Page 54 of Falling for Forever

She glanced over her shoulder to the house, and there was distinct movement in one of the windows as a drape dropped to cover it fully.

Lydia groaned at the sky. “They never listen to me.”

“I’m starting to think that curtain needs a bell,” Chet said.

Her mouth twitched. “Don’t give them ideas.”

She glanced from him to the path. “Just a walk?”

“And a talk, if you’re willing.” He loosened his hold on the door. “You can ask me whatever you want.”

Lydia glanced toward the house again, then back at him. “I can listen. That doesn’t mean I know what happens afterward.”

“Okay.” He nodded, resisting the urge to ask for more.

“And I don’t want you going to my brothers about us.”

“I came to you.”

She looked at him for another moment. Then she stepped back to give him room to close the door.

He pushed the truck door shut without a slam. His pocket clanked when the buckle bumped against the edge. If Lydia caught the sound, she gave no sign.

With a sweep of his arm, he asked, “Shall we?”

Her arms didn’t unlock from around her waist as she nodded and they headed out on one of her favorite paths around her family’s property.

Chet shoved his hands into his pockets, his thumb tracing over the cold metal again.

“How long have you planned on stopping by to talk?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“Honestly? I wanted to ask when you caught me buying those brownies. I went to the rodeo tonight, and I realized I was still waiting for you to understand things I hadn’t told you.”

She snickered, and it made him grin at her. Lydia dipped her head, letting her hair fall in a curtain around her face so it was hidden from him. “Then I guess I should probably give you some advice, huh?”

“I’d never turn down advice from you,” he only half-joked. “You’re the smartest person I know.”

Lydia peeked at him again. The moon reflected in her eyes and her smile grew a little. “Okay, so here it is. Are you ready?”

He nodded, unable to fight his own smile.

“Don’t blow it.”

Chet stared at her for a long moment, then he threw his head back and laughed. It was one of the most carefree moments he’d had the pleasure of experiencing in a while. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he murmured, still chuckling. “I should’ve known you’d say that.”

She lifted her shoulder, her smile even more genuine. “It’s sorta our thing.”

They continued walking, quiet settling between them. Nothing but the crickets and the rustle of the breeze through the leaves overhead.

“What didn’t you tell me?” Lydia asked.

He pulled his hands from his pockets. “How much of my life I spent chasing the next win. What it was like to have people recognize me everywhere I went. You heard those stories from somebody else, and you should’ve heard them from me.”

“I gave you a chance to tell me.”

He nodded. “At the barn. I know.”

“I wasn’t asking you to account for every day before we met.” She kept it quiet. “I thought we were getting close enough that we could talk about the things that mattered.”