“Sure. Come on in, Oakley,” I grumble. “I wasn’t trying to unpack or anything.”
“Thank you, Addison. That’s mighty kind. Now, tell me.” She’s practically vibrating, and as nice as it would be to be able to confide in someone, I don’t know Oakley. She could go off and blab to everyone else on the ranch.
I don’t want people all up in my business.
“There’s nothing to tell.”Lie and deflect.“She mistook me for someone else, that’s it. You were there.”
Oakley’s brown eyes narrow at me. “You’re right. Iwasthere, and what I saw was Juniper looking like she saw a ghost. You a ghost from her past, Addison?”
Something like that.
“Nope.”
She hums like she doesn’t believe me but shrugs. “Fine. I’ll drop it for now, but by the end of the summer, you’ll trust me and be telling me all your secrets. You mark my words, Addison I-Don’t-Know-Your-Last-Name.”
“Not going to happen, but you can keep wishing.”
“Goodnight, future best friend,” she sings as she closes my bedroom door behind her.
I blow out a breath and sit with my head between my shoulders. Between Juniper recognizing me and Oakley’s insistence on being my friend, it’s going to be a long summer.
Chapter 3
It’s beentwo weeks since our new hires started, and I’ve been doing an excellent job of avoiding all things Addison. I stay locked in the office or my house, avoiding the main house—except for Sunday dinners. Mama insists I go to those to ‘be part of the team.’ I spend the whole time with my eyes on my plate while everyone chatters around me.
I miss my breakfasts with Mama, but every time I think about the interaction with Addison, my palms sweat, and I feel like I’m going to die of embarrassment. I won’t risk running into her by having breakfast there. I wish I could be the type of person who gets over an awkward moment and moves on, but no. I sit and think about what I could have said or done differently.
I was mortified when Oakley whispered that if I ever needed a quiet reprieve, I was always welcome in the kitchen. Apparently, Daddy let everyone know I have anxiety. I can’t fault him, not when he was probably as jarred as I was over the situation, and I left him to explain it without a warning. It’s still mortifying. I know he didn’t do it with the intention to hurt me, but now Rusty and Briggs look at me with pity in their eyes.
I try not to look at Addison, so I can’t tell if shedoes.
Thinking about it makes me want to crawl back under the covers, but I’m supposed to be meeting Daddy here in the office in ten minutes so we can make a comprehensive supply list. Landry and Shane are making the first monthly trip into Missoula to grab supplies at the big stores on Wednesday.
The door creaks open while I’m rummaging around the file cabinets. I thought for sure we had some spare batteries in here, but I guess I was mistaken.
“Daddy, did you move the—” I spin around and freeze when I see Addison’s dark brown eyes scrutinizing me with a scowl on her face. “Oh. Sorry. I thought you were my dad.”
She stays silent.
Okay…
I hate awkward silence even more than trying to make small talk. It makes me start blabbing, and I end up saying weird things. I already embarrassed myself in front of her once, and I’m not trying to do so again.
“Can I help you with something?” I ask, surprised that my voice comes out even, nonchalant, and not squeaky.
“Mr. Calhoun asked me to meet him here.”
“Oh, okay.” I motion toward the empty chairs. “Well, he should be here soon. Have a seat.”
Addison gives me a curt nod, clomping over to the farthest seat from the desk. She folds her long, lithe body into it, crossing her legs at the knee. I want to stare at her, but I’m pretending I don’t know her, and it would be inappropriate to stare at an employee, right?
Right.
I sit down at the computer, opening the ranch’s email and making sure no new, urgent messages have come in the ten minutes since I checked. Even though I’ve already completed most of the administrative tasks for the day, I click around to make it look like I’m busy. The supply list was the last big thing, and then I was heading back to myhouse to paint and stew about the crush I shouldn’t have on Addison.
I’m picturing strong shoulders nestled between my thighs, golden hair gripped in my fist?—
Snap out of it, Juniper.
