“Little sisters are a pain in the—” He cut off at the feel of Miles’s little hand grabbing his. Glancing over, he caught Wynn stifling her smile. Stinker, she’d probably told Miles to grab his hand and stop his tirade about little sisters and their annoying habits. His eyes darted to Laney holding Wynn’s hand, and his momentary irritation smoothed out. He wouldn’t want Miles to say anything bad about Laney. Ugh! Being a role model was not easy, but he wouldn’t change his place in their lives for anything.
They reached the back of a growing crowd of people, and Judd stood on his toes to see over the top of their heads. “Wyatt’s up front. Come on.”
He picked up Laney and grabbed Wynn’s hand, doing his best to ignore all the wonderful sensations spiraling up his arm and around his chest. She grabbed on to Miles, and they weaved their way through the crowd to stand by Wyatt.
“Hey.” Judd gave him a chin jerk as a hello. “How’s it going?”
Wyatt glanced from him to his and Wynn’s clasped hands. “Pretty good. You?”
“Can’t complain.” Judd let go of Wynn and moved Laney to his other hip. “Where’s your family?” Wyatt and Stephanie—yes, Wyatt had gotten the date to homecoming and then married the girl—had a boy Laney’s age. They were in the same class at school and got along great. It would be fun for them to hang out together for a bit.
“They’re, uh …” Cough, cough. “Late.”
Judd’s something’s-up radar wentwooee-wooee.
“Oh, here they come.” Wyatt jerked his chin toward the side of the crowd, where Stephanie plowed through. Jaydon trailed behind, dragging his cowboy boots through the dirt. “You made it,” Wyatt welcomed them. He reached out for Stephanie, but she brushed him off.
“Yeah—we’re here.”
Judd blinked at her sharpness. Wynn looked away as if embarrassed to witness a private moment.
“Hey, Judd, Wynn,” Stephanie said in a much more pleasant tone. “It’s good to see you guys.”
“You too,” Wynn said through a too-bright smile. “Do you want to stand with Jaydon?” she asked Laney.
Laney nodded and wiggled down to be with her buddy. Miles pushed forward to be included, and the kids started talking about the carnival and the corn maze. The tension between the adults relaxed.
“Welcome!” boomed Audrey Capulet into the portable mic. The woman was an ex-cheerleader for the San Francisco 49ers. She didn’t need a mic at all. Judd rubbed his right ear to get rid of the ringing.
“Why are we standing up front?” challenged Stephanie.
Wyatt pressed his lips together and shook his head in response.
The tension hiked back up to thirty on the uncomfortable scale. Judd stepped between the unhappy couple and Wynn in an effort to shield her from their sourness. With the kids chatting away, it was impossible to move to another section and leave these two behind without making a major scene. Sheesh!
“We’re here to crown this year’s—” She giggled. “Sorry, wrong ceremony. The Miss Harvest Ranch pageant isn’t until next weekend.”
A polite chuckle rippled through the crowd.
Audrey flipped her shiny blond hair over her shoulder and settled back into her perfect posture. “We’re here to award the winner of the state’s largest pumpkin contest! Yay, farmers!” She put her hand in the air and shook it as if there were a pom-pom attached.
Everyone clapped.
Wynn leaned close. “Bet you didn’t know you were a farmer.”
Judd turned his head, and their faces were breathe-the-same-air close. “I was born with green thumbs.” He held up both thumbs.
Wyatt cleared his throat and lifted both eyebrows, silently asking what was going on between him and Wynn.
Judd felt like an idiot and lowered his hands. He couldn’t meet his cousin’s probing eye, because he didn’t have an answer for him. Heck, he didn’t have any idea what was going on inside himself; how was he going to explain it to someone else?
There wasn’t a name for the place where he and Wynn lived—except best friends, and everyone knew that. But something had shifted the other day in the corn maze when his arms had held her close and her hand brushed his neck. Something deep inside of him, and he didn’t know if friendship was enough—though it was all he could ever ask.
She nudged him from behind. “More like two left feet.”
Normally, he would have busted into some crazy dance move to prove her wrong—but he was suddenly shy in front of Wyatt, not wanting to give him the wrong impression. He lifted a shoulder in response and turned his attention back to the stage.
“Here to present this year’s trophy is our reigning Miss Harvest Ranch, Jenny Smith!” She held out her hand, and Jenny walked on the makeshift stage in a full gold-sequined gown, nearly blinding those on the front row.
