I feel Tyler’s eyes on me, but I don’t give him my attention. He clears his throat, but I still don’t take the bait. February is one of the busiest times of the year with the calving season starting up. Being without Jamie, Tate,andTyler was going to make that weekend hell, so he can tuck his tail between his legs and ask out loud if he wants that time off work.
With a sigh, he finally swallows his pride and asks under his breath, “Can I go with them too?”
I pretend to think about it for a few minutes, because sometimes, it’s just good fun to give Tyler a hard time. I don’t want him getting too comfortable. We’ll never be friendly enough that I wouldn’t knock the shit out of him if he ended up hurting my sister somehow. I’m Tate’s big brother first and foremost, Tyler’s boss second, and his friend third.
“Fine,” I agree. “But you’ll need to make sure there’s at leasttwo other ranch hands that know how to run the skid steer in snow. And not any of the ones that just came in, either. Eric and Blake would be my preference.”
Tyler’s too busy grinning to even thank me. Jameson snorts.
Next to me, Bailey’s phone buzzes on the table and her fork clanks against the plate loudly when she drops it to flip her phone face down.
“Who’s blowing up your phone?” I ask, since she’s clearly hiding something. I wouldn’t have even tried to read the notification on the screen if she hadn’t made it so obvious she didn’t want me to see it.
“Noneya.”
“So then it’s Cartwright.”
“So then it’s Noneya Damn Business, Maddox,” she snarks back and Jameson whistles low, which catches Rainy’s attention. She runs to the back door, barking her head off because she’s convinced the sound came from outside. I don’t think I’ve ever met a dumber smart dog.
“Why’re you still mad at me?” I ask Bailey, using noise and everyone else’s distraction to my advantage. “You already forgave Colt, and he’s the one that was actually brawling. I heard you on FaceTime with him yesterday while you were in the office.”
My phone chimes with a notification, saving Bailey from having to answer since I freeze. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Austin still as well, pulling her hands out from under the table where she’d clearly been messing with her phone. No one else seems to notice the tone, which is relieving since it’s specific to the cam girl app.
I flip my phone over on my thigh to read the notification.
RedRanger has canceled the live show scheduled for 9:00 PM.
My earlier concern comes back full-force and it must show onmy face because when I look up at Austin, her eyes harden and her jaw sets.
Jameson finally gets Rainy to shut up and realize he’s tossed her a piece of chicken, using his leg to hold Sheriff back from grabbing it first. The cat meows unhappily when Rainy snatches it, but Jamie’s already tossing a smaller piece down for him, too.
“Mama, Maddie’s got his phone out during supper,” Bailey says in the sudden quiet.
“Maddox Clyde!” Mama squawks, getting ready to tear into me.
“I’ll remember that,” I grumble under my breath at my sister, standing for a second so I can stash my phone in my back pocket. My eyes flick back over to Austin as I sit back down, ignoring Mama’s tirade in the background. Austin bites back a tiny smirk, pushing her phone down between her thighs so she doesn’t get called out next. I toss her a wink and pick up my fork, spearing some macaroni.
“…and you out of everyone ought to know better than to have it out at my table! I bet if I ask little Miss Callie Anne what my supper rule is, even she’d be able to tell me!”
Camping outside the bathroom to ambush a woman when she comes out is definitely in the top ten most creepy things a man can do, yet here I am. Austin’s been difficult to get alone tonight and I know she’s avoiding me. She groans when she opens the door and sees me, proving my point.
“Why’d you cancel your show?”
She huffs and makes for the stairs, but I catch her by the upper arm to stop her. My brows furrow when she stiffens, but I immediately let her go and take a step back. It’s not like Austinto freeze like that. She’d sooner turn around swinging that knife she always carries around.
“Missing me already, Rancher?” she coos. The sickly-sweet tone doesn’t sound as teasing as usual, though I’m surprised I even notice. I’ve never been able to pick up on cues like that, especially a woman’s.
Jameson was great at it. He used to try to explain how he knew when Bailey needed space when she was upset versus when she wanted to talk or how he parsed Tyler’s sarcasm from when he was being literal, but it was pointless.
I needed interactions to be a little more… blunt. Most nuances just went over my head. Despite a lifetime of that, I was noticing a small change in Austin’s tone, just like I was noticing a bunch of other oddities.
She was wearing her jacket indoors, even though it was nice and toasty right now, even upstairs.
She wasn’t crossing her arms under her breasts to bring my attention to them like she typically did when she flirted.
Her face looked different, too, but I couldn’t pinpoint why. Something with her makeup, I think, but I’d learned from my sisters that wasn’t something I should bring up.
Worst of all, her pretty, blue eyes were flat. Dead. Usually they shined with amusement when she gave me a hard time, but right now, it all seemed like an act.
