Page 48 of Brave Enough (Love In Montana)

“I’ll drive.”

She chuckled. “That’s good, because I only know how to get from your parents’ house to here and the main barn.”

Holding open the passenger door of my truck, I motioned for her to get in. “Your ranch chariot awaits you, milady.”

With a bow, she replied, “Thank you, kind sir. I’m longing to see your kingdom.”

We spent the next hour driving around the ranch. I showed her which roads led to the private ranches owned by my aunts and uncles, and to my brother Blayze’s house. It was after a comfortable stretch of silence, where we both took in the view, when Kipton asked, “Why don’t you bull ride?”

“I do.”

I could see her look at me from the corner of my eye. “You do?”

“Not professionally, but I can.”

“Do you not like it?”

Glancing at her, I asked with a dead-serious expression, “Do you want me to hurt this face?”

For a moment, she didn’t seem like she was going to respond, before she finally stated, “Your father and brother are still handsome. Not to mention Bradly.”

I gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter. “You think Bradly’s handsome?”

She laughed like I’d said something insane. “Hello? Whatever’s in the water here is producing some very attractive people. Lily, Rose, Morgan…your mom and all your aunts. My gosh, even your grandmother is beautiful. And your grandfather is a silver fox, so it’s easy to see why all the men are handsome.”

“Bradly isn’t a blood relative,” I stated dryly.

She shrugged with one shoulder. “His father is handsome, so…” Her words trailed off before she spoke again. “He asked me out.”

I nearly slammed on the brakes. “Uncle Dirk?”

Kipton’s head whipped around. She had a horrified look on her face. “Of course not! Bradly asked me out.”

“What? He’s two years younger than you, Kipton.”

She stared at me like I’d grown two heads. “First of all, I don’t know why that matters. Two years is nothing. And second of all, I wouldn’t go out with him, anyway.”

A sense of relief washed over me at the idea I wasn’t going to have to beat the hell out of my cousin.

“I thought it was really sweet that he asked, but I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

All I could do was nod while I gripped the steering wheel even tighter.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Y-yeah,” I sputtered out. “I told him not to bother you like that. I can talk to him again if you want.”

“There isn’t any need. He understands, and he’s been nothing but a gentleman since.”

“Good, I’m glad. I’m surprised he asked you. Josh or Nathan, I could see, but I thought it was made clear to Bradly.”

Kipton laughed. “Joshua and Nathan have asked me out, but they were being silly. Besides, I like that Bradly asked me out. Who wouldn’t? Especially after Rose told me how shy he is.”

“He’s apparently not that shy.”

I felt her eyes on me. “Does it bother you that he asked?”

“Of course not. Why would it bother me?”

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