Page 34 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
Chapter 7
“We’re goingwhat?”
“Noodling.” Walker looked far too calm. And smug. Roan figured this probably heralded danger in brooding southern cowboys.
“And I need these?” Roan held up the waterproof bib overalls.
Walker smirked. He had his arms folded over his chest and was leaning against the doorjamb of the kitchen. Roan had been cornered there by Walker and John while making sour apple tea. “Technically you don’t, but I’m sure you’ll want to wear them.”
Roan narrowed his eyes. “But that means we’re going into the water. I know what lives in your water down here. Alligators. And venomous snakes. I googled.”
“Now, why would you do that?” Walker dramatically slapped his forehead, then leaned in closer as if to share a secret. Roan leaned in too, drawn to Walker’s firm, muscled body and cheerful brown eyes, despite his probable imminent death on this so-called date. “Here’s the thing: gators aren’t that aggressive really. You probably won’t even see one. They want to stay as far away from you as you do from them.”
“Really?”
“No. But it makes it easier to get in the water if you tell yourself that.”
Roan stared at him.
“But, seriously, I’m not scared of the gators, and if there was a real, true danger, you know they wouldn’t let us anywhere near the water.”
Roan swallowed hard. The morning light from the kitchen window highlighted the little wrinkles at the edges of Walker’s eyes. Probably from squinting into fields all day. The man even smelled like fresh-cut grass and fresh air.
“As for the snakes, yeah…well.” Walker shrugged. “You just have to make sure you don’t wander into a nest of moccasins. I’m sure the set nurse has antivenom on hand.”
“Water moccasins. The shoe snakes.”
“They don’t look anything like shoes.”
Roan put the waterproof overalls on the counter. “Oh my God, I’m going to die.”
Walker straightened, and the attractive, teasing grin fell from his face. “Seriously, though, if you don’t want to do it, just say so. I won’t hold it against you.”
“If you say bless your heart, I’ll know exactly what you mean,” Roan grumbled. Walker laughed, andGod. He was so damn handsome. Feeling his face heat, Roan looked down at the dry bib overalls. They were pretty thick. Maybe the fabric would stop the snake bites. “Fine, I’ll come.”
“I’m mighty glad.”
“You should be.”
Between the threat of biting critters, the thrill of Walker’s sweet drawl, and the headiness of his eager attention, Roan’s head was awhirl. Leaving his tea behind untasted, he stomped away for some privacy to get changed, ignoring John who said, “That’s got to be the most reluctant acceptance of a date I’ve ever seen. Andy’s going to love it.”
“Noodling, Ben,” Roanmoaned to Ben who sat on the big, empty queen bed in Roan’s room reading a magazine to escape his annoying roommates. “Do you even know what that is? I miss Google.”
“Idoknow what that means,” Ben said, flipping a page. “But it’ll be much more fun for you to just find out on your own.”
“Rude.” Roan pulled from the closet a pair of jeans and a T-shirt he didn’t mind getting ruined. Then he glanced at Antoine, who lay asleep on top of his covers on the bunk below Roan’s. He lowered his voice, despite knowing the mic attached to his chest would pick up every word regardless. “I’m kinda nervous. He’s so handsome, I keep tripping over myself and saying all the wrong things.”
Ben looked up from his magazine. “You like him, huh?”
“I don’t know.” Roan groaned and slapped his own forehead. He stripped off the cute jeans he’d put on that morning and hopped into the fresh, expendable pair. “It’s just that he’s got that stereotypical cowboy walk and his accent is just so…” He waved his hands around. “Fuck me, it’s adorable.”
Ben chuckled. “You’ll be just fine. Go impress him with your gator-wrangling skills.”
“God, I hope you’re joking.”
Roan changed his shirt, turned around, and saw Walker standing there in the doorway, holding the waterproof overalls and looking mildly perplexed. “That was a private conversation,” Roan said, heat rushing from his chest up to his cheeks.
Ben’s brows shot up, and he buried his nose in his magazine, steadfastly minding his own business.
