Page 68 of More Than This Land

Claire shrugged. “This is going to be interesting. I’m not going to let a little crowd keep me from my steak. How about you?”

Luke looked at the woman who’d challenged everything he thought he knew about himself and made him want to be better. “They’re going to find out sooner or later. Much as I’d rather have you all to myself, I guess it’s not a bad thing to go ahead and get this part over with.”

He loved her so much it scared him. And for the first time in his life, he held his ground against the feeling.

“Come on.” He opened his door and came around to help her down. “Might as well give them something to talk about.”

They walked into the Brand Iron Diner hand in hand. The bell over the door chimed, and conversation stopped. Every head turned. Miss Jo stood behind the counter with a coffee pot in her hand and a knowing smile on her face that could have lit up the whole county.

“Well now.” She set the coffee pot down with a decisive clink and propped her hands on her hips. “Look what the cat dragged in. You two up to something?”

Luke’s ears burned. The familiar warmth crept up from his collar, and he resisted the urge to reach for the back of his neck. Claire’s hand tightened in his, and he drew strength from that simple contact.

Before he could answer, Agnes Pruitt’s voice cut through the silence from her booth. “About time, Calloway. Some of us have been waiting months for you to get your head on straight.”

Nervous laughter rippled through the diner. Luke’s gaze found his family’s table. Mom had both hands pressed to her mouth, tears already streaming down her face. Dad sat beside her with one arm around her shoulders, his expression proud and pleased. His brothers wore matching grins, and he couldn’t wait to tease them, promising their time for love had to be coming up soon.

Luke cleared his throat. His free hand found the back of his neck despite his best intentions, rubbing at the tension there, but he kept his gaze steady as he looked around the room.

“I’ve been thinking about happiness lately.” His voice carried clear in the silent diner. “About what it means. What it looks like. I thought it was about control. About having systems in place and managing variables and making sure nothing went wrong.”

He looked at Claire. Her eyes were wet again, but she smiled at him with such open affection that his breath caught.

“Turns out I was wrong.” He squeezed her hand. “Happiness is Claire. It’s having someone brave enough to call me out when I’m being an idiot. Someone who sees who I could be and loves me anyway. Someone worth driving to Billings for. Someone worth risking everything for.”

The diner erupted with claps, cheers, and whistles. Mom burst into full sobs, and Dad pulled her in close to his side to whisper in her ear. Miss Jo whooped from behind the counter and clapped harder than anyone.

Graham let out a cheer that probably violated noise ordinances.

“Finally!” Noah cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. “Do you know how hard it’s been watching you two dance around each other?”

“I had money on last week,” Caleb called out with a shake of his head. “Cost me twenty bucks, little brother.”

“You bet on us?” Claire’s voice held laughter and exasperation in equal measure.

“The whole town had a pool going.” Agnes waved off their blustering. “It was for a good cause. All the money goes toward a 4H sponsorship. Tessa at the Co-Op has been tracking on the bulletin board.”

Rachael Bennett stood from her booth, clasping her hands together. “This is exactly what I was praying for. The Lord answers prayers in His perfect timing.”

“Rachael, you’ve been scheming every single day, trying to come up with ways to get them together.” Agnes harrumphed. “Don’t pretend this was all divine intervention.”

“Sometimes God requires his stewards to pitch in a helping hand.” Rachael poked Agnes in the shoulder with a gentle prod.

Miss Jo carried two cups of coffee over and nudged them into his and Claire’s hands. “On the house. For the entertainment value alone.” She leaned in closer, dropping her voice. “Also, because you’re good for each other, and this old heart has been rooting for you both since Claire walked in here that first week looking lost.”

“I wasn’t lost.” Claire’s protest fell on deaf ears.

“Honey, it’s okay.” Miss Jo patted her arm. “Glad you remembered. Now go grab a seat.”

Luke led Claire to his family’s table where Mom pulled Claire into a fierce hug. “I’m so happy for you both. So, so happy.”

“Mom, you’re going to squeeze her to death.” Graham tossed a wad of paper at Noah, who smacked it hard enough to send it pinging across to another table.

Mom pulled back, keeping her hands on Claire’s shoulders. “You’re family now. You know that, right? You’ve been family for weeks, but now it’s official.”

Dad stood and extended his hand to Claire. “Welcome to the family, Claire. We’re lucky to have you.”

“I’m the lucky one.” Claire shook his hand, then surprised him by pulling him into a hug too.