Page 29 of Sweet Whiskey
He rolls his eyes. “Now I know why my dad always said y’all are gonna put him in an early grave. I’ll meet you at the weak spot in an hour.” He walks toward the main house, probably needing to make some calls and emails. I’ll always be grateful Levi never expected me to take over the admin side of things, because I would have probably quit.
I head to my truck to load up the fence supplies in the back when I see the two men I had just been thinking about lingering by the tail hitch. Dallas is already putting the wood, wire, and tools in the bed. Out of all the men we work with, he’s the most reliable and someone I would train to take over as ranch manager one day.
Brooks nods at me, giving me a pinched look.
I narrow my stare. “What?”
His eyes round, and he glances over at Dallas before they fall back on me. “I might have done something.”
Dallas stiffens. “Done something like what?”
Brooks’s tongue drags across hisbottom lip. “I might have hinted to Kinsey that we want to court her.”
My stomach hollows out. “Court her? Brooks, we barely know the girl! Great, now she’s probably going to freak out.”
Dallas crosses his arms, his jaw tight as he stares at Brooks, but he doesn’t seem as irritated as I am.
“When was this?” I ask.
Brooks grins now, shrugging. “Bought her coffee the other morning, and she said she was interested. Then I kissed her.”
A growl rumbles in my throat, not out of jealousy. I wasn’t jealous at all that Brooks kissed Kinsey. Hell, I would do anything to watch it. But it’s the smug expression on his face that makes me want to punch it.
Dallas puts his hands on his head and blows out a breath. “Kinsey and I hooked up in the library.”
Our heads snap to him in shock.
“See! I tried to be a gentleman, and Dallas just skips straight to second base,” Brooks moans.
“And when was this?” I growl out.
Dallas’s cheeks turn red. “The same morning, uh…after she ran into Brooks.”
This time Brooks’s smile falters, and he clears his throat. “Well then, I’d say she’s very interested. Now if we become a pack?—”
“We are,” Dallas states.
I grunt, not confirming or denying it. The fuckers are wearing me down, and honestly I can barely remember my initial argument against it. “Brooks, groundwork. Dallas, fence. Get the fuck out of my face. Both of ya.”
CHAPTER 13
KINSEY
“She said the ranch is only a few miles out of town. It shouldn’t be hard to spot,” I say, changing into jeans and a sweatshirt. I wasn’t going to potentially meet my father while looking like I just rolled out of bed.
Brielle nods, then grimaces. “But don’t you think it’s a little dangerous to just show up unannounced on a ranch? A ranch that I can say with certainty is full of alphas, or at least betas.”
I swallow down the nerves, squashing my feet into my mom’s worn boots. “That may be true, but it’s a pretty safe bet that they’re not just feral.”
“I bet it also wouldn’t be hard to find a phone number and give them a ring first.”
Something in my gut tells me to just go and find out for myself. Brielle watches me carefully where she’s lounging on the bed. If we are going to stay in town, we need to find a place fast. I have a sneaky suspicion that the inn owner is charging us way below a reasonable rate for unknown reasons other than they must have an inkling of how poor we are. A few more weeks at the bar, and together we will have enough to rent a place.
My best friend sighs, rolling off the mattress to stand. “Well, if we’re going in guns blazing, let me get my boots on.”
I snort. “There will be no guns.”
When we climb into my car, I groan when the gas indicator blinks on. “I forgot we were running low when we got into town.”
