I smack his arm. “And think of all the things we’ll have to adjust to.”

“We’ll figure it out day by day. If Angie has found a way to deal with Wyatt, we should be fine.”

“I’m pretty sure your brother would say the same about you.”

Zach and Wyatt are the closest of the Hennington brothers. Trent’s always been on his own. When they wanted to ride horses, Trent was out shooting. He didn’t have much interest in working on his family’s farm. I never understood it, but even in high school, he was looking at other vocations.

Even after his daddy had a stroke and Trent had to help run things, he hated it and eventually chose to walk away. He explained that he knew what he wanted to be and didn’t want his family to waste their time. It was strange to me, but then again, Trent has always been a mystery to me.

We get out of bed, toss clothes on—well, I do—and head in to the kitchen.

“Friday is the Fourth of July celebration,” Trent mentions as he leans against the counter with just a pair of basketball shorts on. I think just knowing he lives here somehow makes him sexier.

He snaps his fingers. “Earth to Grace.”

“Oh! Sorry, yeah, Fourth of July. What are you workin’?”

He always does. I’m used to it by now, I don’t think we’ve ever gone together. When you’re dating the sheriff, you get used to spending holidays alone, which is something I resigned myself to a long time ago.

“I took off.”

“What?” I ask with shock. Well, that never happens.

“I figured we could go out on the horses and watch the fireworks away from the crowd, if you want to . . .” I rush forward and kiss him. His hands wrap around me, and he laughs as I assault him. “I take that as a yes?” he asks between my kisses.

“You’re full of surprises.” I smile and press my lips to his again. “I would love to. You know that this is my favorite holiday.”

“Okay, I want to help Mama a bit in the mornin’, but I’ll be back early enough to get to the spot I want to go.”

“Keep this up, and you may get all that sex you’re hopin’ for.”

His deep, throaty laugh echoes in the room. “All part of my plan, sweetheart. I can grab you here or meet you at your parents’ house. We need to ride to get where I want to go.”

My horses are still at my parents’ house. I have a small paddock on my property, but it isn’t great. Plus, it gives my daddy something to do when he’s pretending to tinker in the barn.

“I’ll meet you there.” I try to contain my excitement, but I fail. I can’t stop jumping around.

“All right. I better get ready for work. You got any plans?”

“I’m going to the store.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later.” He leans in for another kiss. One that I’m all too happy to give him.

I don’t remember ever feeling this happy. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m on top of the world. Everything feels so right. We’re living together, we’re happy, we’re in love, and there is nothing hanging over my head.

Trent leaves for work, and I head off to the store. Today is always a busy day for us since it’s delivery day, and I cringe thinking about it. I have no idea what state I’ll find the place in when I get there.

When I push through the glass door and the tiny bell sounds, Mama is arranging some things on the shelf.

“Mornin’, Mama!” I beam as I get close.

“Mornin’, baby.” Her eyes study me. “You look different.”

“Different?” I don’t know what she could be seeing. I haven’t changed a thing.

“Yeah.” Her lips purse, and she tilts her head. “You look happy.”

“I am happy. I told you the other day that Trent was movin’ in.”

Something she was not happy about. She doesn’t think “kids these days” should be living together before they’re married. I think she’s convinced herself I’m still a virgin. I sure as hell haven’t told her otherwise. A few years ago, she gave me another version of “the talk” regarding the marriage bed. No matter how many times I’ve tried to forget the things that we said that night, my mind won’t erase it.

“I’m glad to see that boy is finally movin’ toward a future, but he’s a little dense on the order of how this goes.”

“Sure, Mama.”

“Don’t you ‘sure Mama’ me,” she chides. “There’s a way we do things, and it ain’t like this.”

“Presley and Zach lived together and so did Angie and Wyatt,” I remind her. She never had a word to say about that.

“Well, Macie and Rhett may allow that in their children’s lives, but your daddy and I do not.” She huffs before tacking on, “I know for a fact that Macie laid into those boys about gettin’ married. Sometimes we raise our babies the best we can and they still screw it all up.”

I can’t believe she’s still this old fashioned and judgy. Usually, their old lady clan complains about other people’s choices, not choices their own kids make. Lord knows they all thought Wyatt was acting like an idiot last year, but no one said a word about it. Now suddenly because I’m moving in with Trent, she has something to say?

“No one is screwin’ anything up, Mama. We’re all adults.”

“Actin’ like children.”

I learned early on not to argue with her when she gets like this. She’s set in her ways, and there’s no telling her any different. I also know that she and my father were pregnant with Scarlett before they got married. The whole nine-pound baby that was two months premature didn’t fool anyone, but I let her have that secret.

“I’m going to finish cleaning the back room,” I tell her as I kiss her cheek.

“Finish what?”

Please tell me she didn’t touch anything. “Organizing the stock . . .”

“Sugar, you’re going to be done awfully fast, there’s no stock to be put away.” She comes around and points. “It’s all done. It was done four days ago.”

“But?”

“I came in to check on things so I could get the stock room cleaned before you go back to school, but . . .” Mama looks around the store with a smile. “It was already done.”

For the first time since I got here, I actually look around, and my mouth drops. Everything is done. It’s all put away, there are bins holding the overflow with it all in order. I go over each row in the back room with so many things racing in my head.

Only Wyatt knew how bad things were. Surely, he wouldn’t . . .

Would he have told his brother?

I don’t even know what to say.

Trent is the only one who would’ve done all this. It would’ve taken him hours to figure out all the boxes. This would’ve taken me a week, and he did it without me askin’.

“Trent?” I breathe as a smile stretched over my lips.

“He was here the other day and asked me not to say anything. He did good,” Mama remarks.

“Yeah, he did.”

Mama pats my back. “I think we should talk, sugar.”

This might be the time to tell her about my concerns with the store. She’s just so stubborn, and I know this won’t go well.

“Sure, Mama. I wanted to talk to you about somethin’, too.”

“Go on and sit, honey.”

We move around to the two chairs, and she takes my hand in hers, which is something she has always done. She used to say it was so she felt connected. It’s probably why I do it as well. Her dark blue eyes that mirror mine are filled with worry.

Fear starts to build as she doesn’t say anything. She’s usually very forthright, so her hesitation starts my mind reeling with what could be wrong. Considering what the Henningtons are dealing with, I start to worry and bite my bottom lip. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m just fine,” she says, laughing. “It’s nothing like that, I’ll be around for a long time. I’ve been thinkin’, and you see, Macie, Becca, and Vivienne are all retired now . . .” A rush of relief courses through me, this is even better. It’s her idea, and now I don’t have to be the bad guy. “And I just would like to be able to do coffee dates and card games with them. With Rhett’s treatments startin’, we’re all going to help during the day. I know you work, but maybe you can take over the store and hire people to manage it?”

I do my best to hide my emotions and look a little disappointed. “Well, it would be an undertakin’.” Her grip tightens a little. “But you and Daddy need to enjoy your time.”

She scoffs. “Who said I wanted to spend time with him? I see him so much now that I’m surprised I haven’t beaten him with a rollin’ pin.”

I burst out laughing. “Oh, Mama.”

“You wait, Grace Louise. You just wait. Spend fifty years with the same man and then come back to me. I’m a damn saint, and that man is the devil some days.”

A saint? Oh, dear Lord.

“Whatever you say, Mama. I’ll take over the store. Don’t you worry.”