“It wasmyidea,” Emmitt mumbled. “The talk, on the other hand, is Richard’s.”
Yep. There’d be a talk.
Richard hiked a foot onto the bench and rested his elbow onto it. “We’ve noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time with Andie,” he started. “She seems to really like you, but we thought you should know that she’s…she’s not like other women. You might think this is normal, everyday behavior for her, wanting to be around a guy who’s caught her attention…”
“But guys don’t catch her attention very often,” Emmitt filled in.
Trenton looked back and forth between them with a nod. “I gather that from our conversations.”
Emmitt shot a look at Richard before setting his gaze on Trenton once more. “I’ve never seen her like a guy like this, honestly.”
Trenton shifted his weight, hoping to avoid the knots of worry that threatened to tumble in.
“What about the guy she was engaged to?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“She didn’t have those kinds of feelings for that guy,” Emmitt said confidently.
Trenton gulped. What if she didn’t have those kinds of feelings for him either? And here he thoughthe’dbeen the one delaying the romantic aspect of their relationship. What if it’d been Andie all along?
Emmitt piped up again. “We just want to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. She’s lost a lot already, you know?”
“I can appreciate that,” Trenton said. “And I have no intention of hurting her.” Except that selling his ranch and moving away might do that very thing.
“So whatareyour intentions?” Richard asked.
Trenton filled his chest with air as he considered that. If he got an offer on his land, would he really be ready to sell it off right then and there? He didn’t think so. And wasn’t it possible that things could progress in such a way that he changed his mind altogether and decided to stay?Yes, so long as Andie’s feelings went deeper than what they had with her ex.
With that, he looked Andie’s older brother in the eye, appreciating the concern he saw there. “I’m glad she has brothers that look out for her,” he said. “My intention is to get to know her better, that’s all.”
“You’re not moving in on her, are you?” Emmitt blurted. “Behind closed doors?”
His heart thundered out of beat as if he’d been making the moves on her every chance he got. The fact was, he’d thought about it more times than he could count. “I haven’t even kissed her yet, if that makes you feel any better.” It came out sounding more defensive than he’d meant it to, but at least it was the truth.
Richard’s brows lifted.
Emmitt’s reaction was less subtle. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m not saying I don’tplanto kiss her,” he amended. “Only that I haven’t yet. I really do like Andie, but we’re taking things real slow. You two have nothing to worry about.” But perhaps Trenton did. He couldn’t help but worry that he was getting in over his head spending so much time with a woman who may simply be killing time in her new country environment.
The pair seemed to scrutinize him a bit, gauging his sincerity before nodding at last. “Okay, then,” Richard said, reaching out to shake his hand.
Emmitt shook his hand next. “Can’t believe you two haven’t even kissed.”
“Shut up, Em,” Richard grumbled.
“Hey, you don’t happen to know where a utility cord is around here, do you?” Emmitt asked. “I’ve got to plug in this sander.”
Trenton pointed toward the old rundown shed, the one Andie said she wanted to tear down. “There’s a bunch of cords hanging in the shed, just to the left of the entry.”
“Thanks, man.”
And as the men said their goodbyes with a few curt nods, Trenton’s mind shifted back to Richard’s question. Just what were his intentions where Andie was concerned? Had he answered honestly enough?
Yes, but that didn’t stop the new nagging spot in his mind. Trenton had told himself it wouldn’t be right to kiss Andie if he planned to leave, but perhaps that was a mistake. Heck, how could he gauge her feelings when they hadn’t explored the romance with a simple kiss?
The question had merit. The last thing Trenton wanted to do was change his direction in life for someone whose feelings wouldn’t move beyond lukewarm. Maybe he’d been going about this all wrong.
In fact, there were no maybes about it. He had to know if Andie’s feelings were real before he committed to stay. Which meant one simple thing: it was time to test out the romance side of things once and for all.
