Page 64 of Mountain Rescue
Chapter Eighteen
“Ah....” Dallas was at a loss for words. He was also trying to process why he wasn’t having a problem with the woman getting handsy with his ass. Was he okay with her touching him because she was elderly? To test that theory, he held out his hand to Jack’s grandmother.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lizzy. I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed your care packages to Jack.” She put her hand in his, and he immediately wanted to snatch it away. With a smirk at Jack, he added, “When he’d share them. The chocolate chip cookies were our favorites.” He let go of her hand, swallowing a sigh of relief.
“I told him he better share with his teammates.” She gave him a brilliant smile. “You can return the favor by ordering my grandson to give me a grandbaby, preferably two or three.”
Jack sighed. “Grammie, we’re working on it.”
“Well, obviously not hard enough.”
“If she had her way, she’d lock Nichole and me in the bedroom until we showed her an ultrasound proving there’s a baby in my wife’s belly.”
“Now there’s an idea,” Lizzy said.
Carrying a large bag, Noah walked in at the end of the conversation. “You should totally do that, Lizzy.” He kissed the woman’s cheek. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived, but I got your favorite breakfast dessert in here.” He tapped the bag.
Mary let go of Dallas and cozied up to Noah. “And what did you get for me, McHottie?”
“Snickerdoodle doughnuts for Miss Lizzy and cherry turnovers for my best girl, Dirty Mary.”
Dallas stepped back and watched the banter between Noah, Jack, Lizzy, and Mary. The people in this room were fond of each other and were comfortable in their own skins. He got that Jack fit in with his grandmother and her friend, but he was disturbed that he was jealous of Noah for his ease and comfort with these people. As teammates, they had been as close, closer even, than blood brothers, and when stateside, they’d hung out together. But outside of that, they hadn’t socialized with each other’s families. Looked like things had changed for Jack and Noah.
Rachel moved next to him and he put his arm around her, pulling her against his side. Jack narrowed his eyes at him, and Dallas frowned. He figured he was going to get another talking-to at some point this morning. What was Jack’s problem? He was acting like a big brother. Rachel was an adult, fully capable of making her own decisions.
“Mary, let’s go help the girls get breakfast ready and give these men a break from you molesting them.” Lizzy grabbed Mary’s hand and pulled her away.
“You’re no fun,” Mary grumbled. She glanced over her shoulder and blew them a kiss. “I’ll be back, boys.”
Dallas laughed. “She’s a trip.”
“One of a kind,” Jack said. “Mostly harmless.”
Noah snorted. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“I think she’s hilarious,” Rachel scratched under the wig. “I need to get this thing off for a while. Where’s your bathroom?” she asked Noah.
“Down the hall, second door on the left.”
After she headed to the bathroom, Dallas raised his brows at Jack’s intense stare. “Got something you want to say, brother?” As if he didn’t already know.
“What’s going on with you and Rachel?”
“Nothing.” The lie was bitter on his tongue. Honestly, he really wasn’t sure what was going on with them other than they liked each other and were sleeping together. “She’s a great girl, and we’re friends.” That much was true.
“She’ll be going home soon, and it better not be in tears.”
“Rachel’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself.” He didn’t need this shit from Jack.
“So, did you find us any horses?” Noah said.
Dallas appreciated that Noah was defusing the tension. “Six possible. Four at that place in Asheville, and two over in Weaverville. I’m planning to hit up the other places on the list over the next couple of days. When will you have the barn ready, and the pasture fenced?”
“Now that you’ve selected where the barn will go, we’ll get started on it right away. The fencing will be done this month. If you’re sure about the ones you like, see if the owners will board them if we buy them now.”
“You have someone lined up to head the equine therapy part?”
Jack and Noah shared a glance, then Jack said, “We’ll talk about that later.”
