I patted their heads and gave them their apples. I hung out with them for a while, chatting away because that was the way I rolled. They seemed content to keep me company until I heard the sound of tires rolling down my gravel drive.
I headed back toward the house, round the side to the front to greet Sam. The smile that had had been stretched across my face slipped away a bit when I realized the car wasn’t Sam’s car and that the person climbing out wasn’t Sam.
“Oh, Davis. Hey.”
He grinned, throwing me a wave. “Hey, back.”
“Uh...” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked around curiously. “What brings you by?” He’d never been to my place before. In fact, I didn’t realize he knew where I lived.
“Sorry to surprise you like this. Sam said you needed the quarterly reports.” He held up a file folder, and my shoulders slumped as realization struck.
“Oh, right. Of course.”
“Sam was swamped at the bar so I offered to run them out to you. Hope that’s cool.”
“Yeah, of course it is. I really appreciate this.” I reached out to take the folder.
“No problem. I’m happy to help.” He cast a glance toward my front door, then looked back at me with a small wince. “Is there any chance I could use your bathroom? I didn’t realize the drive out here would be this long, and I finished off a large coffee on the way.”
I let out a laugh at his pained expression and waved him in with the fold. “Sure. It’s no problem at all. Come on in. Just mind the animals.”
He followed me inside, coming up short at the sight of my many pets. “Wow, you weren’t kidding about the animals, were you?” He jabbed his finger toward the couch. “Is that a cow?”
I barked out a laugh. “Nope, I wasn’t. And yes. She’s a bit of a diva and refuses to stay outside where she belongs. I’m kind of a sucker for animals in need. There’s also a donkey and a horse out in the back pasture.” I intended to extend my barn and add extra paddocks so I could rescue even more. There was a hobby farm over in Grapevine that was closing down, and so far they hadn’t been able to find a home for the pygmy goats. I just hadn’t gotten around to mentioning it to Raylan yet.
I pointed Davis in the direction of the bathroom and moved into the kitchen, giving Ziggy a pat on the head as he trotted up beside me, pressing himself into the side of my leg. “Can I get you something to drink before you go, or will that cause a similar problem on the way back?” I called out loud enough for him to hear from down the hall.
“I think I’ll be okay. What do you have?” His voice was laced with humor as it carried back.
I pulled the fridge open and scanned the contents. Once again, I’d gotten so wrapped up in Raylan that I hadn’t found the time to hit up the grocery store. Only this time, I couldn’t bring myself to care. Now that our relationship was out in the open, we went into town to the diner or any of the other restaurants to eat pretty regularly. That, or he’d swing by and grab some takeout on his way home. He hadn’t spent a single night in that tiny apartment above the barn since we became official. I wasn’t sure if he had any clothes there since I made space for him in my dresser and closet. He was practically moved in without us making a big show of it.
In all the fantasies I’d had of what it would feel like to be with Raylan—and there wereso many—I couldn’t have imagined I would bethishappy.
“I’ve got one Coke, a pitcher of tea, a couple bottles of water, and a green juice I let my friend Holly convince me tasted great. Spoiler alert, she lied.”
“Water’s great.”
I shot around with a startled squeak to find him standing closer to me than I was comfortable with. I hadn’t heard him enter the kitchen.
“Oh my god.” I placed a hand to my chest, over my rapidly beating heart. “You scared the shit out of me. Jeez, what are you, some kind of ninja?”
“Sorry.” His smile wasn’t the least bit repentant. “I thought you heard me.” He took a step closer. “You mind?”
Feeling flustered, I struggled to comprehend what he was asking. “Huh?”
I pointed at the opened fridge I was standing in front of. Then, without asking, he reached over my shoulder for one ofthe bottles of water, using the move as a way to step even closer to me. So close I was starting to feel a bit weirded out.
He lifted the bottle in question and finally moved back, twisting off the top and taking a drink. “Thanks.”
“Uh, y-yeah. Sure.”
I slid sideways in order to free myself and crossed the kitchen for more space. The way he looked at me was unsettling, but despite the voice in my head telling me something wasn’t right, I tried to push the discomfort away and reminded myself this was Davis. We were friends. He was just an unrepentant flirt, that was all. But I intended to make my boundaries very clear.
“You know, I’ve always wondered what your place might look like.” He let his gaze travel along the open space. “This feels very... you.”
I swallowedagainst the sudden dryness in my throat. As though he sensed my growing distress, Ziggy hadn’t budged from my side. He also hadn’t taken his eyes off Davis, like he knew if there was going to be a problem, it would be coming from that direction.
“You’ve thought about where I live?”
