Page 54 of The Taste of Deceit

“Her mama wanted me to keep a lead rope on her.”

One corner of his mouth twitches.

“Sarah wouldn’t have it.”

He shakes his head once.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Daddy, if you don’t let go, I’ll never learn.’”

His eyes find mine again.

“I hated letting go.”

Another pause.

“But I did.”

He walks over and picks up his hat from the fence post, settling it on his head before turning back toward me.

“If she wants to spend the rest of her life with you…”

He holds my gaze.

“…I’m not going to be the man who stands in her way.”

He closes the distance between us, stopping in front of me before holding out his hand.

“You have my blessing.”

Chapter 17

Sarah

The next few days pass faster than either of us wants them to. I spend them showing Luca every corner of the place that shaped me long before we met. We drive past my old high school, and I laugh when I point out the softball field where I hit two home runs in the same game my senior year. We wander through town, stopping at all the places that still feel exactly the way they did when I was a kid, and somehow none of it feels strange with him beside me. If anything, it feels like he’d always been meant to see this part of my life.

One night, I drag him to the old drive-in just outside town. We buy popcorn we barely touch and spend more time kissing than watching the movie playing on the giant screen in front of us. Daddy keeps taking Luca riding every morning, and I tag along each time. By the third ride, he’s sitting comfortably in the saddle instead of looking like he expects the horse to surprise him every few seconds. Daddy still corrects him whenever he needs it, but I catch the small nods of approval that become more frequent with every ride.

Watching Luca with my parents is my favorite part of the trip. Mama already loved him before we ever got here, but seeing him fit so naturally into our family somehow makes me love him even more. Daddy doesn’t say much—he never has—but I don’t need him to. I see it in the way he asks Luca to help around the ranch, the conversations they have out in the barn, and the quiet respect that’s settled between them.

By the time we’re packing our suitcases, Luca doesn’t feel like the man I brought home to meet my parents anymore. He feels like family.

A few days later, Mama and Daddy drive us to the airport. None of us says much on the way there. Mama reaches back more than once to squeeze my hand, and Daddy keeps both hands on the steering wheel, his attention fixed on the road ahead. Once we’re parked, Daddy insists on loading our suitcases onto the curb before Luca has a chance to reach for them.

Mama wraps me in a tight hug first.

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

She kisses my forehead before stepping aside so Daddy can pull me into one of his hugs. I bury my face against his chest for a second, breathing in the familiar scent of leather, laundry soap, and the ranch.

“I love you, Sweet Girl.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

He kisses the top of my head before letting me go. Then he turns to Luca. The two of them shake hands, but after only a second, Daddy pulls him into a quick hug and pats him once on the back.

“You take care of my girl.”