Chapter Eleven
After church, Hunter had chores to do before the big family dinner. In the winter, his extended family hosted Sunday dinners at their own homes for their grown kids. There just wasn't a place big enough for all of them to get together. But in the summer and fall, they gathered at the ranch, using the backyard and picnic tables to hold all the food.
He put on a pair of muck boots and threw a quilted vest over his flannel shirt for warmth. The days were getting shorter and a little cooler. It seemed like the moment November hit, temperatures dropped a good twenty degrees. He could remember trick-or-treating in a snow coat once or twice. It was horrible for a kid—completely ruined his costume.
He hurried through filling water troughs out by the corral where the horses could come in from the hills if they sensed danger or just wanted to be closer to the homestead. Thoughts of Zoey filled his mind. He swore her face floated in front of him—she was so real. That kiss was so real.
Wasn’t it?
He wanted to believe it was, but then there was the whole thing with that guy that left him wondering if it hadn't been for show, plus the way she’d so abruptly left after it’d happened. If she hadn’t winked at him, he might have thought she was mad. And then, of course, there was her spirited defense of his honor. He was all turned upside down and sideways over the events and needed some clarity.
The trouble was, he didn’t know where to find it.
A few minutes into filling up one of the giant blue troughs, the sound of footsteps brought him around. Swayzie grinned as she approached. She had on her work clothes and carried a bag over her shoulder, which she dropped to the ground as if it weighed a ton. She lifted her hat and swiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
“You know, we have horses …” Hunter teased as he leaned down and cut open the bag with the knife he carried on his belt. He picked up one of the salt cubes and threw it over the fence. It didn't matter where he put the thing; the cattle would find it. They needed the minerals to survive and would visit the blocks when they felt the need. He grabbed the other cube and walked down the fence line before throwing it into the pasture lands.
Swayzie dipped her hand into the running water and patted her cheeks. “I know. I wanted to clear my head.” Even though it was cool out and they were both in long sleeves and long pants, the walk to the fence was a good mile long.
“Oh?” Hunter prompted. He wasn’t one to pry, but Swayzie wasn’t one who took a lot of needling to get to open up. Lucky was, well, lucky in that he’d found a woman who said what was on her mind.
She put her arms over the fence and leaned against it. “It’s the wedding. Everyone thinks we should bag all my spring plans and get married before Christmas. Pastor Brown brought it up today.”
“Really? That’s strange. He’s always so easygoing about this kind of thing.”
She rolled her eyes. “I think Mom put him up to it.”
Hunter laughed. “The thing you gotta understand about Mom is that she’s efficient.”
Swayzie chuckled. “That’s an understatement.”
Hunter tried another tactic. “She hates having things hanging over her head.”
“I know. She’d rather stay up until three in the morning cleaning out the garage than leave it half-done and finish the next day.” Swayzie cocked her head on the side. “You’re a lot like her, you know?”
He nodded.
“Maybe worse …”
”Hey!” He swiped at her, and she easily ducked out of the way, laughing. “Just because you’re in a tizzy doesn’t mean you gotta take it out on me.”
She sobered slightly. “You’re right.”
They both watched the water level rise in the trough for a moment.
Hunter glanced at his sister. “You’re a girl…”
“Aww, you noticed.” Sarcasm dripped like honey from her words.
“I just mean—well …” Now that he thought about what he wanted to ask, he wasn't sure how to ask it. “If you kiss someone—even if it’s to scare another guy off—can it be, I mean, is it possible to putfeelinginto it?”
She screwed her face into a look of deep confusion. “What are you talking about?”
He groaned and kicked the fence post before blurting out what had happened last night. Swayzie grinned like an older sister with a secret. He pointed to her smile. “Stop it. It’s not funny.”
“I'm not laughing at you. Hunter, I’m so excited to see you fall in love.” She shook his arm and bounced.
“Were you even listening? I don’t know if she kissed me for real or not—I can’t be inlovewith her.”
