“Then I’ll help you,” Cody said. “Together, we should be able to take care of it in a day, and I can hook one of our cattle trailers onto the truck and bring it all to the ranch.”

“Thanks,” Stevie said.

Driving from Honey Grove to Bonham when there was no snow on the roads took only fifteen minutes, and the Sonic was right off the highway. Cody pulled into a place and rolled down the window, hit the red button, and a voice came through the speaker. “Welcome to Sonic. I’ll take your order when you are ready?”

Cody glanced over at Stevie. “Were you serious about a burger?”

She leaned across the console and raised her voice. “I’ll have a double bacon cheeseburger with no onions, double fries, and a large chocolate shake.”

“Is that all?” the voice asked.

“No, just double that order,” Cody said.

“Your total is on the screen. Cash or credit card?”

“Credit card,” Cody said as he slid his card into the slot.

“Thank you, sir. Your order will be right out.”

“Are we going for a long drive when we finish eating?” Stevie asked.

“We can, if you want to, but I have something I’d like to show you back at the ranch,” Cody said.

“And then a nap?” She covered a yawn with her hand. “I didn’t sleep so well last night. Probably from worrying about telling Rodney no on the Australia offer.”

“Regrets?” Cody asked.

“Not a single one, but it was pretty nice of him to recommend me for the job, and I hated to disappoint him,” Stevie answered.

“I can’t believe the sassy Stevie O’Dell has a soft heart,” Cody teased.

“Believe it…love.” She winked. “I can’t believe you are going to let us eat in your new truck. I wouldn’t let anyone even have a soft drink with a lid on it inside my new right-off-the-lot car when I first got it.”

“The fact that I’m letting you eat in my new truck just goes to show you how special you are to me…love.” He unfastened his seat belt, leaned across the console, and kissed her on the cheek.

Warmth and contentment filled Stevie from the inside out at the touch of his lips on her face. Those two things seemed like two diametrically opposed feelings to her. Sexy heat and peace at the same time. But maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what she had been looking for all this time—stability with a steaming hot cowboy.

*  *  *

After they had eaten and had a nice slow ride back to the ranch, Cody parked his truck out by the barn and helped Stevie out of the passenger side. “We’ve been neglecting Dixie for the past few days. I thought we’d take a few minutes to check on her.”

“You don’t think she has forgotten me, do you?” Stevie asked.