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her and then held his hand out. When Molly took it, Manu brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Apologies, my lady. I’m Manu Barrett, this one’s older and more handsome brother.”

      “She has eyes. She can see that you were a warm-up for me. I’m the perfect one,” Hemi said.

      Jason just shook his head at them.

      “This is Molly Tanner,” Jason said, introducing her to Manu.

      “Are you part of the astronaut program?” he asked as they all moved into the ballroom.

      “Not really. I’m a cowgirl normally. But Ace and I inherited some land that is now housing the new Cronus training facility,” she said.

      Jason thought it curious that she’d referred to him as Ace. She almost always called him Jason.

      “That is really cool. I’d love to hear more about it,” Manu said. Hemi left them to go talk to Izzy.

      “What do you do?” Molly asked Manu.

      “I’m in football. Special teams coach for the professional football league. I used to play for San Diego.”

      “I think I might get kicked out of Texas for admitting this, but I don’t really like the game. I’m more of a basketball fan.”

      “You were almost perfect,” Manu said with a wink.

      “Well, she is for me,” Jason said, putting his arm around her.

      “Not perfect,” Molly said, smiling. “I’m as real as they come.”

      Manu laughed and then moved off to find his brother. Jason took Molly’s hand in his and started to lead her away from the crowd.

      “Where are we going?”

      “I want to be alone with you for a few minutes before everything starts tonight,” he said.

      She bit her lower lip and then nodded. “I figured we’d talk later, but I can do this now.”

      Do what? he wondered. He led her to a quiet corner and put his hand in his pocket, feeling around for the ring box. She stood there watching him. And the lights dimmed as the emcee came out on stage.

      “Ladies and gentlemen, NASA is proud to welcome you to the Cronus Kickoff Celebration. If you will all find your seats, we have a few announcements to make before we get this party started.”

      “This is going to have to wait,” Molly said.

      He was afraid she was right. She turned to walk toward their table and all he could do was follow.

      * * *

      EVERYONE SCURRIED TO their seats and Molly knew what was coming next. Dennis had called her earlier when he couldn’t get in touch with Jason, looking for him. Since he’d met her and Jason had introduced her as his girlfriend, Dennis had shared that he had some really good news from Ace’s medical evaluation. That was all, nothing more specific, but Molly was certain that tonight Jason was going to learn his place in the Cronus missions had been assured.

      “Wait, before anything else happens, I want to ask you something, Molly,” Jason said, tugging on her arm.

      She turned toward him, saw the ring box in his hand and felt her heart sink. She put her hand over his, the one holding the box.

      “Oh, Jason. I don’t want to be the reason you can’t have your dream.”

      “You wouldn’t be,” he said, but she let go of his hand and went to their table.

      As he followed her, Dennis intercepted him and she glanced back. Saw the intensity of the conversation. A selfish part of her wished she’d let him ask that question, but she knew it wouldn’t be right.

      Rina and Jeb were seated at her table along with Lynn and her husband, Jimmy. They were a cute couple, funny and lively. They almost distracted her from the fact that Jason hadn’t come back and that the emcee was back on the stage.

      “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure all of you are as excited to be here as we are to welcome you. There are many phases for the next program that NASA has been developing. Our eventual goal is to get to Mars, but before we can do that we have to see how our astronauts tolerate extended missions outside of Earth’s gravity. To that end, NASA is launching the Cronus missions. I’m pleased to introduce you to Dennis Lock, Deputy Program Manager for Cronus.”

      Molly sat back in her chair, feigning a calm she was far from feeling. She was ready to smile and stand up when Dennis introduced her, but she wished that Jason was by her side. The fact that he wasn’t meant her suspicions were right. He was cleared for flight and would be going on the first mission to establish a way station between Earth and Mars. An eighteen-month mission that would be the next step in fulfilling his dreams.

      She wasn’t going to worry about where that would leave her.

      Really. She wasn’t.

      Rina reached over, took Molly’s hand and squeezed it. “Whatever happens, you’ll be okay.”

      She would be. She was stronger from having loved Jason and spending the last three months with him. He’d given her new excitement for life and he’d helped her save the ranch. There was nothing to worry about.

      Except a broken heart.

      Everyone applauded as Dennis took the stage. He wore a tuxedo and walked with purpose. He was definitely the right man to be in charge, Molly thought. She knew how much the astronauts respected him. Had heard stories about his own missions that night she’d been at Rocket Fuel waiting for Jason.

      That night she had seen him surrounded by his team, in his element. She loved Jason. He cared for her and had said he’d found a home with her. But was that because he’d thought he could never return to his real home?

      “Thank you, everyone, for that warm welcome. This isn’t a press conference and there will only be one new announcement tonight. You’ve all contributed to getting the Cronus missions off the ground. All of your hard work is the reason we are here tonight celebrating.

      “I need to thank Lynn and her team at Axiom who put together a top-notch bid for our new training facility and got it built in record time. Where are you, Lynn?”

      She stood up and waved as the spotlight found her. Molly felt the tension inside of her grow. She couldn’t stay another minute. She leaned over to Rina.

      “I have to go. Just smile and wave for us,” Molly said, talking loudly to be heard over the announcement.

      “Sunshine—”

      She just shook her head and got up, walking swiftly through the tables with her head down. She heard Dennis talk about the Bar T Ranch and how the facility had been named after Mick as she got to the doors that led to the hallway.

      “It’s only fitting that this facility be named after the man who was a surrogate father to our top astronaut trainee. The man who has been focused on leading the Cronus missions since I first met him at training camp. I’m pleased to announce that Ace McCoy will be the commander and leader of our first mission.”

      There were whoops from Jason’s astronaut friends and everyone stood up and applauded. Molly smiled to herself. She was happy for him. She thought she’d have to fake it, but there was no need. She finally understood what it was like to love someone so much that seeing them happy was enough. Jason would go on his missions and have his life and the stars. And she would watch from the ground, loving him, missing him and hoping he would come back to her one day.

      She couldn’t be the reason he stayed and she was pretty sure that she would be if he asked her to marry him. She’d never had to make such a difficult choice in her life, and only by walking out of the ballroom now would she be able to do it.

       18

      DENNIS

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