Her jaw dropped, as did the hand holding her teacup. “Ever?”
“Ever.”
“How is that possible? I mean, there must have been girls lining up to whisper to other girls about how hot you are. And in that whole bunch, there had to be at least one brave girl who risked life and limb to build up the courage to tell you that someone in that group had a crush on you. It’s the way of the world!”
I quirked an eyebrow at her.
“Well, it was the way of the world when I was in school. Seriously, not a single one of them?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t pay attention to girls or school. And by the time I was a Junior, I was on work release for half the day.”
She snorted in amusement. “A Junior. As in Junior Riley?”
I grabbed a handful of bacon and headed for the door.
“Jonah Rowan!”
It was hard to hold my bacon and put on my coat at the same time, so I handed the coveted bacon to her and snatched my coat.
“Ooh! Jude Rodero. And then your parents sangHey, Judeevery night before you went to bed!”
I zipped up my coat and grabbed my gloves, then went back for the bacon.
“Jonald Ruck! You know, a play on words!” she shouted as I walked out the door. “Jimmy Rimmy! Jethro Rip!”
“Make sure you clean up my kitchen before you leave.”
I slammed the door, but my lips twitched when I heard the final name.
“Joe Rugby!”
After workingthe morning and early afternoon at Murky Falls Ranch, I headed into The Beaver and Boot to work behind the bar. The hours didn’t really bother me. I was used to being busy, to always watching out for any potential issues, so staying alert wasn’t a problem.
Construction was something I hadn’t done in years, but my muscles were quickly adapting to the use. And working the bar at night was relaxing enough that I wasn’t completely exhausted by the time I went to bed.
In fact, the money was decent, and at this rate, I’d have no problem going out on my own when I decided where I wanted to go. I could get out of the horrible weather and head someplace that didn’t feel like I was freezing my balls off for ninety percent of the year.
“Oh, thank God, you’re here,” Lizzy said as she rushed out of the back, her face filled with panic. “I need you.”
“Why? Did something break?”
“No.”
“Do you need me to lift something heavy?”
“No,” she frowned. “This has nothing to do with work.”
“Then what does it have to do with?”
Just as she opened her mouth to tell me, the front door swung open and her brothers walked in, all of them smiling sweetly at her.
And I had a feeling I was about to be dropped into the middle of whatever the hell was going on.
“Lizzy,” I lowered my voice, “Tell me right now what the hell is going on.”
“Just stay with me, okay?”
“Christ,” I muttered as her brothers approached.
