“I didn’t ask you out,” I rush out but he has already shut the door and left me to it.
Quickly wrapping the towel tightly around myself, I leave the bathroom full of relief, not as much embarrassment as I did before, but mostly–a hell of a lot of confusion.
Twenty minutesand thankfully no more unexpected animal visits later, I step into the ranchhouse kitchen to find everyone there waiting for me.
"Sorry I'm late," I say, closing the door behind me.
"No worries, Dee," Red says, flashing me a warm smile. "The night is still young and the Cow doesn't start to get busy till later anyway. Ranchers like to eat before they imbibe, you see."
I snort and nod. "Same as back home then. Slow lazy dinner to make room for all the beer and liquor later on."
Everyone laughs at that. "Oh yeah. You're an old hand at this rancher life."
"Been doin' it since I could walk. I've also got two single older brothers.”
"Say no more," Rhett says, hooking his arms over Austin's shoulders on one side and Toby's on the other. "I've got twoyoungersingle brothers. They're just waitin’ for their ca–turn."
I study Rhett, trying to work out what he was trying not to say. “One thing is different here though. They definitely don’t have a peepin’duckproblem in Montana.”
My eyes move to meet Toby’s amused ones. “Thankfully, the man with superduckhandling powers was able to save me.”
“Aww look at you go, Tobes. You’re a full-service superhero. Kickin’ ducks out of bathrooms now too?”
"Would you look at the time, we shouldgo..." Toby says, his bearded cheeks turning a little pink as he shrugs out of Rhett's hold and crosses the room to grab his keys off a hook on the wall.
He turns my way. "Wanna catch a ride with me, Skippy?"
"Can I drive?" I say, arching a brow. I don’t know why I wanna make him smile. It’s like a need at this point.
It works though because he grins at me. "Nope."
I shrug. "Figured I’d shoot my shot."
"Maybe after that date you asked me out on. MaybethenI’ll let you behind the wheel,” he replies with a wink.
“What?” Austin says, his mouth agape as his gaze jerks to Toby. “She asked you out?”
“I did n–” I protest, but it’s like I’m not even talking.
Toby nods. “Said we’d talk over dinner and drinks. She even tried to tempt me by wearin’ just a shower curtain, you see…”
“Well, I never–” I gasp.
“Hmm, and here was I thinkin’ it was Duck Norris’s fault she was stuck in the shower and you had to rescue her,” Red says, rubbing his chin and playing along.
“Oh my goodness,” I say, shaking my head. “You all suck.” That earns a chorus of raucous laughter.
“It’s OK, Skippy. If we’re teasin’ ya, you know you’re one of us. Still gonna ride into town with me?"
I make a point of sighing loudly. "Isuppose."
"Good to know you think so highly of your knight in shinin' armor, Skippy."
"Hey, it's not my fault y'all have a peepin' duck," I shoot back.
"Now this I wanna hear," Landry pipes up as him and Star come into the kitchen from somewhere in the house, Cora following after them.
"What did I miss? Did Dickward Norris cause trouble again?" Cora asks. "I swear he's gonna end up on the table for dinner one night and nobody would miss him."
