Here’s the thing. Redhateshis legal name with a passion. It’s got nothing to do with a bad experience or his parents. Nothing like that. He simply hates the name and has done so since he was old enough to know it.
As the story goes, he was born with the same name as his father but didn’t like being called ‘Junior’ by everyone. So, when he started kindergarten, he saw a red crayon and liked it so much, he decided he wanted ‘Red’ to be his new name. From that day forward, he made everyone call him that. It took his parents a little while to come around to the idea, but eventually the name stuck. The rest is history.
Whathasgiven us many laughs over the years has been all of the different names people have come up with. At Bull Ranch, the men and their partners even started a sweepstake about it. But as far as I know, it’s only me, Red, Wyatt, his parents, the bank, and God above that know the truth.
“You didnotjust full name me for no good reason, Margaret Lucille Gallagher
I gasp. “You just full namedme!”
A sexy smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth.Sexy? Where did that come from?“Whatever you can do, I can do better,” he shoots back.
I try to out-stare him, I really do. But before too long, his twitching lips set me off. I start laughing which sets Red off too.
Shifting closer, he wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his side. Tilting my face up to his, I meet his eyes just as he dips his chin down, bringing us a lot closer than either one of us intended.
But being this close to him seems to make my body malfunction. Suddenly my nerves misfire, my heart stutters, and the world around me grinds to a halt. As if taking a mind of its own, my gaze drops to his lips and my breath catches in my throat, and I find myself leaning in a little bit closer. For the first time ever, I wonder what it would be like to kiss my best friend.
Red’s eyes are so soft and warm, and I don’t miss the moment he realizes the position he’s in andwhohe’s in it with. Then, as quick as it happens, we both jump apart from one another as if we’ve been struck by lightning.
This time the silence isfarfrom comfortable, the air crackling with unspoken words and unrealized desires. Heat rises to my cheeks, and I quickly avert my eyes, focusing on the remnants of our lunch instead.Anywhere but at him.I don’t know what just happened–or almost happened–but whatever it was, it’srockedme.
Red clears his throat, his voice coming out rougher than usual. "Well, I guess–uh–I guess we should get goin’," he says, the hintof a nervous chuckle in his tone. "The sun'll set soon, and we’ve still got to walk to the truck and drive back into town.”
“Yeah,” I rush out, grateful for the distraction.
We pack up our things, barely speaking and avoiding each other’s gaze as we move around the clearing. Once everything is packed away in the backpacks, I take a deep breath and steal one last look at the mountain, my mind still whirling.What the hell just happened, Anna?I ask the universe silently, hoping that wherever she is, she doesn’treallyhave a voodoo doll with my name on it.
What was I thinking?And why now?
"Time to hit the road," I say, my voice coming out too loud in the quiet of the mountains. That’s when I finally work up the courage to look over at Red again.
I find him already watching me, his eyes flickering with something unreadable before he nods. “Thanks for today. It was a good distraction.”
“Anytime,” I murmur as he waves his arm out for me to lead the way.Next time I’ll try not to lose my mind and contemplate kissing him. That will be a good start.
Walking side by side to the truck, my only hope is that Red can forget all about it and we can enjoy the next two weeks together. Better still, we can make sure we don’t have any more awkward almost-moments again.
What I can’t get out of my head though iswhyit almost happened, and why I’m suddenly disappointed that it didn’t…
10
RED
Early the next morning is when I finally get a call from Wyatt to let me know he’s all settled in and that he’d met up with his boat captain and crew.
Mags was right about the wait to hear from him being hard. Then again, she’s right about most things.
Although there has been some underlying tension between us since we left the hiking trail yesterday. I still don’t understand what happened, just thatsomethingchanged. Now it feels like there’s a whirlwind of emotions swirling inside of me–confusion, surprise, and a little regret, which is probably the most confusing thing of all. Regret for what? Not kissing her? Foralmostkissing her? I don’t even knowhowit happened, let alonewhy.
And more importantly, whynow?
By way of a peace offering, I grabbed us both a takeout coffee and a breakfast burrito this morning before we left. Thankfully, she accepted it gracefully and things seem to be back to normal now.
When she offers to drive the first stint, I willingly hand over my keys, hoping it would mean I could catch up on the sleep I didn’t get last night. But as seems to be the way with me on this trip, I can’t rest. My mind won’t let me. I thought it would get better once I’d heard from Wyatt, but it seems the universe has different plans.
As we drive along the winding roads, I can’t help but steal glances her way, noticing things I’ve never paid attention to before. Like how there’s a thick line of barely-there freckles that trail across her cheeks and nose. Then there's the slight—yet cute—furrow in her brow as she concentrates on the road. It’s something she does when she's working at the diner too. It’s funny because people never know if it’s because she’s annoyed or not. I call it Mag’s focused face.
My eyes drift down to her shiny pink lips just as she digs into her pocket and runs her ever-trusty lip balm over them. I can’t help but smile because she’s been using the same brand since we were all younger and is hell-on-wheels if she doesn’t have a stick on her. It’s become a running joke every birthday and Christmas when I gift her a month’s supply.
