Gunner took my attention beckoning me over to the bunkhouse while a couple of ranch hands helped unload furniture from the delivery truck.
“Go help those guys unload the truck,” I told Glenn as I stalked toward my brother.
By thetime I made it back to the house, I was desperate to hear her voice.
Moving the furniture had taken most of the afternoon, and while the physical work had kept my hands busy, my mind had been stuck on repeat—wondering what she was doing, if she was thinking about me, if she missed me even half as much as I was missing her.
The house felt too quiet without the usual chaos of family dinner prep. Nash and Lily had taken the kids to her mom's, and Gunner and Cassidy were having dinner at the farm restaurant that they liked to go to. Which left me alone with my thoughts and a phone that felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and settled into the chair in the lounge, the one that gave me a clear view of the path toward her cabin. I couldn’t see it, but the thought of it empty made my chest ache.
Finally, I couldn't wait any longer. I pulled out my phone and hit her number.
She answered on the second ring.
“Hey, honey,” her voice was soft, a little tired, but hearing it felt like taking my first real breath all day.
“Hey, Brownie. How's the famous chicken chili treating you?”
Her laugh was exactly what I needed. “About as well as expected. My mouth is still on fire, and I think I drank a gallon of milk.”
“Your brother's that bad a cook?”
“Worse. But don't tell him I said that.” There was a pause, and when she spoke again, her voice had that sleepy quality I loved. “I'm wearing your shirt.
My grip tightened on the phone. “Yeah? How's it smell?”
“Like you. Like home.” The words were barely a whisper, but they hit me like a freight train. “I never realized how much I'd gotten used to falling asleep with you there until tonight.”
I closed my eyes, wishing I could reach through the phone and pull her into my arms. “I know exactly what you mean. My arms will feel redundant without you to hold.”
She laughed softly, but there was something else there. Something thatdidn't sound quite right.
“You okay, Brownie? You sound...I don't know, off.”
There was a longer pause this time. “Just tired. It's been a long day.”
“Your brothers giving you grief about something?”
“Something like that.” Her voice was carefully neutral, which only made me more concerned. “They just... they have opinions about things. You know how brothers can be.”
I did know, but I also knew Tally well enough by now to recognize when she was holding something back. Still, pushing her when she was already dealing with whatever family drama was happening didn't seem fair.
“They being protective? Wanting to make sure I'm good enough for their baby sister?”
“Maybe.” There was a smile in her voice now. “Don't worry, I told them you were adequately house-trained.”
“Adequately? That's all I get?”
“I might have mentioned your exceptional coffee-making skills.”
“Now you're talking.” I took a long pull of my beer, settling deeper into the chair. “What else did you tell them about me and my…skills?”
Giggling she said, “That you're bossy and overprotective and have an ego the size of Texas.”
“And?”
“And that I'm falling for you so hard it scares me.”
