“Not even a little,” Keegan answered.
“Only because it’s in better condition,” Kaden said.
Bristol smiled, clearly catching their contradicting viewpoints.
Kaden noticed there was a lingering tension in the air. Almost like Bristol was expecting them to pounce on her at the first opportunity. If she wasn’t fidgeting, she was repositioning, her gaze never settling on one place for long.
Then it dawned on him. This was the first time they’d really sat down to have a civilized conversation, just the three of them. Generally, they were around others when they chatted, usually crossing paths at Curtis and Lorrie’s.
Of course, Bristol’s anxiety ratcheted up a few notches when silence settled between them. For the life of him, Kaden couldn’t come up with anything to say. Thankfully, she finally did.
“Did you see they’re buildin’ a spa on Main Street?”
Keegan chuckled. “A spa. We’d been tossin’ around the idea of buyin’ it. You know, before we learned the ranch was available.”
Bristol smiled. “Really?”
Kaden shook his head. “No. We weren’t tossin’ it around.” He nodded toward Keegan. “He was.”
“Whatever.” Keegan grinned, turned his attention to Bristol. “We’ll let you settle the debate.”
Bristol’s blue eyes widened. “What debate’s that?”
“We batted around ideas on what might work there.”
“Such as?”
Keegan shrugged. “Vape shop, thrift store, sandwich shop.”
Kaden grinned when Bristol didn’t seem impressed.
“Yarn store?” Keegan’s grin widened. “Maybe one of them overpriced pet stores dedicated to pamperin’ your pooch.”
“Tell her what you werereallythinkin’,” Kaden urged.
Keegan’s chin tilted up. “Arcade.”
Kaden glanced her way, relaxed somewhat. “What are your thoughts?”
“Old-school arcade? Like Pac-Man and Centipede? Or you talkin’ monster televisions hooked to PlayStation and Xbox?”
“Definitely old-school,” Keegan said quickly.
“Skee-Ball?” Bristol asked.
Keegan’s grin widened. “Sure. Why not?”
“If it was yours, what wouldyouput in there?” Kaden inquired.
“Good question. We’ve got a bookstore now. And a bakery.”
“Plus the toy store,” Keegan added. “Have you been in that place?”
Bristol nodded. “Once. To check it out. A little too new-age for my taste. An arcade, huh? I’m not sure it would’ve lured in the teenage crowd, but you would’ve gotten us old folks in there all the time.” She smiled sweetly. “But good thing for the women of Coyote Ridge, a day spa’s exactly what we need.”
Kaden made a mental note to see about getting her a gift certificate to the place when it opened.
“So, how did you come to buy the ranch?” Bristol asked, sounding surprised. “I didn’t even know Tuck was sellin’.”
