Cody gave them both a hug and whistled all the way to his truck. He went by the barn and stopped by the corral where Maggie and the crias were. He used a length of baling twine he found in the barn to tie one of the keys around Dixie’s neck. She fussed about it at first, but when Maggie came over and loved on her, she accepted it a little better.

“You be a good girl and don’t lose that. I’ll be back tomorrow to get it back from you,” he said as he petted Dixie on the head.

When he arrived back at the bunkhouse, Stevie had cleaned up the table and divided the cobbler into two dishes.

“I waited to have dessert with you,” she told him. “Want a glass of milk to go with it?”

“That sounds great,” he answered.

“How’s your dad? Vitals all right?” she asked.

“Well, damn it!” he said. “We got to talking, and I forgot to check him. I’ll do it tomorrow after church. They were sitting on the porch…” He told her about it being the anniversary of their first date.

“That is so sweet. That’s the kind of relationship I want.” Stevie brought out two tall glasses of milk to go with their dessert.

“Me too,” Cody agreed.

*  *  *

The next morning, Stevie managed to listen to the minister’s sermon on being at peace with yourself, with God, and with your family—at least part of the time. Not even God could have found fault with her for stealing glances at Cody and being almost giddy with happiness that she had finally made her decision. She had even called Rodney that morning and told him she’d be staying in Honey Grove. Now it was done and finished, and she was ready to sink a root or two into the ground.

At the end of the service, Mia and Beau were the first to step out into the aisle. They looked so darned cute together that Stevie had to work hard to keep from sighing.

“Mama, I’m going to Beau’s house for dinner today,” Mia told Addy. “He came to our place last week, and he and his grandpa have invited me to their ranch today. I’ll be home in time to help with evening chores.”

“Have a good time,” Addy said.

“Thank you, Miz Ryan,” Beau said and smiled. “I can’t wait to show Mia around our place, and if I’m late getting her home, I’ll help her do the chores.”

“How about I help you with your chores at your ranch, and then you come home with me for supper and maybe watch a movie this evening after you help me with chores?” Mia asked.

“I’d love that,” Beau said and smiled again at her.