“I think I fell in love last night, and not just with the bison burgers,” I say.
“Holy shit,” Zane gruffs between his next bite.
“In love already?” Jed muses, chomping on a hashbrown. “You’ve only been in town a couple of days.”
Yes, well, maybe that’s all it takes around here. “This girl is something else,” I keep on rambling because clearly, I suddenly have no filter. “She’s pretty. Smart. Has a whip-lash tongue, and she loves animals. I don’t think a woman has captivated me like she has before.” I sound like a lovesick schmuck, but whatever.
“Who is it?” Jed asks, like I didn’t see that coming.
I think for a moment, pursing my lips. “Can you guys keep a secret?”
“My lips are definitely sealed.” Jed even does the zip action across his mouth.
Zane doesn’t look too phased either way. “You know Jed should have warned you about some of the women around here first,” he says. “It can be dangerous waters.”
I chuckle under my breath. “That sounds ominous.”
“Let the man speak first,” Jed goes on, clearly curious. “Who’s this woman you’ve fallen in love with at The Perky Porch in forty-eight hours?”
I don’t think I’ll ever find the name of their grill not hilarious. “Her name is Bailey,” I blurt. “All I know is she loves horses, has eyes I could spend an eternity gazing into, and she’s fuckin’ amazing.”
CHAPTER 10
Brett
They both share a glance, one I can’t quite read because Zane is sorta hard to gauge and Jed always looks like he finds something amusing. And I’m about to ask if they know her, or anything about her, when Jed pipes up:
“She sounds interesting. What else do you know?”
Fuck. I’m not about to tell them I’m very familiar with that gorgeous body of hers, every crevice as it happens. Instead, I pop a shoulder with a regretful shrug. “Not much, unfortunately. Just she loves her animals and lives across the way at Cedar Hollow. You must know her?”
Jed sighs. “Hmm. Well, knowing this town,Miss Horse Lovermight show up somewhere unexpected. It’s like that here.”
Zane agrees with a single nod. “It’s true, bro. She could be around the next corner for all you know.”
Oh, I plan on knowing everything about her. Where she works. What she does. Who she does it with—hopefully I’m the only one—and more importantly, when I can see her again.
Jed chuckles and I swallow my last bite of burger, saving a little piece of the meat for Maisie. “So, she’s new in town? She said she grew up in Colorado.” People come and go all the time during the season, but it seemed like she was pretty established.
“Heard of her,” Jed says. “But don’t know much.”
Zane pops a shoulder as I feed Maisie the leftover piece I saved, she chomps it down happily.
I probably need to get off this subject if I’m going to even have any chance of getting on with my day at Lawless Farm and not be consumed by this captivating woman.
It’s pretty hard going, but I need to distract myself.
“You know, if you’re staying in town a while, I could do with an extra pair of hands around here,” Zane says from nowhere. “Dad has had the flu and Buck, one of our part-timers, has an old shoulder injury from his football days coming back to haunt him. He’s due to have surgery next week. We’re really short staffed.”
My eyes widen. Well, shit. I never thought about what I was going to do here exactly. Maybe play my guitar a little, come up with some new tunes. Chill out. Hit the gym, if they have one. Maybe even try a few new recipes.
Jed stares at me, startled, shoving the last of his food in his mouth. “You have had a shit ton of experience with horses and general lugging,” he says thoughtfully. “I guess you gotta think about what you’re gonna do for cash.”
I try not to laugh because I know he’s giving me shit, and we both know I don’t need the money, not by a long shot. But my folks would say it’s humbling work, and close to my roots. And heck, I probably need something to do while I’m lying low.
“No obligation,” Zane adds. “But there’s some work there if you want it.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I grew up on a horse ranch, so it’s second nature to me to be around the animals and trees andshit. Though nothing quite like his, and I haven’t ridden in a long time.” Ouch. Why the fuck do I keep bringing that up?
