Page 47 of Spur of the Moment
I froze. “He did what?”
She smirked, bringing her attention to the computer screen. “Oh, yeah. Kept his hands dirty, but man, was he lost without you around.”
She had to be messing with me. Bailey wouldn’t have waited around for me. He had to have forgotten about me sometime in those five years, at least with mindless hookups.
“I can’t tell if you’re being serious,” I said hesitantly.
Her eyes met mine over the computer. “Why do you think he took your dog home with him every day? Kept your horse in shape? He sure didn’t do it for his own health.”
I shook my head, standing from the chair with my mug in hand. “Because he’s polite.”
She snorted. “Your brothers are polite. Bailey? He’s lovestruck. He’s got that same look in his eye your father had all throughout high school.”
“Please don’t compare Bailey to Dad,” I groaned.
She grinned, turning her attention back to the screen in front of her. I turned to head out of the room, wishing I could unhear what she said that made me realize what his actions really meant. That he did those things because of the way he felt about me, not just because he was being nice while I was gone.
We shared a moment in the hotel, but I didn’t expect it to happen again, even though my body begged for it to. I’d felt bad for not returning the favor, and although we joked about it on the drive back, I wasn’t actually anticipating it would happen.
This was too much to think about at seven in the morning.
***
I found Brandy in the white barn, jotting down notes on a clipboard in the room we kept our medical supplies in.
“Did Bailey bring any girls around while I was gone?”
She paused her writing and turned to me. “Well, good morning to you, too.”
I closed the door behind me, closing us in the small space. “I’m serious, Brandy.”
“My finger’s fine, by the way. Got a splint.” She held up her hand.
I was a shitty friend. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I’m glad it’s okay. Did they say how long it’ll take to heal?”
She set the clipboard on the counter. “Six to eight weeks, but I ain’t waiting that long. And to answer your question, no. He didn’t.”
Not wanting to get into a battle about her broken finger, I asked, “Why not? I mean, five years, and no girls?”
She opened a cabinet above the small sink, reaching in to grab a tube of dewormer. “Maybe you should ask him. You know the ranch isn’t the only place he can bring a girl, right? Maybe he was getting his dick sucked on the reg at the Watering Hole.”
I cringed at the mention of our favorite bar, Outlaw’s Watering Hole, and the picture her statement put in my mind. Being locals, they allowed us in when we were underage, but we never drank. We’d go to dance and hang out to get away from theranch after a long day’s work, but I hadn’t been back since the night of my eighteenth birthday, and I wasn’t making any plans to change that, especially after the image Brandy just put in my mind.
“Thanks for that lovely image, Brandy.”
She wrote something down on her clipboard and shot me a wink. “What’s a best friend for?”
“Anyway, aside from Bailey’s personal life, I have another question to ask.”
She set the pen and dewormer down, facing me. “What’s up?”
“I’m keeping that gray we brought back, and I was wondering, after your finger is healed, would you be up for breaking him?”
She grinned, looking borderline evil. “I’d never say no to a challenge.”
Unable to hide my smile, I pulled her in for a hug, squeezing her. “Thank you.” I pulled back. “But only after your hand is healed.”
She waved the hand with the splint in the air. “Yeah, yeah. Give it a couple weeks and I’ll get to work.”
