Trace gives one small nod back. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. Just wanted to tell you before you named him John Doe.” He says making me laugh at the joke. He looks at all three of us. “Y’all have a good night.”
He’s turning to leave when I speak. “Trace.”
He stops, looks over his shoulder.
“Come to the barn before lunch tomorrow,” I say. “You should see the name go up on the stall, since you named him.”
A beat. Then he nods once. “I’ll be there.”
“Good night,” I say.
“Good night,” he replies, and walks out.
Trace is barely out the door and Paige doesn’t wait a full second.
“Ma’am.”
Lena shakes her head, grinning. “Delta. That man looks good.”
Paige points at me like she’s issuing a citation. “He walked in here, dropped a perfect foal name and just left. Meanwhile you’re over here smiling like he handed you flowers.”
I roll my eyes, even though my cheeks are warm. “Y’all are embarrassing.”
Paige rests her chin on her fist with a dreamy sigh. “That man fills out a pair of Levi’s like they were engineered in his honor.”
Lena nods. “Tall, nice body, hair to his shoulders—that should not look good on anyone but somehow looks very good on him—and those eyes…”
“Amber,” Paige breathes. “They had to be hand-poured from honey.”
I look between them. “Are you two okay?”
“Yes! Are you?,” Lena says.
“Besides you asked what we thought,” Paige adds.
“I did not ask,” I counter.
“You implied curiosity with that eyebrow raise,” Lena says.
“I raised an eyebrow because you two were lusting after this man.”
“That was not lust,” Paige says. “It’s called observation.”
“Faith-based observation,” Lena corrects. “Because the Lord took His time.”
I put up my hands. “Enough. I get it. He’s a nice-looking man.”
Paige shakes her head. “No, Delta. He is averynice-looking man.”
Lena points at her. “A criminally nice-looking man.”
Paige raises her mug like a toast. “Possibly illegal in several states.”
Before I can respond, Paige leans in with zero shame. “You know I wasn’t going to say anything but… I noticed that man the first day he got here.”
Lena snaps her fingers. “Girl, I noticed too! I kept my observation to myself, butsince you brought it up…”
They high-five like clowns, laughing so loud I almost throw a pen at them.
