I blushed hard, but refused to give in to gossip. “It’s amazing what people will say.”
“Say?” She shot me a pointed look. “I heard from Mrs. Abernathy, who said she caught you red-handed.”
“Well, she might have caught me red-handed, but he didn’t maul me against the side of the truck.”
Not in the way she was thinking.
“Alright, what do you have for me?”
I spent the next half hour trying on clothes, picking out lingerie—only to immediately put it back. Lingerie was not my thing, and no matter how much Ellie and Cheyenne begged me to choose something sexy, I stuck with the basics. Silky underwear would be just as nice as a full bodysuit that would probably just get ripped off.
By the time I was done, I had everything packed into a single bag. The only problem was that I had to walk through town for every single gossip to see. Liam would have a good idea of what I’d been up to by the end of the day.
Even on the ranch, good news traveled fast.
“If you want, I can keep it in the shop until the end of the day. Then you can just pick it up.”
While I appreciated the offer, she would probably use the opportunity to tell every customer what I was planning on wearing tonight, and then she’d take pictures and show them to everyone else who hadn’t bothered to come in.
“That’s okay. I’ll just take it with me now, but I appreciate the offer.”
“Stop in tomorrow and let me know how it went!”
At the excitement on her face, I couldn’t help but smile. But stopping in was one thing I would never do. Not if I wanted to have a few secrets of my own.
“Thank you so much for all your help. I have to get back to work.”
“You’re so welcome! I can’t wait to hear how it all goes!”
At her wink, I rushed out of the shop with Cheyenne hot on my heels.
“Do not tell her a single thing.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
As we hurried down the street, Cheyenne glanced at her watch, cursing under her breath. “No time for actual lunch.”
“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for being gone too long?”
“My boss is gone for the day, so Loretta’s in charge.”
“And she’s practically your surrogate mother,” I concluded.
“So, I’ll be fine. But you will not be, if you’re late, so you’d better hustle.”
I gave her a hug, which she immediately flinched back from.
“Gross! You’re all mechanicy!”
Laughing, I hugged her tighter, wiping my face against her. Not that it would make any difference. My face was still clean.
“I’ll see you later,” I giggled, hurrying across the street.
I stopped quickly at my car, tucking the bag into the back seat. That was one less thing to think about tonight. Now, all I had to do when I got home was take care of some much-needed maintenance.
I still had a few minutes to spare, but there was no time to grab even a quick bite. Wyatt might have given me some leeway, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
Tugging the front door open, my good mood immediately soured when I saw his two brothers leaning against the counter. Austin and Clay were always hanging around, and while Clay wasn’t too bad, he followed in Austin’s footsteps no matter what he got up to.
