“Oh, gross.”
We both turn to see a stunning brunette standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She’s petite but has an athletic build with waist-length hair and big brown eyes. She looks like she could be the cover model for a cowgirl or rodeo magazine with her jeans, cowboy boots and big belt buckle.
“Sorry. I hope it’s okay that I came back here? Mrs. Ira told me it would be fine,” she says, looking a bit apprehensive.
“Yes, of course. You must be West’s sister?”
“I am,” she says, then looks at Sarah. “And Hayes’s.”
I wave my hand, jumping down from the counter. “Please, ignore her. I’m sorry if you overheard anything. This is Sarah, who I’m sure you already know?” I question, and she nods. “And I’m Jade. West said you were looking for a summer job?”
“I am. Well, actually, I’m willing to go past the summer as well if you’ll have me. But I’ll be honest, if I have to hear about hate sex with my brother, I’m not sure this will work,” she says, scrunching her nose.
“I promise, there will be no talk of sex with your brother.” I giggle. “Right, Sarah?”
“Yeah. What she said. No offence, but I wouldn’t be caught dead with Hayes. He infuriates me. But I can’t promise I won’t hound Jade for info on her and West,” she says, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
The brunette looks from Sarah to me. “You and West? I didn’t even know he was seeing anyone. Good for him. You’re hot,” she says, making me blush.
“We’re just getting to know each other.” I tell her, shrugging.
“Cool. Well, anyways, I’m Wrenley, but please just call me Wren,” she says, extending her hand.
“Welcome aboard, Wren,” I say, taking her hand into mine.
“Wait. You don’t need to interview me or anything?” she asks, looking between Sarah and me.
“Nope.” I smile. “West mentioned you had experience?” I ask.
“I do. I worked at a Starbucks for two years,” she confirms.
“Perfect! Then you’re hired!”
“Sweet! Thanks! I really needed this,” she tells us.
“We close early on Saturday’s, so if you have nothing to do and want to stay for the last three hours, we can show you around and get a little bit of training in,” I offer.
“Sure. That sounds great.”
The next three hours go by in a blur, and before I know it, we’ve closed up the bakery and Sarah and I head to my house to have something to eat and get ready for this evening. Before we left, we extended the invite to Wren, who told us she’d meet us there. I’m excited to have her working with us, and it will be nice to have another friend.
It’s seven thirty, and Sarah and I are just putting on our shoes. We stand in the doorway and check ourselves out one last time before we leave for town.
Buckles is the only bar in town, and while it’s nothing much for fancy, it’s still fun to dress up and go out for a couple drinks with the girls. It’s not often Harper joins us, so tonight will be perfect now that we also have Wren with us.
Sarah’s got on a cropped black denim top over a lace underlay that’s tucked into a matching black denim skirt, paired with thigh-high cowboy boots.
In black, of course.
Her hair is curled to max volume, and to complete the look, she’s got a black Stetson on her head. I have a matching one in white from our trip to Lammle’s last summer, but I decide to leave it at home.
My outfit is simple but still fun. I’m wearing a light-wash denim dress and, like Sarah, a long-sleeve lace underlay underneath. Mine is white. I don’t have my own pair of cowboy boots yet, so I’m just wearing a cute pair of booties, and to top itoff, my hair is pulled into a styled messy bun with a couple free strands.
The night is warm as we continue our walk, the sun not yet set. As we get closer to Main Street, we can see people already going in and out of Buckles. Some still sipping their beers and others already calling it a night or out for a smoke break.
We spot Harper making her way across the street, and Sarah whistles, getting her attention. “Harper!” she yells, picking up her pace.
“You guys look great!” she compliments us.
