“We would have loved to have that when we were stranded in the barn, wouldn’t we?” Cody asked. “Hey, I hear that Mia spent a couple of hours with you this afternoon. Did she talk about Beau? The whole family thinks he’s a good guy, and we’re wondering if maybe the fact that we like him will…”

“No worries. She likes him a lot, and she even asked me how to tell if a guy was the one.” She air-quoted the last two words.

“After only one day?” Both of Cody’s eyebrows shot up. “That would almost be like love at first sight, which is downright crazy even for kids their age.”

“I guess he kisses real good, and you don’t need to knock that love-at-first-sight business.” She put the container of ham in the refrigerator. “Didn’t you ever wonder on a first date if the woman you were with could possibly be the one you would spend your life with?”

“No, did you?” Cody asked.

“I’ve never been on a date with a woman,” Stevie answered.

“You know what I mean,” Cody scolded. “Have you ever been on a first date and thought the guy you were out with was the one?”

Stevie hip-bumped him out of the way so she could put the pecan pie away. “Of course I have. It’s normal, and after the second or third, I knew he wasn’t the one and I cut him loose and stopped wasting my time.”

“How do you know for sure if a guy is the one?” Cody asked.

“How do you men tell if a woman is?” she fired back at him.

“I have no idea. I never got that far into a relationship. Six months in one spot was usually the limit with the doctor program I was working with. That’s not long enough to think about a permanent relationship.” Cody helped put the containers of food away in the refrigerator. “Now you?”

“You already know that answer. I thought I’d missed my chance at the one because you were that cowboy and you had rejected me. I figured I’d be settling for someone who came in second in my heart,” Stevie answered. “Now that we’ve had time to get to know each other, and for me to even bury the hatchet, I think that it takes getting to know each other a lot better than just one date and a make-out session to know if you want to spend your whole life with someone.”

“You really are blunt,” Cody said.

“You asked.” She shrugged. “I answered.”

“I wouldn’t call what we had a make-out session.” He got a bottle of water from the fridge. “Want one, or a beer, or a…”

“Maybe a bottle of orange juice,” she answered. “And you are so right. What we had was not a bona fide make-out session.”