“Jesus, boy, you just about got out a full sentence there,” Ethan called from his position in front of the food cabinets.
Branna started to ask Buster questions, and soon they were throwing ideas back and forth; she could see what he wanted, but that he wasn’t close to getting there.
“You want me to fix that bit for you?” Pointing at the page he was having trouble with, Branna saw a few things that needed a different angle, and her fingers itched to change them for Buster.
“Would you?” He was out of the chair so quick it wobbled.
“Sure, I’ll take a look.”
Jake was thinkingabout Branna as he walked toward The Hoot. She thought she was tough, liked to think she didn’t want people in her life, but she’d only been back a while and she had collected Mikey and reconnected with Annabelle. Seeing her van parked outside as he drew near had him swallowing his smile before pushing open the door to inhale the smell of coffee and baking; both, coincidentally, he loved.
“She’s in the back.”
“Who?” Jake questioned the tall Texan lounging at the counter.
Ethan rolled his eyes and Jake wondered when he’d become so obvious. “I found Branna in the grocery store chatting with some guy who should be named Mr. Perfect and his hot wife.”
“Brian and Macy Reynolds-Delray,” Buster and Jake said together.
“I stepped in when the conversation got awkward. Apparently, Irish was astonished when she realized who Mr. Perfect was married to. FYI, she’s now in love with me,” Ethan added.
“It’s certainly one of life’s mysteries as to why Brian married Macy, that’s for sure,” Buster said, as he wandered out with a tray of pies that smelled way too good for Jake to resist, so he stole one.
“They’re steak.”
“I’m changing it up.”
Jake took a bite and sighed.
“Your woman’s doing his website up,” Tex said. “It was a pathetic sight when we walked in. Buster was weeping onto his keyboard, so Branna took pity on him.”
“She’s not my woman.” Jake knew Branna couldn’t hear them, as the music in the café was loud enough to mute their conversation, but he wasn’t taking any chances on her hearing and firing up at him.
“Sure she is,” Ethan said.
“Thought you said she was in love with you?”
“She is, but I’m standing aside for my friend, clearing the way, or you’d never get the girl. Wouldn’t be fair on you otherwise, as the odds are not in your favor.”
The Texan’s blue eyes twinkled, and he knew Jake wanted to bite back, but instead he went for something far tastier that would soon reverse the tables.
“Saw some birds sitting on your tail rotor when I went for a run, and one shat on your windscreen. Nothing I could do about it. By the time I got out there, they’d done the damage.”
“What!”
Jake swallowed his laughter as Ethan pushed off the counter, no longer the easygoing Texan. If anything riled him and robbed his ability for rational thought, it was anyone touching his helicopter.
“There’s a bucket in the barn, if you want to wash it off. I’m pretty sure there was no damage done, but…”
The blue eyes narrowed, and then he relaxed back onto the counter. “Fuck you, McBride.”
Jake’s laugh was low and nasty.
“For what it’s worth, she seems to have your personality traits. Nasty mouth, foul moods, and generally bad tempered,” Ethan said, his eyes suddenly serious.
“Leave it, Ethan.”
“I’ve left it for way too long, Jake. In fact, since I was the one who pulled you out of that makeshift hospital with blood all over you and nothing but emptiness in your eyes. I think I have a vested interest in you, my friend. I also believe it’s time for you to deal with what haunts you, Jake, and I think she could help you.”
