I took control. “We’re only here for a short time.”
She narrowed her gaze. “What brought the three of you here?”
Eastern and Phoenix, both shifted uncomfortably, waiting on me since they didn’t know the extent of what I told her.
“With the workshops and events happening this week, they needed extra hands, so we stepped in to help.”
“How did you find out about the jobs?”
“We saw a job posting.” It seemed easy enough since everyone finds jobs on the internet these days.
She appeared to be surprised. “I didn’t think Rawhide Ranch had an internet presence.”
My heart stopped. I’d already fucked up enough. I wouldn’t let this be our downfall. “A friend knew about the opportunity and showed us. How did you find out about the Ranch?” I deflected.
“Same, a friend told me.”
Her hand moved underneath mine, filling me with excitement that she was actually going to hold my hand and my brothers would see her choice.
But she pulled out from under my grasp and checked her phone. “I have more workshops today. I better get ready.”
Everest tried to play it cool. “Right, because there are a lot of activities this week. That’s why we’re here.”
I debated asking if I could kiss her, but that stemmed from my desire for a relationship. She was here to learn. Where did one stop and the other start?
As she gazed into my eyes, I decided to kiss a fingertip, plant it on her lips, and wink. “We’ll finish our conversation later.”
Chapter Thirteen
Penny
I had a surprising amount of excitement as I returned to the 101 Room for more classes. Enough familiarity and the ability to retreat had put me at ease.
I took a seat away from everyone else. My mind was already wandering and I feared my note taking would be minimal again. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to Atlas, Everest, and Phoenix being brothers… but what?
I made it through the first few classes, enjoying the thirty-minute break to walk outside, taking in the sunshine, the fresh air, and even engaging in an occasional conversation that someone from the class initiated, comfortably cutting them off when I hit my limit.
Before I knew it, I’d wandered to the area where the unicorn party was going to be held. The location where my trio happened to be working. Coincidence?
My heart raced.
They’d stripped their shirts off and their bodies glistened with sweat. I was torn between staring and asking for a piggyback ride. This was the first time I’d seen any of themwithout their clothes on. Did that mean my attraction was more than physical?
Everest called, “Hey, Penny.”
How embarrassing to be caught staring. I cast my gaze down. Why were hay bales strewn all over the grass? Perfect, I can use that. “Why are the hay bales all over the place like that?”
“It’s a maze.”
Suddenly, my brain made sense of the layout. Duh.
Atlas added, “Only two bales high so no one can get lost, but too much to climb over.”
“Good plan. I didn’t mean to interrupt your work.”
“We can take a fifteen-minute break.” Atlas tried to speed walk ahead of his brothers but they were fast too and were getting close to me.
“I have another class in a few minutes. I better get back to the 101 Room.”
