Page 9 of Serious Cowboy

“Not much,” he admitted, a little taken by surprise at her direct question. He’d never thought much about it if he was honest.

“I doubt that’s true. In fact, I think we should play a game.”

“A game?” He couldn’t help but let some of his trepidation enter his voice. As the kid who’d never been chosen for teams back in school, he’d only excelled in the types of games played indoors.

“Yes. I tell you something about myself, and you’ll have to determine whether it’s true or false. And vice versa. How about it?”

Why not, he supposed.

“Go ahead.”

“I traveled all around North America in my early twenties, true or false?”

Zeke regarded her. He’d guess her to be somewhat younger than his own thirty-six, but not by that much. And the sage-like lookin her eyes might be conducive to someone who’d wanted to see where the wind would take them.

“True.” It was a guess, of course, but that was the way he was leaning.

“It’s true. I did.” She smiled brightly. “I was pretty nomadic in my youth. Drove all through the U.S. and Canada and even spent a few months down in Mexico, especially around the coast in Baha.”

Wow. “Was it as scenic as it is on TV and online?”

“Even more. You’ve gotta go there in person to really experience what it’s like. Everything’s at a slower pace. No rat race. It’s just a totally different method of living life.” He nodded, impressed. “But make sure you have some local friends native to the area to act as your guides. Tourists without them tend to get robbed more often. I think we look like easy marks to those who might take advantage otherwise.”

How was it she was younger but had more life experience than he did?

“Okay, your turn,” she prompted him.

But he felt like he didn’t have anything as unique to share. Ensuring quality control of feed grain couldn’t compare. And his personal life was off-limits. His past consisted of a quagmire of misery and heartache unsuitable for public consumption even if he did want to share. Which he most definitely did not.

“I met your brother during an NHL hockey game, true or false?”

Callie narrowed her unique eyes at him. “Hmmm… You said that with no inflection at all, but I don’t know what that means. I’m going to say false.”

Again, he felt impressed. “Correct. We met at a pick-up basketball game at the gym we both belonged to.”

“So that’s why your biceps are so—” Rather than finishing her statement, she crooked her arm into an L-shape and made a muscle.

Zeke felt his neck heat. He wasn’t used to anyone saying nice things about him, particularly not about his physique. He didn’t go to the gym as often as he should—maybe once a week—but his hobbies frequently called for him to use his upper body strength to complete them.

If she noticed his flushed skin, she didn’t say anything. She simply sat there looking placid yet cheerful. It was an attitude that felt foreign to him.

“Here’s one for you. I’m adopted, true or false?”

“True,” he answered too quickly. He probably should’ve taken more time to at least pretend to contemplate the question, but he’d already thought about how differently her appearance was compared to Tim’s.

She laughed. “That was fast.” Inwardly, he cringed. “But I understand. It’s not like my brother and I look like twins or anything.”

“So you were adopted?”

“Oh, yeah. The Blums were family friends with a teenage daughter who got pregnant in her senior year of high school. They decided that adoption was the right path for them and that’s how I got Tim as a big brother. He was eleven when they adopted me.”

“Sounds like you think of the Blums as your real mom and dad.”

“Theyaremy real mom and dad. Biology doesn’t make a family, connection does.”

She didn’t say this with any sense of aggravation or anger, merely as a straightforward belief.

“It’s nice that everything worked out for you,” he told her earnestly.

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