"I could be so mad at you right now."
Cash just smiled."You could, but if you were, you wouldn't have unfastened your seatbelt already.Come on out."
Emmett did as he said, but then stood beside his truck, not knowing what to do."Is she expecting me?"
Cash chuckled."No, she's expecting me.Before you go getting it into your head that she's to blame for any of this, she isn't.This is all my doing.I figured I needed to blindside the pair of you.I gave her a ride here and told her that I'd be passing her cottage again on the way home."He shrugged happily."And that wasn't a lie.I will.I just won't have her with me when I do."
Emmett let out a short laugh."You know, one of these days you're going to go too far and really piss someone off."
"Nah, I push my luck to the edge of its limits.But I know the line."Cash looked more serious as he added, "I know I've come close to crossing that line tonight.And if you're mad at me, if you don't want to do this, I can take Harper with Libby.It's not a problem."
Emmett looked over at her.She was still standing on the steps talking to Libby.She met his gaze for a moment before looking away.
"No, I'll take her."
"Good, that's all I'm going to say.I'll give you a call tomorrow.See when I can come over for that roast with you and the girls.Okay?"
Emmett nodded.
Cash was already turning away, calling, "Come on Lib, let's get out of here.We can stop at The Mint in town before I drop you home."
Emmett hovered beside his truck as Libby and Harper came toward them.He stepped forward, expecting to say hi to Libby, but she just grinned at him and said, "I'll call you tomorrow.I want to get you out to the barn to look these new horses over for me."She slipped her arm through Cash's and the two of them scurried away back to his Suburban, leaving Harper standing there, smiling at him.
She was a good-looking woman.That had caught him off guard the first time he met her.Not only how attractive she was, but how hard it hit him.She was so pretty, it made him ache.His chest ached, as if there was a big hole in it, which there was, but he thought he'd grown used to that.And there was the other ache too, the one in his pants, that he'd long believed was a thing of the past.
He stood there staring for a few moments before he realized what he was doing.Then he smiled and said, "Hi."
He was relieved when she chuckled and said, "Hi right back.Sorry about this."
"It's not a problem.It's..."He let the words trail off.He'd been about to say,it's my pleasure, but that might be too much.He gestured toward his truck and followed her to open the passenger door for her.
"Thanks," she said as she climbed in, then smiled down at him, just as she'd done when he collected her from the airport.
He nodded before jogging around the hood to get back in.Neither of them spoke until they were back on the highway.Emmett got as far as clearing his throat a couple of times, but that was all.
As they sped down Highway 89, he realized that he was going to run out of time to say anything soon.He glanced over at her, and some of the tension left his shoulders when he found her smiling back at him."Does Cash do this a lot?"she asked.
He inhaled sharply before he sputtered, "He's never set me up with a woman before, no."
Her eyes grew wide, and he realized his mistake, but she covered it with a smile."That doesn't surprise me, but I was only wondering if he maneuvered you into situations without letting you know what he was up to."
Emmett kept his focus on the road ahead, grateful for the darkness in the cab of the truck, since he could feel the heat in his cheeks."Yeah, I realize that," he mumbled, "and the answer is yes.It's his way."
He was relieved to hear her chuckle."I thought as much.I've seen him do it with other people.I just...I didn't know...if he'd try it on you."
He glanced over at her again."Yeah, he's more careful with me—they all are.I guess I'm just prickly."
"No, you're not," she said indignantly."Sorry, I don't mean to be short with you, but I think you're being hard on yourself.You're not prickly.It's just that you’re..."
He held his breath as he waited to hear what exactly she thought he was.
"Damn, this is hard, isn't it?I want to find the right words without offending you."
"But you wouldn't be worried about offending me if you didn't think I was prickly."
She let out a short laugh."That's not it.That's not it at all.I don't..."He sensed rather than saw her waft a hand in the air in front of her face."You know what?I can't tiptoe around you.It's not my way.I'm more of a straight shooter.I prefer to say my piece and apologize later, if necessary, than to censor myself in advance."
"Me too, so go ahead."
