He continued smirking at her, not missing the way she changed the subject. Penny didn’t let many people in, from whathe could tell. She kept to herself unless she was seeing a patient or spending time with family.
At least she had their cousins.
“You spent any time with Rose or the twins lately?”
“No. Why?”
He shrugged. “Just making conversation.”
“I heard they hired a new mechanic. Haven’t met him yet, though.”
Mathew’s brow lifted. “Uncle George hired a long-term mechanic?”
“Is that surprising? They’ve got a pretty big farm.”
“That’s not what I meant. Uncle George doesn’t usually like having men around the property.”
“Emerson’s on the property.”
The way she said it made him wonder. Not just her tone, but the way her eyes flicked toward the door. Though to be fair, it had just opened.
“Emerson is different. George took him in not long before Aunt Kate passed away. He was a scrawny teenager running from a bad situation, and Kate had a soft spot for him. Sometimes I think the only reason George let him stay was because she asked him to.”
Penny snorted. “There’s no way he’d send Emerson packing now. Emerson is one of the last living pieces of Kate that he has.”
Mathew laughed. “That’s a dramatic way to put it. It’s not like Emerson was some secret son they didn’t know about.” He leaned forward, eyes widening. “Or was he?”
His sister wasn’t impressed by his question. Her flat look said as much.
Mathew studied her for a long moment, half tempted to ask if she was interested in Emerson, but the thought sat poorly in his chest. It was one thing for their brother Jason to fall in love. ButPenny? The idea of her getting hurt again was enough to make him send up a quiet prayer.
She traced a finger around her cup, her expression going distant. Before he could ask what she was thinking, she looked up and pinned him with a stare.
“You think you’ll ever start dating again?”
He frowned, wondering where that question had come from. “What? No. Of course not.”
“Why?”
He lifted a brow. “You’re kidding, right? I’m too busy.”
“If you wanted to date someone, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, you know.”
“Like I said, I’m busy.” Before she could push further, he gestured toward her. “What about you? You planning to start dating?”
“No,” she said a little too quickly.
Definitely something there.
When he gave her a look, she let out an exasperated breath. “If I want to start dating, I’ll ask Aiden out.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he said under his breath.
She smirked. “Maybe Emerson, then.”
“A little better,” he muttered, though even he couldn’t believe himself with the tone of his voice.
Penny tapped a finger against her chin. “There’s always the option to date one of the Meyers boys.”
