“This is kind of like Fate, but Stevie got a similar offer.” He sipped his coffee and set the mug back down. When he had finished that tale, he said, “But we talked tonight, and decided that we would like to see if we might be able to put down roots together. She deserves something more than a bunkhouse, and she has all that stuff from her mother’s house that I’m sure she would like to have around her.”

“Then why don’t the two of you move into the house over there on the other part of the ranch? The one over on what used to be the Hall Ranch,” Pearl suggested. “Lucas called us earlier today and postponed coming back for another year. He said that he wants to get more into horse therapy to help kids with disabilities, and he has an opportunity to do that. If he comes back at some point, the bunkhouse will be plenty big enough for him to stay in.”

“Lucas has always been the quietest one of us and needed more space for himself than me and Jesse ever did,” Cody said. “But I actually drove over here to ask if I could move into the old Hall house you mentioned, Mama, and to ask if it would cause a problem if Stevie and I live together. We need to find ourselves before we rush into anything more than that.”

Sonny laughed so hard that he had to wipe his eyes on a napkin. When he finally stopped, he asked, “What exactly have you been doing all this time, son?”

Cody hadn’t seen his father laugh that hard in weeks. “Well, Dad, I guess I lost my mojo, because we’ve just been roommates. I want to ask her to take it to the next level, and move in with me, but I didn’t want to do that unless I could have the house. She’s special, and she deserves more than I can probably ever give her, but that would be a good start.”

“Yes, it would,” Pearl agreed. “And of course, we don’t have any issues with you asking Stevie to share the place with you. She’s practically like family already.”

“Thanks to both of you, and for the pie, Mama,” Cody said.

Pearl handed him a key ring with two keys on it. “We won’t say a word about it until she says yes, and, son, I’m so excited for both of you.”

“Me too,” Sonny said. “It’s way past time that you started putting down those roots you mentioned. And Stevie is a good woman to help you with that.”