CHAPTER EIGHT

Six weeks later, End of September

"We have got a major problem."

Reba looked up from the paperwork she was doing in her downtown office to where Jack stood in the doorway with a look of concern. It had been six weeks since they had revealed their relationship to her family and for the most part everything had been great. They had spent almost every evening together either having quiet evenings at her place or going out for special evenings alone and their relationship had been progressing nicely. They had even survived another three-week stent of Jack being gone to Boston and had enjoyed a lovely reunion just a week before.

Of course, not everything had been sunshine and roses either. There had been hiccups like any relationship experienced. For whatever reason, Brock had made a nuisance of himself on more than one of their quiet nights at home by showing up on the guise of spending time with Jake and then spending more time butting in on their evening than actual time with Jake. It had caused a couple of arguments between Jack and Reba because Jack thought Brock was trying to sabotage them and wanted her to tell him off and Reba thought he was just being a dense idiot and wasn't as willing to give him a piece of her mind.

They had also not taken their relationship to the next level of intimacy in the bedroom yet either, despite being together almost five months now. Although Jack had not said anything, Reba knew he was getting frustrated by it. Hell, even Reba was getting frustrated by it, but she just wasn't ready yet. Physically, every time they touched, she wanted to drag him into her bed and have her way with him but emotionally she needed to hear that this relationship meant something more than just a casual dating relationship to him. She needed to hear that he loved her before she surrendered that part of herself to him and while she felt like he loved her, he had never said the words. She knew that she loved him and rationally she knew she could be the first one to say it, but she had her reasons for wanting to hear him say the words first.

But now he was in her office saying he had a major problem and Reba wondered if all of the little things were starting to boil over for him. She pulled the glasses that sat perched on the end of her nose off and stood up behind her desk. "What's the matter, honey?"

"I don't know how to ride a horse."

Reba felt herself physically relax and laughed out loud. "Jack, you scared me to death. Your major problem is that you don't know how to ride a horse?"

Jack gave her a pained look. "Babe, I am serious. This is a big deal. In less than ten days, we leave to go to Oklahoma where we will be visiting your parents on their cattle ranch, and I don't know how to ride a horse."

Reba tried to hide her smile as she walked around her desk and leaned against the front of it. "That's fine. Daddy has a lot of really great horses. I can teach you to ride while we are there if you really want to learn how to ride."

"Oh no, I need to know how to ride before we ever step foot on your parent's ranch. Listen Reba, I may not be a father but I can promise you if I was and my only daughter was bringing her new city slicker boyfriend to meet me on my ranch for the first time, the very first thing I would do was take him out for a horseback ride so we could talk about his intentions with my little girl. I will be damned if I am going to make a fool of myself in front of your father."

Reba reached out and grabbed Jack's hands and pulled him closer to her. "Jack, I promise you, daddy is a big teddy bear. You have nothing to worry about. He is going to love you. But if it makes you feel better, I know somewhere we can go that I can teach you to ride before we leave next week."

Jack released a relieved sigh. "Thank you."

"I will teach you to ride but there is something else we have to do first. What do you have going on this afternoon?"

"I'm free the rest of the afternoon. What do you have in mind?"

"I have a few things to finish up here. Give me an hour and then come back and pick me up and then you will find out."

Jack's eyes sparkled in anticipation before he leaned in for a quick kiss. "See you in an hour."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Jack, honey, trust me on this. It's not just about looking the part. If you are going to ride horses some of this is about practicality."

"Ok, but I own jeans and I'm not sure these are doing to fit me."

Reba rolled her eyes where she stood outside the fitting rooms in the western store she had brought Jack to. "Just try them on."

A minute later Jack exited the fitting room wearing a navy long sleeve pearl snap shirt with a small light blue paisley print on it and dark wash cowboy cut Wranglers. Reba felt her mouth go a little dry at the sight of how he filled out the jeans and she quickly followed him to where he stood looking in the mirror. She made her way up behind him and before she could stop herself grabbed a handful of his backside.

"Looking good cowboy."

Jack jumped and then shot her a look in the mirror. "Practicality, huh?"

Reba smiled. "Well, these jeans serve a dual purpose. They are practical when it comes to riding and they are the right cut for wearing with the boots you will want to get for riding, but they have the added benefit of making your ass look fantastic."

"And the shirt?"

"Purely for looks. It will be great for the formal dinner at the reunion and dancing after. Otherwise, t-shirts, sweaters, whatever you want to bring will be fine."

"Ok, what else? You said I need boots?"

"Yep. Boots are essential for horseback riding. Have you ever owned a pair?"

Jack shook his head as they walked up to the boot wall. "No and it looks like there are a lot of choices. I'm relying on you for some guidance here."

"Well, lets keep it simple and budget friendly since it is your first pair and stay away from the exotics. And if you don't want my daddy laughing you off the ranch you will stay away from a pointed toe, round or a square toe are your best bet. Other than that, it's up to what you like and what feels comfortable."

After trying on numerous pairs, Jack settled on a pair of espresso brown colored western boots with a square toe and a navy upper with teal stitching. When he had the whole ensemble on, he certainly looked the part of a cowboy. Maybe a tad urban cowboy but a cowboy, nonetheless.

"Looking pretty good there, partner. I think our work here is done."

Jack looked surprised. "What? No cowboy hat?"

Reba laughed. "Let's not go overboard. We are trying to strike a balance of appearing believable without turning into a character. The hat would probably push it over the top. But you probably do want to throw a baseball cap in to wear while riding because the sun can be wicked."

"Then I guess this is all the damage I can do. What about you? What are you getting?"

Reba shook her head. "You forget I grew up on the ranch. I have everything I need to play cowgirl for a few days."

Jack looked over his shoulder and pointed back to the boot wall. "What about those boots I saw you trying on?"

Reba waived her hand dismissively. "I was just admiring. Those were caiman skin. They were beautiful and it's not that I can't afford them, but I would never."

Jack shrugged. "If you say so."

He quickly changed back into the clothes he wore into the store, and they headed to check-out so they could make their purchases. When they reached the front, Reba ran into one of her former clients and they struck up a conversation while Jack was paying for his purchases. Jack waited until he was sure Reba wasn't paying attention to what he was doing, and he spoke with one of the salespeople and arranged with them to hold the boots Reba had been admiring until he could stop back by and and pick them up without her.

Two Days Later…

"How do you know about this place?" Jack asked as he turned off the main road onto a gravel driveway that led toward a picturesque farmhouse with barns beyond.

"Katie is actually a client of mine. We've worked together for years; she mainly purchases investment properties to flip but several years ago she wanted to find a property outside of town to move to so she could raise horses. We took quite some time finding this spot but once we did, it was perfect. Anyway, she has always told me I could come out and ride anytime I wanted so I called her yesterday and explained what was going on and she told me to come out as much as we needed."

Jack pulled the car to a stop in front of the farmhouse, and they stepped out of the vehicle to greet the woman who was standing on the majestic wrap around porch. Reba waived and smiled. "Hi Katie."

"Mornin' Reba. Always good to see my favorite realtor."

"I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Dr. Jack Morgan."

Jack stepped forward and shook their host's hand. "Nice to meet you. We really appreciate you letting us come out and use your horses so Reba can teach me how to ride."

"Happy to oblige. I've been trying to get Reba out here to ride for awhile. There's actually two horses already saddled and ready to go for you in the riding pen. Rootbeer is an 8-year-old sorrel and Sassafrass is a 5-year-old blue roan. Reba, you are going to want to take Sassy."

Reba shot her a thumbs up and then took Jack's hand and headed towards the riding pen. She took them on a detour through the barns on their way to grab a small bucket of corn and a brush to take with them. Beyond the barns was the riding pen where they approached the two horses that were tied to the rails. Reba immediately made her way to the blue roan and began to rub its neck and muzzle, speaking softly to her as they became acquainted. After a few minutes she looked over to where Jack stood at a distance with eyes wide. "Jack, you ok?"

"Uh, yeah. They are just more intimidating than I anticipated."

Reba offered him a sweet smile. "Do you trust me?"

Jack looked at her and visibly relaxed. "With my life."

"All right then. Let's teach you to ride a horse."

Five Days Later…

"How are Jack's riding lessons going?" Cheyenne refilled her coffee cup and then made her way back to the kitchen table where her mom, sister and Barbara Jean were sitting drinking their own cups of coffee.

"Really well, actually. He initially was really nervous but after the first day, he's made incredible strides. We are actually going out this afternoon for our last lesson and taking our first ride outside the riding pens."

"So, Reba, you are taking Jack to meet your parents. Tell us, how serious are things between you two, really?"

"Yeah mom, is Jack going to be our stepdaddy soon?"

"Kyra." Reba shot her youngest daughter a warning glance. "I think things are pretty serious. Honestly, I think we are at a crossroads."

Barbara Jean looked at her with concern. "Are you and Jack having problems?"

Reba shook her head. "No, not at all. In fact, I'm happier than I've ever been, and Jack seems really happy, but we've been together for almost five months now and we still haven't taken our relationship to the next level."

"Mom!"

"What Cheyenne?"

Cheyenne leaned across the table to stress her point. "Are you telling us that you and Jack still haven't slept together? What in the world are you waiting for?"

Reba blushed deeply. "I'm not sure I feel comfortable having this conversation with my daughters."

Kyra laughed under her breath. "Mom, it's not like we are kids anymore. And honestly, and I can't believe I am saying this, I agree with Cheyenne. What are you waiting for?"

Reba shook her head and turned to her friend. "I suppose you have an opinion about this too?"

Barbara Jean thought for a second. "Well, I am curious what's holding you back. You just said you are happier than you have ever been and from what I have observed, you and Jack seem to be really great. What is holding you back from moving things forward?"

"It's not as if I don't want to. Trust me, every time I am around that man, I want to do things to him that my momma always told me good girls didn't do. But it's a serious step for me, if I am going to take that step with him, I need to know there is a real future with him and I need to hear him say that. Specifically, I need to hear three little words that he hasn't said yet."

Cheyenne held up her hand. "Wait, you are saying you need to hear Jack say that he loves you and he hasn't said it yet?"

"Good job Cheyenne. You should try out for Jeopardy next."

"Haha Kyra. Seriously Mom, do you love Jack?"

Reba looked down into her empty coffee cup and then back up shyly. "I think I do."

Barbara Jean squealed. "I knew it! I could tell that night at dinner when you revealed him to us that you were in love and if my senses are correct, he might have not said the words yet, but Jack loves you too. Maybe you should use this time away while you are visiting the ranch to have serious discussions about your feelings and how you really feel about each other. Don't take a chance of loosing something really good and really right because there are things unsaid between the two of you."

The other three Hart women looked at Barbara Jean in shock for just a moment. It was finally Kyra who broke the silence with a sarcastic quip. "Wow, when did you grow a brain, Barbara Jean?"

"That's actually great advice Barbara Jean. I'm going to make sure Jack and I talk this weekend. What about you though?"

Barbara Jean shrugged. "What do you mean, what about me?"

Reba gave her a pointed look. "How about you take your own advice and you and Brock sit down and have a serious discussion about your feelings?"

"Actually, we have."

Cheyenne, Kyra and Reba all exchanged concerned glances. It was Cheyenne who finally broke the silence. "And? What did the two of you decide about your future?"

Barbara Jean shook her head and closed her eyes to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. "It's over. He's in love with someone else. And the irony is that the person he's in love with doesn't have the same feelings for him but he either can't see it or refuses to see it. And as much as it breaks my heart to lose my marriage, what might break my heart more is the thought of possibly losing this when we do get divorced."

Reba shook her head and quickly reached across the table and grabbed Barbara Jean's hand. "First of all, Brock is a moron, and I am so sorry that he has put you through this. But secondly and most importantly, no matter what happens between you and Brock, you will always be family. And I do mean always. Don't you forget that."

"She's right Barbara Jean," Cheyenne said as she added her hand to theirs. "You are stuck with us."

Kyra finished the pact by adding her hand to the group. "Forever Barbara Jean. Whether you like it or not."

Later that day…

"Wow, it is amazingly beautiful out here." Jack and Reba were enjoying an evening ride on the quiet wooded property of her client. It was his first ride outside of the riding pens, the weather was finally cooling off as fall began to set in and they were enjoying exploring the hidden beauty of the property.

"Isn't it? When Katie and I found this property, it was like a dream."

Jack looked over at her as she sat confidently in her saddle. "Your dream?"

Reba looked around her and took in a deep breath of the fresh air and then nodded. "Maybe. I loved growing up on the ranch and having a place like this, maybe a little smaller, where I could have a few horses of my own was always my ideal, but it just never seemed to be the right time. Brock wasn't interested in the country life, he always wanted to live in the suburbs, and then after the divorce I couldn't afford to make the move on my own. Then, once my real estate career took off and I could make the move financially it just made more sense to stay put until all the kids were up and out of school. I guess once Jake is out of the house, I will reassess then and see if it makes sense for me to do it on my own."

"Or maybe you wouldn't have to do it on your own at all."

Reba felt her heart begin to race and she decided it was best to change the subject. "So, how you are feeling? Think you are ready to go on a ride with Daddy if he asks?"

Jack nodded. "I am feeling great. I had a fantastic teacher, and I am feeling confident about going for a ride with your dad. As long as he keeps it simple and doesn't want me to do anything too crazy."

Reba laughed and Jack smiled at the twinkle in her eyes. "I promise to make him take it easy on you. At least when it comes to horseback riding."

To be continued…