“No, I know,” Rosie said. “But, the thing is, I’m leaving soon, and I’m trying to get everything set up before I go, and Sky says you’re an amazing artist, so we figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. We’ll pay you for it, of course.”

“You like my art?” Jinx asked Sky.

“I do.”

“Custom work on motorcycles isn’t—” Jinx began

“I’m not talking about motorcycles.” Sky shifted to face him. “Your mom tags you on social media. I’ve seen your real art.”

“Oh.” Color tinted his cheeks. “Cool. Still…I’m not a graphic artist.”

“You don’t need to be.” Sky rolled her eyes. “Okay, I know you’re hiring me to help with the marketing aspect of this, but how about if Jinx and I work on this together?”

“I’ll do it,” Jinx said.

Sky took the book from him, completely oblivious to the way he looked at her like she was gilded. “Let’s see what you’ve got.” She flipped through the pages.

“What do you want exactly?” Jinx asked. “Just a design for a label?”

“We’re going to need a label for the jars and another for the boxes,” Rosie said. “But you only have to come up with the drawing. The company that makes the labels will handle scale for each piece.”

“We’ll need shopping bags, too,” Brodie said.

“Yep.” Rosie looked to Jinx and Sky. “So, you’re both in?”

“Absolutely,” Sky said. “Sounds fun.”

“Oh, great. Thank you so much.” Rosie pushed back in her chair. “I love the idea of old barn wood for the interior walls, to give it a rustic feel. Maybe antique photographs. I can see dried sagebrush and wildflowers in clusters tied with ribbon. That kind of thing.”

“I can totally picture that store.” Sky grinned. “I love it.”

Rosie had some great ideas, and it killed Brodie to think she wouldn’t be here to put the place together herself. How could her parents snuff out this side of her?

He understood from an intellectual standpoint what they needed from her, but as a man of the west, a descendent of outlaws and mountain men, he just naturally thought outside the box. The idea of stifling someone, cutting them off at the knees…it just didn’t compute.

How could forcing this woman to get married be more powerful than establishing a university on Villeneuve land?

And, really, who did the people want leading the next generation? A dynamic businesswoman or a brood mare?

“Eventually, we’ll have soap, perfume, lip balm, and candles, too,” Rosie said. “But I can do everything else from home. I just want to get the basics set up here before I leave.”

“We can get on this right away.” Jinx got up. “Come on. I’ll buy you a burger and we can get started.”