Page 47 of A Sunny Sweetheart for the Cowboy

An image of him sitting across a candlelit restaurant table from Paisley slid in front of his eyes. Was that what he wanted? To take annoyingly sunshiny Paisley Teele on a date?

Because if he was going to start dating someone, he’d be going all in. He’d be turning 29 this summer, which was practically 30, and he didn’t have the desire to date for funsies.

He wasn’t into fun, anyway. Just ask anyone. Ask Paisley.

“Did you need anything else?” Emma asked from behind the counter.

Weston blinked the dining room back into focus. “Uh, no. I’m good, thanks.” He spotted Maxwell and Jude and some other guys at a table near the emergency exit. They looked mostly done, but then, so did nearly everyone in the space. They’d do for company for now.

Since when did he want people around him? Maybe since this week. But mostly, he didn’t want to be seen as pitiable and alone. He set the tray down on the table. “Hey.”

“Bro!” Jude looked up. “How was the backcountry trip?”

Weston shrugged. “Next time, you can go instead.”

“Only if I can fly in.”

The guys chuckled.

Weston cracked a smile. “The lake might be big enough to land with pontoons.”

“Now we’re talking.” Jude forked a quarter of his brownie into his mouth while Weston unloaded his tray and settled in the chair. He allowed time for Weston to duck his head for a quick, silent grace. “Kids, though. Give you any trouble?”

Weston paused with his hand on his fork. How much to say? He did not come up smelling like roses on this one. “Typical for their age group, I guess. Paisley had it all under control. The other chaperones did their part.” He shrugged. “It was okay.”

“It must have been spectacular, since that’s high praise coming from you.” Maxwell laughed.

“It’s a pretty spot. Decent fishing. We had a side of trout last night.”

“We’ll have to do a guys’ trip up there some weekend,” Max suggested.

“It’s a solid four-hour ride each way.”

“Go in on a Friday night, come back Sunday afternoon?” Jude looked around. “Except we have staggered weekends off.”

“Maybe in September then.” Maxwell tapped the table thoughtfully. “Once the tourists ease off, Grandfather might let a bunch of us off the same weekend.”

“It has to be before Graham’s wedding,” Jude put in. “I’m leaving for flight school right after. Otherwise, sounds great. Let’s make it happen. You in, bro?”

Weston shrugged and swallowed the asparagus stalk he’d been chewing. “Sure. You guys have gotta be easier than wrangling kids.”

“You’d think.” Maxwell laughed. “But you might be wrong.”

Weston eyed his cousin. “What happened to Heather? I haven’t seen her around in a while.” Had he sounded innocent enough?

“Why, did you have designs on her?”

Ooh, touchy. “Of course not. I just wondered.”

“She went back to Kansas.”

“Huh. She’d worked with you for how long?”

“Eight years, give or take.”

“That long?” Weston whistled. “I bet you miss her. She seemed really knowledgeable on all the construction stuff.”

Maxwell narrowed his gaze at Weston.

---