Page 7 of Worthy

“I already told you, he’s hot as fuck.”

Deacon rolls his eyes. “The same thing could be said about lots of guys. But this is the first time you’ve acted on it. Why?”

I take another bite to stall while I choose my next words, swallowing thickly and clearing my throat. “You know what this town is like. How people talk.”

Though my hometown is a place most people only dream of living in, the reality is this life isn’t for everyone. Winters are harsh, there’s no fast-food chains, we have one school, and the movie theatre only has one screen. Gossip is about the only thing to do other than play in the mountains, and while it’s not meant maliciously, it means privacy is hard to come by. Incidentally, so are relationships. There’s not a ton of single people here, so vacationers looking for a good time are the best option for moreintimateactivities.

I don’t shy away from intimate activities, and I don’t care who knows I partake in them. But I also don’t want the town talking about what type of activities I get up to before I’ve had the chance to figure out if they’re a phase or a new development.

“You think they’d object to you picking up men the way you pick up women?” Deacon’s question pulls me from my thoughts.

I lift both my shoulders. “I don’t know. Idoknow that I don’t see myself with a guy long-term, so if it’s just a physical thing to have some fun there’s no reason for the whole town to know about it.”

Deacon snorts. “Pretty sure the whole town thinks you don’t see yourself withanyonelong-term, but you don’t hide the fact you pick up women regularly.”

I feel my face getting hot as I rub the back of my neck. “You got me there. I guess if I ever do settle down, I’d rather people say I had a way with the ladies than I’d bang any hole I could find.”

“Your future wife will be so proud,” Deacon deadpans.

“Shut up.” I shove my cousin’s shoulder. “You’re here to enjoy the tourists who come through town, same as I’ve always done, don’t deny it.”

“Oh, I’m not denying it. I’m looking forward to it. Speaking of looking forward—” Deacon glances to where my truck is no longer parked “—I’m not sure that’s what you were doing just now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll rephrase. Have you ever loaned your truck to someone you didn’t want to bang? You wouldn’t even let me drive it this morning.”

“I…”

Shit. Everyone in town knows my truck, and the sexy stranger driving it will get tongues wagging. Since my hospitality doesn’t usually extend to loaning out my ride, unless I’m hoping for a ride of my own, those tongues are going to have a field day speculating about my motives.

Damn stupid hunk who makes me lose all common sense.

“I guess I’m coming out now?” I bite my lip and glance at Deacon.

“Sure looks that way, cousin.” He shakes his head slowly back and forth. “You good with spilling your secret?”

“I’m not ashamed of it, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m not looking forward to an endless stream of questions about how or when I knew, but… Fuck it.” I ball up my empty wrapper and toss it in the takeout bag. “It’s not like I’ve ever given a shit what people say, and Maddox doesn’t act like he’s in the closet, so if I want a shot with him, I guess I can’t be either.”

“Pretty sure you had your shot and blew it.” Deacon chuckles.

“How can you say that when he’s driving my truck?” I jerk my thumb towards the direction he drove off in.

“Because you’re not in it. Your truck is going to round the bases faster than you are.” He smirks around a mouthful of his burger.

“Shut up.”

“I thought scoring chicks was supposed to be easy in this town. Is the same not true for dudes?”

“Fuck off.” I lift a special finger in his direction. “Finish your lunch and help me get this ground level. I have a feeling if I can get this backhoe out of here tomorrow, I’ll be in his good graces.”

Three hours later, the ground still isn’t level, and Maddox still isn’t back, which has me a little worried because the hike he’s doing shouldn’t be taking this long. He seems like a capable guy—more than capable actually—but even experts have accidents, so you never know. Rather than worry aloud and give Deacon more ammo to goad me with, I bite my tongue and head into town with him for dinner.

We park on Main Street and start making our way to the bar, but as we pass our favorite outdoor patio, I notice a head of wavy hair sitting at a corner table. I tell Deacon I’ll meet up with him shortly and make my way over.

Madd’s head is buried in a book, an empty glass on the table in front of him. The light is starting to fade, and there’s a chill in the air, buthe seems oblivious to it all. Until I pull out the chair next to him and he jumps, the scrape of the metal legs interrupting his concentration.

“Hey, Solo. You always do your reading in public or were you just avoiding the house?” I spin the chair so it’s facing away from the table and climb on backwards.

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