Page 54 of Knot Your Problem, Cowboy
As we head back inside, I catch sight of Sophia. She’s laughing at something June said, completely oblivious to the storm gathering around her. But that’s okay.
We’ll handle the storm. That’s what Alphas do for their Omegas.
Even if this one doesn’t know she’s ours yet.
12
SOPHIA
The evening air is cooling as June and I step out of Maggie’s Diner, stomachs full of the best chicken and dumplings I’ve ever tasted. The main street of Honeyspur Meadow stretches before us, busier than I expected for a weekday night. Shop windows glow yellow, the hardware store is still open, and a few people are browsing inside. Kids race past on bikes.
“So, about chapter eight,” June says, linking her arm through mine like we’ve been friends for years instead of hours. The casual intimacy of it makes my chest warm. “When the demon prince does that thing with his tail while she’s trying to read her grandmother’s spell book?”
I nearly stumble on the sidewalk. “Okay, I may need to read just that chapter before we arrive at the book club.”
“Well, he wraps it around her thigh and slowly slides it up while whispering in a demonic tongue about how her soul tastes like cinnamon and secretly bonding her to him?” June finishes, completely shameless. Her hazel eyes sparkle in the streetlight. “Apparently, it’s Loretta’s favorite scene. She’s the one who owns The Dust Jacket Bookshop, where the club is held. You’ll love her. Or be terrified. Possibly both.”
“Tell me more about this Loretta,” I ask, stepping around a couple strolling with their ancient beagle who seems determined to sniff every single lamppost. “I need to know what I’m walking into.”
June’s soft curls bounce as she glances at me. “Loretta Honeycutt. Forty-six, divorced twice, currently dating a mechanic but also flirting outrageously with the new veterinarian who’s, like, twelve years younger. She inherited the bookstore from her aunt and turned it into this whole community hub thing. Also runs the food bank, organizes the harvest festival, and somehow finds time to read approximately ten books a week.”
“Ten?”
“I’m barely exaggerating. The woman consumes books like I inhale coffee.” June leans in closer. “Also, rumor has it she’s writing her own romance novel, titledRoped and Ruined.”
“Stop.” I laugh, the sound echoing off the storefronts. It feels good to laugh like this, freely and without weight. June reminds me so much of my bestfriend, Meredith, back in Chicago, with the same rapid-fire speech and the same ability to make even mundane things feel like adventures.
“Oh, and she has this theory that everyone in town is secretly harboring passionate desires for inappropriate people,” June continues, her free hand waving dramatically. “Last month she tried to convince us that Earl from the hardware store and Gladys from the post office have been carrying on a torrid affair for thirty years.”
“And have they?”
“God, no. Earl’s been happily married to the same woman since high school, and Gladys thinks romance is what happens to other people while she’s sorting mail.”
We pass the darkened windows of an antique shop, ghostly furniture shapes visible inside. A tabby cat watches us from the windowsill, eyes reflecting green. June slows our pace, and I can see her working up to something by the way she’s biting her lower lip.
“Okay, but speaking of people harboring passionate desires…” She pauses dramatically, watching my face.
My stomach does a little flip. “What?”
“Did you notice that your cowboys were at the diner earlier?”
I stop so abruptly that June stumbles, her grip on my arm the only thing keeping her upright. My heartkicks into overdrive. “They were what? Where? How did I not see them?”
June’s grin spreads slowly, like she’s savoring this moment. “You had your back to them. They were in the corner by the kitchen. All three of them, trying very hard to look like they weren’t watching you.”
“All three were there?” My voice comes out higher than intended. Heat crawls up my neck. Why were they there? They knew I’d be there. Were they… following me? “But I didn’t… they didn’t say anything to us.”
“Well, they’re not exactly the pushy type,” June says, tugging me back into motion. We pass the barber shop, closed now but the traditional pole still spinning lazily. “Though God knows they could be. Half the single women in town, and a few of the married ones, would tackle them given half a chance. But your boys tend to keep to themselves.”
“They’re notmyboys,” I protest, but the words feel hollow. Walker’s kiss is still burned into my memory, the desperation in it, the way he held me like I was precious.
“Sure they’re not. That’s why they just happened to show up at the exact same diner at the exact same time you were there.” June’s voice drips with sarcasm. “Total coincidence.”
My mind races. Are they… what, checking up on me? The thought should annoy me, but instead there’s aflutter in my stomach.
“Maybe they just wanted dinner?” I try, but even I don’t believe it.
“Right. Because three grown men who have a personal chef at the ranch suddenly needed to eat at Maggie’s.” June shakes her head, soft curls bouncing.
