Page 4 of Hitch Me

"Geoffrey," she whispers. My name on her lips sounds like the sweetest kind of sin.

"Yeah?"

"We should probably..." She trails off.

But we aren’t kids anymore and I’m not letting her off the hook that easily.

"Should probably what?" I ask, my hands settling on her hips, thumbs tracing small circles through the denim. "Because I can think of a lot of things we probably should do."

Her eyes flash up to mine. Then she steps back.

Brynn Rose creates that familiar distance between us and red flags go off somewhere deep inside of me. I hate that practiced smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. It makes something sharp twist in my gut. It's the same smile my ex used to give me when she was already planning her exit but didn't want me to know it yet.

She shakes her head and I watch her rebuild her walls in real time. "We should probably get to it."

"Yeah, probably."

I always thought I’d be one of the first of my brothers to get married. I’m a wife-guy with no wife. But dammit if I’m not the worst picker of women in the whole family. Well, Pa might beworse. I don’t have any random secret kids running around. But I’ve got to be at least second in line for the title.

I watch Brynn Rose smooth her hair and check her phone. She’s doing anything to avoid eye contact. I realize that this is how it always starts for me. The careful distance. The polite deflection. The slow retreat. Waking up to the whole world knowing what an idiot you are on a podcast.

My connection with Brynn doesn’t feel like anything I’ve ever experienced. I want to believe that Brynn Rose is different and that the way her breath caught when I touched her was real… But I've been wrong before. Dead wrong. And the cost of being wrong again might be more than I can afford. It’s probably for the best that she keeps her distance.

"Geoffrey?" Brynn's voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah girl, just thinking," I say, forcing a smile.

She studies my face for a long moment. I wonder whether she can tell that I'm already bracing for impact. I’m already preparing for the moment she decides I'm not enough.

"What are you thinking about?" she asks quietly.

You. Us. How history has a way of repeating itself, especially when you're stupid enough to hope it won't.

"What are you, my therapist? Have you been talking to Danner?” I let out a humorless chuckle. “Come on, these goats ain’t gonna build this backdrop themselves.”

Without another word, we get back to work.

I’ve never been more sure of the fact that having Brynn Rose here is a dream and a nightmare rolled into one. She's sexy as hell. Always has been. But she's kept herself at arm's length since I’ve known her. That hasn't changed one bit either.

Maybe that's for the best.

Letting someone in gives them a better shot at destroying you. I've had enough destruction to last a lifetime. It’s betterto keep my guard up. Love and lies can look identical from the outside. I can’t trust myself to know the difference.

Brynn Rose knows me. But I sure as hell only know parts of her. I watch her drag a hay bale across the pen. I rush to help her even though she’s too stubborn to ask for help.

We keep at it until the sound of tires crunching on gravel catches my attention.

A pearl white Cadillac pulls across the gravel, onto the grass, and drives right up to the fence line. I don't need to see the driver to know exactly who it is. The car door slams with the kind of dramatic flair that could only belong to one person in this town.

Brynn Rose exhales with a huff. "Mom, hi."

She immediately runs a hand down the back of her head and smooths her hair. Then Brynn Rose makes her way toward the Cadillac. I watch her entire demeanor shift. The confident woman who was just flirting with me over rope knots transforms into someone smaller and even more careful, if that’s possible.

"Brynn Rose, whatisthis background?" Brandi Rose emerges from the car like she's stepping onto a red carpet instead of a dusty ranch. She gestures wildly at the goat pen. Her collection of gold bangles catch the sunlight. "This isn't going to work at all. I thought you were on top of this situation."

“She’s done an excellent job.” I take a step forward instinctively. I’m ready to put myself between Brynn Rose and whatever verbal assault is coming her way.

“It’s okay.” Brynn Rose nods as she brushes past me with a subtle shake of her head. “Thank you.”

---