I nodded and moved down to the porch steps, taking a breath of morning air. I cupped my hands and called out, “Breakfast!”
Nothing. Except for the sound of Norah and Lindy laughing behind me.
I turned, confused. “Was I not loud enough?”
Lindy, still chuckling, shook her head. “It’s not you, hon. If they’re in the barn, they won’t hear you yell. Ring the bell. It’s on the post there.”
“Oh,” I said, spotting it. I gave the thing three solid rings and heard the clanging echo across the yard. That should do it.
I slipped back inside, suddenly more aware of how oddly comfortable I was beginning to feel here in such a short amountof time—and how much more startling that was than any slamming door.
Chapter Twelve
Zane
“Guess it’s time for breakfast,”Luke muttered, unhooking the lead rope from his mare’s halter and giving her neck a pat as she trotted off to graze like she didn’t have a single care in the world.
I stood by the water trough, twisting the spigot off, and exhaled an irritated breath. The last thing I felt like doing was pretending to be friendly over scrambled eggs with a woman who didn’t belong here. My eyes drifted to that beat-up Chevy in the driveway—definitely a loaner from Willy’s lot. Guess she did more damage than a simple flat tire when she blew past me on the side of the road. Now look at her, stranded just like she left me.
Ain’t karma poetic?
Luke fell into step beside me, casual as ever and whistling some tune that didn’t match my mood. “So what do you think?”
“About what?” I tugged my gloves off and stuffed them into my back pocket.
He gave me a look. “About the stock market, genius. What do youthinkI’m talkin’ about?”
I didn’t answer. He knew damn well what I thought.
“She’s hot,” Luke added, like he couldn’t help himself. “All that dark hair and those legs?Fuuuck.”
I clenched my jaw. Yeah, I’d noticed. Of course I noticed. I couldn’t stop noticing. Every time I closed my damn eyes, I saw smooth, tanned legs and the curve of her waist. It made me angry—at her, at myself, at this whole ridiculous situation.
We stepped up onto the porch, boots thudding against the wood. Luke went in first, all charm and playful grins, and gave Andi a “mornin” like he wasn’t the kind of guy who usually skipped small talk.
She returned hiskindness, sweet, polite, and too damn pretty for someone so irritating.
I stepped in behind him, nodding when our eyes met. No words. Just enough to acknowledge her and move on. I headed straight to the sink and turned on the tap, letting the cool water run over my hands as something in my gut stirred, low and restless.
I shut it down…quick.
Don’t start that shit.
We took our seats at the table. I bowed my head out of habit, murmured the amen, and reached for the eggs without making eye contact. I was halfway through buttering a hot biscuit when Mom turned her attention to Andi—sweet as pie, asking how she was settling in and what she thought of Tarnation so far. Where she came from: Louisiana. What she did for work: waited tables on the weekends but during the week did billing for her dad’s construction business. And me? I just sat there, watching as my whole family practically leaned across the table to hear this woman talk. Smiles, questions, laughs…like we were all here for a nice, friendly brunch instead of tiptoeing around the fact that everything about this was weird as fuck.
I kept my mouth shut, though, and my eyes on my plate, but I could feel the shift in the air as Andi stiffened with each rapid-fire question—not visibly, but enough for me to notice. Maybe I shouldn’t have enjoyed it, but I did.
Her answers felt too clipped, like she was saying just enough to be polite but careful that it was never too much. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like feeling like I was being sold something with only half of the story.
Then Mom asked if she had family “back home,” and everything in her posture changed.
“No, um,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Both of my parents passed away some time ago.”
Sympathy swept across the table like someone let in a draft. Luke even reached across the table and laid his hand over hers like they were already old friends. And she let him.
It irritated me more than it should’ve.
“How’d they die?” I asked, blunt and unapologetic.
