Page 80 of Spur of the Moment
I cleared my throat, trying to discreetly adjust myself. Reed looked over his shoulder from where he was zipping his bag up on the passenger seat, his black cowboy hat shading his eyes. “You good, Cooper?”
I nodded. “Yep. All good.”
“Don’t be getting weird on me now. It’s not a date, just my dad's cooking.”
“Reed, we’re past the weird stage, don’t you think?”
He smiled. “A lifetime of friendship will do that to you.”
41
Lettie
The sun was setting when we pulled up to the ranch. Callan and Reed helped us unload the truck while my mom headed inside the house to help my dad finish cooking dinner.
As soon as she opened the front door, Rouge darted out of the house, beelining it for me. He knew he wasn’t supposed to jump on people, but he did it anyway, the excitement taking over. Aussies were too smart for their own good. It was like they knew when they wouldn’t get in trouble for breaking the rules. I rubbed his neck, then instructed him to get down and came around the back of the truck.
I closed the tailgate to the truck after Reed pulled the bag the canopy was stored in out of the bed.
Brandy came around the side of the truck and Rouge took that as an opportunity to nudge at her hand, begging for an ear scratch. She did just that, and he closed his eyes slightly, leaning into her. “I’m going to turn in early tonight, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I’m pretty tired after today. Going to try to sleep early.”
“Alright. Text me when you get home?”
“Always do.” She wrapped her arms around me in a quick hug, then made her way toward her Bronco.
“Have a good night, Brandy. Drive safe,” Callan said as she passed him.
“Goodnight, Cal.”
Reed popped out of the storage shed and I caught him watching her drive away.
“Wouldn’t kill you to say goodbye to her,” I said.
He grunted, pulling the door to the shed shut behind him.
Callan, Reed, and I crossed the driveway, Rouge on our heels as we headed up the porch into the house. Bailey came out of the front door right as we approached.
“Where are you heading?” I asked him.
Callan slipped inside the house after giving a quick nod to Bailey in greeting.
“To the hardware store real quick. Have to get paint for tomorrow morning. Wanna come?” The barn was almost complete, save for a few last minute touches and the paint.
“What about dinner?”
“It shouldn’t be done for another twenty minutes. Won’t take us too long,” he said.
I looked at Reed. “Can you let mom know we’ll be back in time to eat?”
Reed nodded, heading inside. Rouge followed him, his snout in the air as he sniffed at the smell of food wafting from the house.
We strode over to Bailey’s truck and he got behind the wheel as I slid into the middle seat. The nice thing about these old trucks was that they didn’t have center consoles. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t have cup holders because of it.
Bailey started the engine and spun the truck around, heading down the driveway. His hand found my thigh, his thumb running circles on my jeans as he headed toward the hardware store.
