He chuckled. “Far from that.”
I blushed even harder at his attention. “I’m gonna see if they need any more help.”
“Ok, just don’t go out there alone, you got it?”
“I don’t think Theo would let me,” I said, walking away.
“Neither would I, at least not without me,” he smirked.
I went back to help Theo with a few things before I went back to his home to pack up some of my stuff. Just before I left, I looked through my emails just to make sure I didn’t have what Mr. Yarbrough needed. It looked like I might have to call the real estate agent who helped us.
The house was still quiet when I left. Even though Theo invited me to stay for dinner, I needed some alone time to sort through my feelings. It was only five when I stopped by Mae’s diner, figuring an early dinner and night's sleep would do me good. Instead of taking it home to eat, I grabbed a table to have dinner there.
“I’ll be right with you, Iris!” The waitress called out to me.
“Take your time!” I yelled back.
“Fancy seeing you here.” I looked up to see Nash, dirty as hell.
Is that how bad I looked?
“Can’t cook dinner for yourself?” I quipped.
“What about you, Ivy? You’re here, too.” He laughed.
“This is my treat for surviving a near-death experience,” I shrugged hating he got my name wrong on purpose but also found it weirdly comforting.
“I heard you had to be saved, you poor, helpless woman,” he said, sitting down.
I gasped. “I didn’t need to be saved. I was the one who saved those horses, you came to steal my glory.”
Nash chuckled, glancing behind me and grinned. “Hey, Beau.”
I quickly looked behind me, not even realizing he was there.
“Uh, hey, guys,” he said, biting his lip, looking down at his laptop.
Was he nervous?
“Hey, I didn’t see you there!” I smiled, wondering what he had to be nervous about. “Early dinner?”
“Uh, kind of, actually, I've been here working on a few things since I had a late lunch,” he said. “I really didn’t want to brave the wind.”
“You probably need a break,” Nash said, sitting across from me. “Come join us.”
“Uh…”
“You don’t have to if you need to work,” I said, feeling like something else was going on.
Beau sighed, closing his laptop, finally looking at us.
“You ok, Beau?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think I need a break,” he said, putting his laptop away. “I just had pie for lunch and I’m thinking I need food.”
Nash got up, helping Beau with his things and bringing them over to us. Was I missing something? Since when were Beau and Nash close? Beau sat on my side, and I noticed he looked exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn’t slept well in a few days.
“Beau, you sure you’re ok?” I asked, getting worried. “Working too hard? Too many late-night cams?”
