn’t until December.”
“It’s a thank-you for today. He helped me out with Lily. Took us to the hospital, helped me calm down.”
“Oh, that was nice of him.”
What was that tone in Maya’s voice? It almost sounded as if she was insinuating something romantic between Sunny and Dean when the entire cake-baking undertaking was aimed at making her dad think that way, not her best friend. No, that couldn’t be it. Sunny simply had those types of thoughts running through her head and was hearing intent that wasn’t there. The three of them had been friends for ages.
But there had been the one time in high school when Maya had commented with obvious disdain on the fact that Dean had briefly dated Holly Vinson. Sunny distinctly remembered Maya saying that Dean could do better.
She hadn’t thought much about it at the time because she’d agreed, mainly because Holly was way too full of herself. Thank goodness she’d moved with her family to Idaho their junior year, meaning their senior year was blessedly Holly-free.
Maya didn’t have a thing for him, did she? No matter how much Sunny wanted her family together, she wasn’t about to take anything away from her best friend. Surely with her personality, Maya would have made her interest clear to Dean if there was any.
“Yeah, it was,” Sunny said, realizing that she’d let a lengthy pause stretch after Maya last spoke. “I might have been a bit of a mess when Lily was crying so hard she could hardly get her breath.”
A snort from the living room told her that her dad could hear their conversation just fine. Would he think twice about the cake though? After all, it was the kind of gesture her mom would have made for someone who’d done a good deed too.
“I bet it scared Lily more than hurt,” Maya said. “Mom always said that when Ethan or I fell. Said we’d cry like someone cut off a limb but five minutes later we were giggling and trying to ride the dog or something.”
“I’m pretty sure I did see Ethan ride the dog once.” When Maya had left for college, the kid was still only ten years old, an oopsie baby for Maya’s parents. Now he was the one attending college in Laramie.
“So, are you going to make me a cake too? I like cake.”
“I don’t have the ingredients for a pineapple one.”
“What kind are you making?”
“Carrot. It’s Dean’s favorite.”
She glanced at her friend in time to see a curious expression on Maya’s face.
“What’s that look?”
“You remember Dean’s favorite cake?”
“Um, yeah. How long have I known him? I remember once he shared some of the birthday cake his mom made for him when I was tutoring him. He mentioned it was his favorite.”
“That’s a random thing to remember.”
“Why? I have lots of dessert-centric memories. Sugar, glorious sugar!” Sunny made a dramatic gesture with the mixing spoon in her hand.
This time it was Maya who snorted at her.
“So, what’s the latest valley gossip?”
“Since we last talked, let’s see... Oh, Mrs. Lacey is retiring from teaching after eight hundred and fifty-three years.”
“Be nice.”
“What? She made biology miserable for me. Science is not my forte, and yet she seemed to want to make everyone into the next Louis Pasteur.”
“Actually, her class was more Darwinian.”
“See!” Maya jabbed her finger in Sunny’s direction. “You’re not as saintly as you want everyone to believe.”
“I’m far from saintly.” She was pretty sure none of the saints faked romantic relationships to get their fathers to do what they wanted.
“Well, as long as you know.”
Sunny glanced at Maya as she started mixing ingredients. “Tell me why we’re friends again.”
Maya smiled and cupped her cheeks in her upturned hands. “Because I’m adorable.”
Sunny rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“Okay, what else is new? Alma and Trudy are reportedly both scheming how to outdo each other at the Fall Festival, but then that’s not exactly new.”
Sunny smiled as she recalled the competing signs on the way into town. The two ladies’ feud went back as long as Sunny could remember so, no, not new.
Maya shared a few more random tidbits.
“I dream of one day having something really exciting to put in the paper.”
“You better specify good exciting. You don’t want the other kind.”
“True. At least I’m still in business, barely. A lot of papers can’t say the same.”
“As long as there are hunters and fishermen who want to show off their outdoorsman prowess to their neighbors, and kids’ sports to cover, I think you’ll be okay.”
But in reality even that might be in danger with the proliferation of social media among every age group.
Maya sighed and lowered her chin to her crossed arms on the table. “A lifetime of publishing photos of sixteen-point bucks and Millie Compton’s recipe column, will I ever survive the excitement? Sometimes I want to trade lives with you.”
Sunny shrugged. “You’re the one who chose to come back here after college.”
“I know, but it’s home.”
Maya, who had family scattered from Jade Valley to Worland and all across the Wind River Reservation, had never been destined for living in a city. She might whine about the lack of excitement, but she was good at what she did and made the most she could out of the Post. If she didn’t run the paper, it would probably cease publication and local residents would have to depend on gossip at Alma’s or Trudy’s for their news.
“You should bring the kiddos and have lunch with me tomorrow. I know Trudy would love to see you. She still says you’re the best waitress she’s ever had.”
“I can’t tomorrow. I have plans.”
“Plans?”
“The twins and I are having a picnic with Dean.”
“With Dean. Is this part of the thank-you, as well?”
Sunny nodded as she poured the cake mix into two circular pans.
“And getting the twins out of the house while Dad’s not able to get around, as well. You have to enjoy the warm weather here while it lasts.”
“I know you’re all California girl now, but I don’t think mid-July is on winter’s doorstep.”
Sunny slid the cake pans into the oven then leaned her hip against the counter while facing Maya.
“No, but time flies. I want to enjoy my visit, and that means not being stuck inside all the time. You know that even when I travel I spend as much time exploring outdoors as I can.”
Maya scrunched up her face in a “something’s off” expression before slowly replying, “That’s true.”
“But the next day, we’re totally on for lunch. I can taste Trudy’s cooking now.”
“You better bring me something when you come back,” her dad called out from the living room.
“If you didn’t fall off horses, you could go yourself.”
This was more like it, the normal teasing she and her dad tossed back and forth. She did not like being at odds with him. It didn’t happen often, but when it did she always felt as if she’d taken a wrong path even when she was in the right.
Thumping from the other room preceded her dad opening the front door and going outside. He, like her and every other member of her family, was an outdoor person and could only stand being confined within four walls for so long before he got antsy. If he did nothing out there but watch the occasional bird fly by, he’d feel more at peace than stuck in his chair. There was enough of that during the winter months when cold, brutal winds kept everyone inside except for when they had to do essential ranch tasks to ensure the care and safety of the animals.
Surely her dad would grow to appreciate not having to deal with working in the snow once he got used to California. Humans were resistant to change, but often came to enjoy what they initially resisted.
She and Maya talked a bit longer before her friend said she had to go conduct an interview at the school about a custodian who had an impressive collection of coins he’d found on school grounds over the past twenty years. Sunny had to smile because while that might not be breaking national news, it was 100 percent a Jade Valley sort of story. The guy would probably be the front-page feature if nothing earth-shattering happened before Maya sent the next weekly issue to press.
After checking on the still-sleeping twins, Sunny accompanied Maya outside.
“Take care, old man,” Maya said with a salute to Sunny’s dad.
“Don’t forget this cast won’t be on forever and I know where you live.”
Maya laughed. “You don’t scare me.”
After Maya left with a wave of her arm out her window, Sunny’s dad shook his head and chuckled.
“That girl has more sass than one person should.”
“But you love her like your own.”
“That I do.”
Sunny sank onto the edge of the porch with her feet on the front steps. She stared out at a view that was as familiar as the reflection of her own face in the mirror each morning.
“So, baking a cake for Dean, huh?”
She nodded as if it was no big deal. “Seemed the least I could do.”
Her dad nodded. “He’s a good man.”
He didn’t have to elaborate for Sunny to know that. Dean would probably never truly comprehend how thankful she was to him for being there for her dad when she couldn’t be. Dean deserved more than a cake, and that’s why she hoped that their plan worked out so that everyone was happy in the end. Including Dean.
She looked up at the wide blue sky and thought that her mom and Jason would be happy that the land that was a part of their blood would be staying with someone who loved it. They might not approve of her methods, but hopefully they could see that she only wanted to do what was best for everyone.
DEAN SWORE HE could hear the minutes ticking down to lunchtime as if each second was being marked by a mallet to a large church bell. He’d started his morning by checking a stretch of fencing at the far southern part of the ranch, then gone into town for a new tire for the utility vehicle they used to haul equipment around the ranch and check on cattle when they didn’t ride horses. Now he was waiting for chatty Dr. Parsons, the local vet, to finish up with a round of vaccinations in the barn.
Even though the picnic with Sunny wasn’t a real date, he didn’t want to keep her waiting. He tried to convince himself it had nothing to do with wanting to see her again. He sighed. If he couldn’t even fool himself, how was he supposed to fool others? He wasn’t an actor, after all.
But shouldn’t pretending that he was falling for Sunny be the easiest acting job ever?
The moment Dr. Parsons stepped out of the stall, Dean knew if he didn’t send the man on his way he’d launch into another of the seemingly endless stories he always had at the ready.
“Thanks for coming out, Doc.”
“No problem.”
“If you want to stay and visit with Jonathon for a while, head on over to the house.”
“Maybe next time. I best make my way over to the Stevens place.”
Dean didn’t even wait until Doc was in his truck before he jumped in his own and headed for his house. Sure, this wasn’t a real date and he wasn’t going to dress up for a picnic, but he didn’t want to show up sweaty and dirty either.
One quick shower and a change of clothes later, and he was headed back up the road to the spot where he was supposed to meet Sunny and the twins. When he arrived, he saw her trying to carry picnic supplies while also holding firmly to Lily’s and Liam’s hands as they toddled along beside her.
He parked in the gravel pull off and hurried to help her. He scooped up Liam and relieved her of the wicker picnic basket, which was heavier than he’d anticipated.
“Thanks,” she said, picking up Lily. “This would have been easier if there was a stroller path from the house down to here.”
“Probably best that it’s not easily accessible to them as they become better at walking.”
When he saw Sunny’s eyes widen at the idea of the twins managing to reach the river alone, he felt like smacking himself.
“Forget I said that.”
“Another reason to sell the ranch.”
“Every place has its hazards.” He didn’t point out that the crime rate in LA was astronomical compared to Jade Valley’s. He was supposed to be helping her, not scaring her even more. “But we can’t live our lives being afraid of what might happen. You don’t think about that every time you get on a plane or go adventuring in some other country, do you?”
“Well, no. Not often anyway.”
“And isn’t life way more fun when you’re not worrying than when you are?”
Sunny stopped and stared at him.
“When did you become a positive-thinking guru?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? I even go on speaking tours.”
She huffed a laugh, causing Lily to giggle.
“A tour of the pasture talking to the cows, I bet.”
“Ouch. You make me sound pitiful.”
“Hey, there’s something to be said for an audience that can’t talk back.”
When they reached a flat grassy spot, Sunny carefully checked the area to make sure it was free of snakes before setting Lily down and spreading out the blanket she’d brought.
“What did you put in here anyway?” Dean asked as he placed the picnic basket on one corner of the blanket. “It feels like you included several rocks along with lunch.”
“Not quite.” Sunny started pulling out sandwiches, chips, containers of pickles, olives, cherry tomatoes. Next came cold sodas and bright plastic containers that obviously contained the twins’ lunch.
“Does that basket not have a bottom?”
“How did you know? It’s the infinite picnic basic.”
“Patent that and you won’t ever have to work again. Maybe I’ll marry you for real and live a life of leisure.” He leaned back on his arms and stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankle.
“Yeah, right. You’re the type who would get bored of a life of leisure in less than a day.”
“You’re probably right about that.”
“I know I am. Even on summer vacation from school, you were still up and working alongside your dad every day.”
“That’s how I started saving up the money to one day have my own place.”
“You knew even back then what you wanted?”
“Didn’t you?”
“I knew I liked learning and wanted to go to college. And after studying abroad, I knew I wanted to travel more. But I was probably halfway through school before I started getting an idea of what kind of career I wanted.”
“How does one decide on business consultant? I mean, it’s not one of the careers school counselors try to guide you toward like doctor, lawyer, engineer.”
“We had a project in one of my business classes where we had to look at a failing company and figure out ways to turn it around. I got really into it, and my professor told me that I had a natural talent for seeing issues and innovative ways of fixing them.”
He let Liam grab his finger and wave his hand up and down.
“Your dad may not believe this whole relationship thing just because it makes no sense for someone as smart and successful as you to fall for someone like me.”
“What does that mean, someone like you?”
“I’m not well educated or well traveled. I don’t even own my own home.”
“Well, neither do I. My apartment is pretty small, so I’ll have to move to a house if this all works out.”
He tried to ignore the part of him that wanted to say there were two homes on this ranch and thus plenty of room here.
They spent the next few minutes feeding the twins while munching on their own food, laughing when both Lily and Liam ended up wearing more of their lunch than eating it.
“It’s a good thing you two are cute,” Sunny said as she wiped their faces, which for some reason they thought was hilarious.
Dean smiled. There was no bad mood that baby laughter couldn’t cure.
“You should have a couple of these to help fill up all this space out here when we leave,” Sunny said, pointing at the twins.
He had a flash of having those children with her, their own kids in addition to Lily and Liam. He forcefully shoved that thought deep into a vault where he couldn’t think about it, especially not when he was sitting this close to Sunny.
“I think having a wife should come first. And I don’t even have a girlfriend, thus why I’m able to pretend to be wooing you.”
“Wooing?” Sunny laughed a little. “Sometimes you sound very old-fashioned, Dean Wheeler.”
If he thought she’d welcome real advances from him, he’d pull out all the chivalry and wooing he could muster. But what they’d be sharing over the next however long was merely an act for their mutual benefit. He shouldn’t have to keep reminding himself of that.
“What can I say? I’m a classic catch.”
When Liam tried to crawl off the blanket, Dean quickly picked him up and pointed him in the opposite direction. Sunny was right about the twins being a handful. Now that he thought about it, he was surprised that Jonathon had managed them even before his fall.
“So, you mentioned before, you’d floated ideas for changing things around here to my dad without success. Tell me about what you’d like to do.”
He plucked a blade of grass and fiddled with it.
“Just an occasional idea of how we could diversify so that all of the ranch’s income doesn’t depend on animals and weather.”
“Such as?”
He glanced up at her. Did she really want to hear about his ideas when she wouldn’t be around to see whether any of them panned out?
“My thoughts are kind of all over the place. Whenever I think of something I write it down in a notebook and sometimes mention one or two to your dad. Everything from greenhouses to cabins along the river.”
“The cabins make sense. Lots of people who vacation out here like to stay in places that have better views than the hotels. A more authentic Western experience.”
“I know there’s lots of competition, but there should be ways to differentiate from the others. And there’s good money to be made. I’ve seen the rental rates on some of these places.”
“If you want, we could go over your ideas sometime. I could maybe offer some unique angles from other places I’ve seen in my travels that you could apply here.”
“I feel like this is where I should toss out something about not putting the cart before the horse. There’s no guarantee this whole crazy act is going to work.”
“Well, not with that attitude, it won’t,” she said as she swatted him on the arm.
Dean stretched out on the blanket, one arm behind his head, and using the brim of his hat to shade his eyes from the sun—but not so much that he couldn’t still see Sunny.
“So, exactly how do you want things to progress? Because we can’t go from zero to married without your dad calling foul. It’s going to take longer than you probably have off work.”
He tried not to think about how he wouldn’t mind stretching out and spending time with her as long as possible. Or how he’d lain in bed the night before wondering if there was any possibility that her dad might not be the one to change his mind.
He closed his eyes while telling himself he was nine kinds of a fool. If Sunny thought moving back to Jade Valley was the better option, she would do it. Instead, she was going to great lengths to gather her family together in Los Angeles instead. And it wasn’t because she was selfish. He could tell she truly believed it was the best option, so he’d be the selfish one for trying to stop her. So here he was discussing how best to trick a man who’d been like a second father to him.
Yeah, sometimes the world made zero sense.