Page 21 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
Chapter 5
One by one,the other contestants exited their SUVs, and the remaining men, including Roan, were sent on a loop around the property again. Roan sipped his water, but it churned in his stomach as they made a tenth turn past the old farmhouse and the newly renovated barn, bouncing off what felt like a million potholes.
“You okay?” Chad asked. It was just him and Victor left with Roan. They’d already taken Ben and Antoine inside.
“Yeah, fine.” Roan swallowed back a burp and peered out of the blackened windows. They made the world look murky and dark, like he’d entered a dystopian sci-fi novel.
“He was pretty handsome, wasn’t he?” Chad nudged him, and Roan looked over, a lurch of nausea accompanying the move. Fuck, he needed to lie down. “He was checking you out, you know.”
“Probably just trying to figure out who was who.” Roan glanced at Victor, who kept absentmindedly reaching in his pocket, probably for a phone that wasn’t there. “God, is it hot in here?”
Chad shrugged. “Not really. It’s hot out there though. That’s going to take some getting used to.”
Roan’s head ached and his stomach lurched. He’d never been good in cars for long distances or on winding roads. After hours in this SUV, he was feeling green around the gills, to say the least. Desperate to think of anything other than how sick he felt, he turned to Chad. “Where are you from?”
“Michigan originally, but I went to college in Boston and never left.”
“So you’re not used to this heat either.”
Chad looked out of the window. “No. It’s intense. Oh, we’re here again.”
The car lurched to a stop and the door opened. Blinding sunlight spilled through and Roan squinted against it. A sharp pain spiked in his left temple. He almost wished the windows weren’t so shaded. At least then they’d be used to the light.
“Roan, you’re up,” Molly said, leaning in with a clipboard in hand and a headset with a microphone attached to her ear. “Snap, snap.”
“Thank fucking God,” he groaned and clambered past Chad.
“Good luck,” Chad said, but Roan didn’t reply, too much in a hurry to get out.
And into the sickening humidity.
Instantly, his palms began to sweat and his shirt stuck to his back all over again, just like it had the first time they’d gotten out of the car.
Shit.
And there was Walker, standing in the shade of the porch, as calm and collected as before. Cool as a cucumber. Even in a suit he looked exactly like every cowboy fantasy Roan had ever had. No doubt thanks to that stubbled jaw, which was hot as hell no matter what, and the wide-brimmed cowboy hat. Roan hurried over to get out of the sun, not caring if it made him look anything but suave.
Surreptitiously wiping his hand on his jeans first, he thrust a palm in Walker’s direction. “Hi,” he said, his head spinning as his eyes tried to adjust themselves to the shade. “I’m Roan.”
The noise of the bugs, the groan of the AC from the barn, and the skid of the tires from the SUV driving away became weirdly hollow. The sweat prickling his top lip turned icy. Somewhere to the left of them cameras were filming.
A warm, dry hand carefully folded around Roan’s. “Walker. It’s nice to meet you, Roan, I’ve been looking forward to—”
Oh, fuck.
Roan had no time to think; he simply bent over the porch rail and promptly puked in Walker’s bushes.
And then he heaved a second time, bringing up water and stomach acid.
Walker let go of his hand in a hurry—not that Roan could blame him. Tears sprung to his eyes as he tried to get his retching stomach under control. When he was finally finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I’m so sorry,” he croaked. Someone patted him on the back, but the touch was small and light. He glanced up to see Walker’s producer gesturing wildly and from somewhere behind him Molly yelled, “Medic! Now! And fly in some water for Roan, please!”
“Here, have a seat,” Walker said, gesturing to a wicker sofa behind him.
Roan collapsed onto it, his knees and hands shaking. He couldn’t even look at Walker. He squeezed his eyes closed. Walker stood next to him and put his hand on Roan’s shoulder but said nothing more.
A woman in scrubs jogged around the corner of the barn, looking tidy and neat, which made Roan wonder if there were trailers for the crew back there.
