My nails dug into his side as hard as I could, hoping I had left some damage.
“What are you doing here?” I walked to my seat across from him wondering what story he had spun for my family.”
“Circuit is about to start, but I need to get my mind off it for a bit and what better way than working for a ranch,” he said, blowing on his soup.
It was caldo de res—beef soup with vegetables—that was absolutely to die for. I swear Nova could open her own restaurant and I would be there every day.
“Isn’t the first rodeo in a few weeks?” I raised my brow.
“Here ya go.” Colt slid a big bowl of soup in front of me and I thanked him. “Tortillas are in the middle and salsa on the left is spicy, the one on the right is mild.”
My mouth watered instantly, this is exactly what I needed except without Nash. “Thanks, Colt.”
I grabbed a tortilla, a spoonful of mild salsa because your girl was a wuss, and I dug into my bowl forgetting all about Nash for a moment. The first bite was transcendent, the second bite I thought I saw heaven and the rest of the bowl I would have fought in a war for.
“Have you not eaten all day?”
I looked around to see almost all of them staring at me.
“Uh… yeah, I had some dino nuggets for lunch, but that was like six hours ago,” I said, wiping my mouth when I realized I had some soup running down my chin.
When my eyes landed on Nash, I scowled at his amused expression.
“You didn’t have to help me this morning,” Theo said.
“I didn’t mind, plus it was just me making some calls,” I said. “I did a lot of that when we had the farm.”
“Iris—”
“I didn’t mean that as a dig, Theo,” I said quickly. “I just said it matter-of-factly.”
My face grew red. This was not a side of my family that I wanted Nash to see.
“I know, I was just going to say thank you,” he said, looking a little uncomfortable. “I just don’t want you to think that you have to do this.”
I set my spoon down, trying to find the right words.
“I know, I miss the farm sometimes, so this is a nice happy medium for me. I get to work without all the responsibility,” I grinned, hoping to ease his tension.
He nodded and everyone went back to eating.
“So how long have you had the ranch, Theo?” Nash asked, effectively pushing the last of the tension out of the room.
Theo answered as I went back to eating and passively listening. The boys kept the conversation flowing as Nova and I had a more silent conversation with our eyes. Like, what the fuck was happening? I needed a shot of tequila and a way for us to get away because I had questions, too many of them.
After I devoured a second bowl of soup, I cleared the table. Nova got up to help me.
“Oh no, let me, it’s the least I can do for that delicious meal you cooked for us,” Nash said, getting up and stacking some dishes.
“Oh, you don’t?—”
“I insist, it was amazing and I appreciate the home-cooked meal,” he said, giving her a charming smile.
I glared at Nash wishing he would just sit his ass down. He didn’t look at me as we cleared the table. Either he was ignoring me or he was just that daft. I grabbed the dishes, walking to the kitchen getting ready to wash them when Nash walked in behind me. He set the plates in the sink, opening the dishwasher to load it up like he had done it a thousand times.
“What the fuck are you doing, Nash?” I asked exasperated.
“I’m cleaning up, Rose,” he said, not bothering to look at me.
