Page 57 of Conveniently Wed
Not kissing his cheek like she was happy to see him.
“Quiet,” he warned his brother.
“You charmer you!” Matty was still belly-laughing, swiping at tears rolling down his cheeks with one sleeve, while he fanned his face with his Stetson.
“What’s going on?” Seb asked, plopping down a few feet away. He’d been on the last watch of the night and looked exhausted.
Thank goodness they were only a half-day from Tuck’s Station.
“Hee hee hee—Ed’s gone and found the one woman who likes his crotchety nature.”
“Shut. Up!” he hissed, looking over his shoulder to make sure she hadn’t heard.
Seb brightened, his exhaustion disappearing as he straightened, knocking back his hat with wide eyes.
“There’s nothing between us,” Edgar insisted. “We’re parting ways. I’ve got an idea to put her up in Calvin.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t be kissing her behind the wagon,” Matty said, suddenly serious. “Might give her the wrong idea.”
Edgar’s face and ears went hot.
“Well, I think it’s grand that Edgar’s finally found someone to love,” Seb interjected, clearly trying to play the peacemaker.
“I havenot.” Edgar looked over his shoulder again, but thankfully Fran still hadn’t reappeared with his coffee.
He kept his voice low when he turned back to his brothers. “She’s a pill, all right? Yeah, I like her, a little, but you both know I wasn’t looking for a wife.”
Seb shrugged. “You got one, though. Shouldn’t waste your chance.”
Matty kicked his head back and Edgar shot a look over his shoulder to see Fran approaching. She didn’t have his coffee mug—instead she had a pair of kitchen shears. He got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“I started thinking… If you’re going to represent your papa for this deal with the cattle, you should look a little more…a little less…”
He raised one eyebrow at her. “What’s wrong with the way I look?” Not that he didn’t know. But he wanted to see what she would say.
She had the grace to blush. “I know spring must be a busy time on a ranch. Maybe you haven’t realized it’s past time for a haircut.”
“And a shave,” Seb offered helpfully.
Edgar glared at his brother.
“Well, I don’t have a razor,” Fran said.
That was good, because he wouldn’t trust her that close to him with a blade.
“But I found these shears in the bottom of the wagon and I thought I could at least attempt to…” She waved one limp hand toward him, toward his head specifically.
He waited for her to finish.
She frowned at him.
“To make you more presentable,” she finished firmly.
Matty slapped him on the back. “Sounds like a fine idea. You’re overdue for a trim.”
The mark of a smart man was knowing when he was beat. And Edgar knew, between his two brothers and Fran, he wasn’t getting out of this without a haircut. Like it or not.
So he gave in with what grace he could muster.
