“I know. I haven’t been able to look at the barn the same way when I go in there.” Her voice is matter of fact, like she has this conversation every day.
“Eeeuuw, God, stop it right now! If you don’t stop, you’ll need to get out of my bed.” I’m whisper-yelling and trying not tolaugh.
“Have you and Jax Christened your stables yet?
“I’m not talking about that with you.” My tone should have sounded resolute, but she goes on.
“I’m pretty sure Gray and Elly do it in the big stable all the time. I went down there one time to ask him a question, and he had her pinned against the wall. Legs hooked around him and everything, like watching a porn flick. If he wasn’t my brother, it would have been hot.”
I turn my head to look over my shoulder but only see the edge of her blond head. “Really? Gray was getting down and dirty in the stables?”
“Mm-Hm.”
“Jesus, is everyone having sex all over the place?”
She blows a short raspberry through her lips. “I know for a fact that Mason and Sloane are all over each other. All. The. Time. She’s been super horny the whole pregnancy.”
“Is that a thing?” My thoughts go back to how turned on I was the day Jax left.
“Totally. I read it’s a hormonal thing. But pregnant or not, it gives me hope to see that true love does exist.”
I’m quiet because I questioned the existence of true love until Jax. Everything clicked into place when I realized how I felt about him, and even though I was avoiding him for the longest time, I’ve always felt safe with him. Now I know it’s because he’s loved me for a longer than I knew.
It’s my turn to snort. “Do you just walk around spying on everyone?”
I feel her shoulder shrug behind me. “No. I’m just the sibling that no one really pays attention to. Since I don’t contribute to the ranch, everyone just kinda forgets about me. It makes it easy to be invisible.”
My heart squeezes because I didn’t know she felt this way. “You’re not forgotten and you’re not invisible. We all knowyou don’t care about ranching, we respect your choices. And you are a wonderful artist, your sales prove that.”
Kinley has never cared for praise, she’s always shied away from it since she was young. So, it doesn’t surprise me when she blows off my compliment with another shrug.
“Whatever, it’s okay, it gives me more artistic freedom.” She makes her voice sound posh and breathy when she says, ‘artistic freedom.’ “However, I think I might need to expand my living horizons if I plan on ever finding true love. I doubt the mailman, UPS guy, or the Amazon delivery driver is my destiny.”
“You are a bit of a hermit.”
“I’m just not a people person, and I detest online dating. That’s like going to a cattle auction, have you ever looked at some of the shit people put online? An auctioneer could read some of those profiles and it would sound fresh off the auction block. Nobody has time for all that. I guess you guys are stuck with me.” She hugs me tighter and I feel her sigh move across my cheek.
“There’s somebody out there for you, Kinley. He’s gonna have to be tough as nails to put up with your shit, but he’s out there somewhere.”
She yawns behind me. “I know, it’ll happen when it happens. I’m not worried about it.”
A few minutes later, her breathing evens out and I know she’s dozed off. It’s been a long time since either of my sisters have slept in the same bed with me. I smile to myself as I drift off.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MARLEY
LOUD CHIRPINGoutside my window pulls me out of sleep, if you even want to call it sleep, since I tossed and turned all night. Today is day five. Yesterday I felt so raw that everything rubbed me the wrong way.
I think even my horses felt my irritation. The new gelding I got a couple of days ago is still avoiding me. I need to shake this funk if I’m going to get anywhere with him.
Yesterday, Kinley left a box of pregnancy tests on my bedside table. I quickly opened the drawer and slid the box out of sight. I don’t want anyone else to know that there’s a chance.
Not until Jax gets back. I want to share with him first to see how he’s going to react.
Staring at the robins that have nested right outside my window, I watch one of the pair stand on the edge of the nest while the other is sunk down inside where I can’t see. The sky is just starting to show the sunrise, so Ilook at my bedside table to grab my phone.
I push up onto my elbow so fast I almost pull a muscle in my arm. My heart just flip-flopped and butterflies are swirling in my stomach. On my bedside table is a single red rose close to the edge. It’s fresh. He’s back. My heart beats faster and as I swing my legs over the bed to get up, something shiny catches my eye.
