I’m watching Sage and Colt dance, and the love on their face for each other is enough to make my heart clench; there’s just no hiding it. I won’t admit it to my family, but I want that too. As the oldest, I’m watching my younger siblings fall in love, and I’m so happy for them, but it makes the clock tick a little louder.
It’s not that I don’t want to find love; I do. Because I own the bar in town, people have preconceived notions on who I must be. I’m not some rough and tough cowboy who sleeps around.
This is the second wedding in two months. And there will be another wedding for Megan and Hunter coming up. That’s three weddings in a year. Mac, my youngest brother, and I are the old holdouts now, as everyone likes to joke.
I look around the wedding reception and notice a lot of people I don’t know. Sage has invited all her friends she met when she was traveling.
In the back corner, I see a table with one of those groups. It looks like a mother and father with a few kids around Sage’s age. They’re talking and seem to be having a good time.
Then I see her. Long blond hair and the sweetest smile as she laughs at something someone at the table says. I’m drawn to her in a way I can’t explain. Then, as if she feels my eyes on her, she turns to look at me. Her eyes meet mine, and I’m a goner.
I know what the guys have been talking about. One look and I know this girl is mine. My heart is attached to hers, pulling me toward her. I take a deep breath, stand, and make my way to her table, never taking my eyes off her. When she realizes I’m heading her way, her eyes widen, causing me to smile.
I reach the table, and everyone looks at me.
“Hello, I’m Jason, Sage’s brother. I just wanted to introduce myself,” I say, looking at my angel.
“Well, hello, Jason!” The older man with just a bit of grey hair at his temples greets me while standing up to shake my hand. “I remember Sage talking about you. Please sit and join us.”
I take the seat next to my angel and smile at her. She now looks shy, and I hate to take my eyes away from her, but I want to know who these people are she’s with.
“My name is Grant Stevenson, and this is my wife Maria. These are our kids.” He continues, “This is Royce my oldest, Maggie, and my youngest Ella.”
Ella.
My angel’s name is Ella.
I smile at everyone but turn my eyes to Ella. She looks too young for me. I’m not old but at twenty-eight, I’d bet I’m almost ten years older than.
Crap, is she even legal?
“Can I get you a drink, sweetheart?” I ask her.
She smirks. “Don’t laugh, but Sage introduced me to a Shirley Temple, and I think I’m addicted.”
I smile. “You should try a Mai Tai if you like those.”
“Oh, nothing with alcohol.”
I frown. “Not old enough to drink?”
“That’s not it. I’m twenty-one. We don’t believe in drinking alcohol.” The look on her face says she knows my reason for asking.
Then it hits me. She doesn’t believe in drinking alcohol, and I own a bar.
Lovely.
“Well, I’m going to get your Shirley Temple. When I get back, maybe you’ll explain that a bit more?”
She nods and smiles. “Okay.”
I make my way to the bar at the other end of the large event barn where Sage’s wedding reception is being held. I get to the bar and order my drinks when I feel a hand on my shoulder. When I look over, it’s Sage.
“Hey, I saw you talking to Maggie’s family.”
“Yeah, what can you tell me about them?”
“Oh, they’re very conservative, and I know Maggie wants to stay in the same town as her family.”
“Not Maggie, Ella.”
“Ella caught your eye?”
I can’t help the smile that covers my face. “Yeah.”
“She’s… young.”
I sigh. “I know, but it’s only seven years.”
Sage looks at me like she’s reading me.
“I want you happy, Jason, so you know I’m on your side, but they aren’t like us. They don’t date.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re religious, small-town people. Great people, but they don’t date. They do courtships, where you have chaperones on the dates. They don’t believe in sex before marriage. Hell, they have their first kiss on their wedding day.”
I look at my Ella from across the room. To think no man has ever kissed her lips is almost more than I can take.
I look back at Sage, and her face is full of concern.
“Jason, you own a bar which is everything they don’t approve of. They don’t dance, or drink. The girls wear dresses or skirts only, no pants. They’re the kindest, sweetest people, but they’re going to be so protective of her.”
“Well, I guess you need to put in a good word for me. She’s it, Sage. I can’t change that.”
She sighs. “You have one hell of an uphill battle ahead of you, big brother.”
“Guess it’s a good thing I love the climb.”
“Just ask for her phone number. When you text, it will be a group text with her and her mom and dad. Phone calls will have someone else on the line too.”
I hug Sage. “Thank you, and in case I haven’t told you, you look stunning today.”
“Thanks, and you have, but you can’t ever compliment a bride too much!”
I pick up our drinks and head back to the table. Grant gives me a knowing smirk but once Ella catches my eye, I don’t notice anyone else.
“So tell me more about this no drinking,” I say to get the conversation going.
“Oh, it’s just our religion. We don’t believe in drinking alcohol, dancing, sex before marriage, that kind of thing. We dress modestly and treat people the way Jesus would.”
I nod. “Tell me you at least drink coffee?”
She laughs. “Oh yes, I live on coffee.”
“Good, me too. Where are you from?”
“Mountain Gap, Tennessee. It’s a small town in the middle Tennessee.”
I spend the next several hours sitting and talking with her family. I can’t learn enough of my Ella, so when her father gets up to get some more water for his wife, I want to talk to him.
“Grant, hang on.” I turn to Ella. “Sweetheart, you want another Shirley Temple?”
The smile that fills her face is my reward. “Yes, please!”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
I walk up to the bar with her father, and I like that he cuts right to the chase.
“I’m guessing you aren’t here for my sparkling personality.” He smiles.
I laugh. “No, I’d like to get to know Ella better. She mentioned you’re around another few days since Sage isn’t leaving for her honeymoon right away?”
“We are,” he says but gives nothing away.
“I’d like to invite Ella out for a tour of the ranch. Maybe horseback riding if she’s interested. I’d be honored if you would join us,” I say, remembering what Sage said about them always having chaperones.
“You know we don’t date?”
“Yes, Sage told me a bit about courtship. I’m not asking for anything other than to spend the day getting to know her a bit more. Letting you and her get to know me.”
“How old are you, Jason?”
“Twenty-eight, sir.”
I must look nervous because he smiles. “My Maria is six years younger than me. I met her when I was your age. Ella is a lot like her mother.”
He nods and looks back at the table.
“Sage is an amazing person. She and Maggie became good friends, and I’m sure Royce was crushing on her for a bit, but she was always upfront that her heart was Colt’s. I respect that. You’re from the same stock so for that reason, I’m not saying no, outright. Sell yourself to me. Who are you, Jason? Make it good; this might be your one chance.”
Damn, this guy is good. I’m glad Ella has someone so loving watching out for her and protecting her, but I don’t see him being okay with a bar owner wanting to get to know his daughter.
Taking a deep breath, I decide to go for honestly. “I’m the oldest of the family and get so much ribbing because three of them are now married, and another is engaged. They can’t even get me on a date. I’ve had two serious girlfriends, one in high school and one when I was about twenty-one. She broke up with me when Waylon died, and I inherited the bar.”
I watch him open his mouth. “Let me finish please.” He eyes me then nods.
“Right after that, one of the girls in town was drugged. It was my sign to clean things up. So I did a remodel. I brought in a great friend of mine who I went to school with to be the chef, and we turned it into a restaurant. He just won a BBQ award recently. I put in a stage, and we have live music on Friday and Saturday nights. I was just approached to consider becoming a small concert venue stop on a country music tour. One show a month, and we are in negotiations for that. It stands to bring some good revenue to the town. I love this ranch and the land, but it was never my dream to run it. That’s Blaze and Sage, and now Colt. It wasn’t my dream to own the bar either, but it’s not really a bar anymore. It’s a family friendly place in town to eat and hear some good local music.”
I pause for a breath. “I’m telling you this because I want to be honest. I’m hardworking, love my family with all that I have. I don’t go to church every Sunday, but Mom gets me there more often than not. I know I’m probably the opposite of what you want for your daughter but when I saw her tonight from across the room, I just knew I had to meet her and that she would be in my life. I can’t explain it, but I can’t just walk away. Not unless she makes me. I have nothing to hide, and I just want you, your family, and her to get to know me.”
I feel like I’ve talked in circles and said too much but at the same time, not enough. He looks deep in thought, and his reaction could go either way. If he were to say no, I’m not sure what I would do. I don’t think I could stay away from her.
“Well, why don’t we see if she wants a tour of the ranch tomorrow. Normally, I’d say no, but I know Sage is good people. I love my girls, but it’s their choice, their life. I’m just here to weed out the bad guys, the ones without good intentions. I look forward to getting to know you more, Jason. But to be clear, this isn’t a yes. This is let’s get to know each other.” He shakes my hand, and we grab our drinks and head back. I feel a bit of relief as part of the hill has been tackled.
I set Ella’s drink in front of her and sit back down.
“Thank you.” She smiles. “What were you talking to Dad about?”
“You.” Her face falls, but I smile. “I’d like to give you a tour of the ranch tomorrow. Sage has been talking about starting a garden, and you mentioned you love gardening. I’d like your thoughts on where to place it, and how to get started. I thought maybe we could go for a ride on the horses. I also invited your dad to join us.”
She looks over at her dad, and he nods. “It’s up to you, Ella bug.”
She looks over at her mom, then her brother and sister. My heart races and my mouth is dry as I wait for her answer. She takes so long I start to second guess myself. Maybe she isn’t interested like I thought. Maybe she is just being nice to the creepy older guy sitting next to her.
Then she looks back at me. “I’d love to, Jason. Sage has asked us to come up to the main house for breakfast. Will I see you then?”
I let out a huge breath I didn’t know I had been holding “Yes, I’ll be there.” I can’t help the huge smile that has taken over my face.
“Well, I think we’ll call it a night, but maybe you can help us, so we don’t have to bug Sage. We got in today and haven’t even been shown where we’re staying. She said the main house,” Grant says.
“Yes, Jason can show you,” Sage says from my left. I hadn’t heard her come up. “Jason, her parents are staying in the guest master. Royce is in the midnight room, and Maggie and Ella are down the hall in the garden rooms. You’ll each have your own space, but the girls will share a Jack and Jill bath.”
Sage says goodbye to everyone, and we head out of the barn. The night air is cooler than inside the barn, and the sky is clear. Ella walks beside me and looks up at the sky.
“It’s so clear out here, it makes the sky look so big.” She’s still looking up when she trips over a rock on the side of the path.
I reach out and catch her, pulling her against me to stop her from falling. Having her body pressed to mine, it’s like time stopped. Her eyes meet mine, and mine are locked on her. My heart races. When my mind works again, I set her back on her feet and step away, putting space between us.
I watch her look down, and her face turns red, “Sorry,” she mumbles.
“No need to be sorry, sweetheart. I’ll always catch you. Let’s head to the main house. The sky is amazing from the front yard there.”
She smiles, and I feel like I’ve just won the lottery. Knowing I made her smile is the best feeling in the world. I get in my truck, and she and her family follow in their van. We must go back out almost to the main gate and swing back down to the driveway to the main house, and I smile the whole way.