Harmony laughed. “Shut up, Alyssa.”

She made her way around to say hello to friends and relatives. Somehow, she and Barrett ended up in the kitchen together.

“Hey,” she said, wishing she could touch him.

“How’s it going?”

“Good. Stopped by your house today.”

He nodded. “I was there the other day. They’ve made a lot of progress. Walls are in place and drywall and flooring is in. I can see how the place is going to look now.”

“I really like how it’s taking shape. You’ll be surprised how fast they finish it. Before long I’ll be putting the final decorating touches on it. In fact, you need to make the final decision on paint because they’re waiting on that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Drake came over and draped his arms around both of them. “You two over here talking pillow colors?”

“You know it’s my favorite topic,” Barrett said.

“How’s the place coming along?” Drake asked.

“Good. You need to come by and take a look.”

Drake stepped back. “What? And miss the big reveal? I’ll wait for the open house. The one that comes with beer.”

Barrett laughed. “Okay.”

“In the meantime, Mama said dinner’s ready.”

They sat and ate and, as usual, Mama and her aunts had set out a feast—way more food than Harmony could eat in one sitting.

She’d grabbed a dish towel and tucked it into the neck of her dress. This was one of her favorite dresses, and no way was she going to get barbecue sauce on it.

“You should put one of your mama’s robes on,” her Aunt Paula said.

“Yes, because that would be even more attractive than that towel you’re wearing.” Alyssa gave her the side eye.

“Oh, I’m fine with this, thank you.”

“The bib looks great,” Barrett said. “I especially like the red and blue birds.”

That’s because the red and blue birds were spread across her breasts, but she was not going to say that out loud. “Thanks, Barrett. I thought the color scheme was ideal.”

After dinner, the guys did dishes, which was the norm.

Harmony and Alyssa took glasses of iced tea out to the back porch. A storm was brewing. It was cloudy and the wind had picked up, but she was grateful for the breeze and the sudden drop in temperature.

They were soon joined by Mama and the aunts, and then all the guys.

“I want to thank you for the invite to your family’s ranch,” Mama said to Barrett.

“My mother said to tell you she’s made up your favorite guest room. And that they just picked some corn the other day.”

“I do love fresh, farm-raised corn on the cob. Is that handsome ranch hand still working there?”

“My Uncle Elijah?” Barrett asked with a grin. “Yes, he’s still there.”

“I look forward to seeing that man again.”

Drake shook his head. “Do I need to watch out for you and Barrett’s uncle?”

Mama pointed her finger at Drake. “No, you need to mind your own business.”

Harmony laughed. “Oooh, she told you.”

“I guess she did.”

The wind started to get violent, so everyone moved inside. The aunts left, then some of the guys.

“I should go,” Alyssa said. “I have to make a stop at the hair-supply store before I head home.”

Harmony hugged her. “Looks like the storm is going to get bad. You be safe driving home.”

“I will. You, too.”

Harmony said good-bye to her mother, who made her promise to call as soon as she got home, then told her brother she’d see him in Texas, since he was heading down there tomorrow morning and she wouldn’t fly out until tomorrow night.

She headed out, with Barrett right behind her. She could see lightning out in the distance. Hopefully she’d beat the storm home.

She got into her car, and as she hit the highway, she noticed Barrett’s car behind her. Not unusual, since they lived in the same direction, but as she got closer to home, his car stayed behind hers.

She smiled, and was grateful to have him stay behind her because the downpour started several miles from home. It was a hard rain, with heavy wind, thunder and lightning. She pulled into her garage, leaving the door open when Barrett pulled into her driveway. He made a quick dash into the garage, but he had gotten wet.

She shut the garage door.

“Crazy storm out there. Thanks for following me.”

He shook water droplets from his hair. “I needed to be sure you got home okay.”

They walked inside. “Which reminds me, I need to call my mom. There are towels in the downstairs bathroom you can use to dry off.”

“Okay.”

He disappeared and she fished her phone out of her purse, made a quick call to her mother to let her know she was home and safe, then laid her phone on the counter.

Barrett came out of the bathroom with a small towel, rubbing it over his face and hair.

A sharp crack of thunder made her jump.

Barrett laid the towel down and came over to her, sliding his arms around her to tug her against him. “Scared of the storm?”

“Not really. Just surprised by the thunder.”

“It’s okay. I’ll keep you safe.”

“How about you take my mind off of it?”

His lips curved. “I can do that. You know, when we were at your mom’s tonight, it took all my willpower to keep my hands off of you.”