Page 33 of Meant for Her

“Thanks.”

“Where’s our beer?” Ryan asked.

Damn. He forgot them. “I only have two hands,” he said as an excuse for being distracted. “How about grabbing some plates for us while I get the beers?”“We need to talk,”he telepathed.

Ryan followed him into the kitchen.“What’s up?”

Luke grabbed the two bottles, while Ryan located three plates.“If the sheriff comes, Malia needs to leave right after that,”Luke telepathed.

“Why?”

“Because, dumb ass, if the rustlers get wind that a Granger is here, no telling what they’ll do. Can you imagine what they could extort from her old man?”

His lips pressed together.“I’ll make sure to find out where she lives and visit her at her place,”Ryan telepathed. “I get it. Let’s eat.”

Luke should be happy that the issue of Malia staying away from the ranch was resolved, but he didn’t feel good about it. As much as his brother deserved all of the happiness he could get, Luke didn’t like not being with Malia. Unfortunately, going to her house wasn’t where he needed to focus his energy at the moment.

“What did you decide?” Malia asked when they finally made it into the living room with two beers, some plates, and silverware.

“About what?” Luke asked.

“You do realize I grew up with four brothers—brothers who would often have these telepathic conversations?”

Shit. She knew. “Fine. I was reminding Ryan that as soon as the situation with the sheriff is resolved, you need to stay away from the ranch. No telling what those men might do if they found a Granger here.”

“Oh. I see your point.”

That was a big load off of his mind. “Thank you. Dig in before it gets cold.”

“I ordered a club sandwich. It’s supposed to be cold.”

How did this woman always have the last word? She was infuriating—mate or not.

Throughout dinner they discussed their plan. Malia agreed to call the sheriff tonight, saying that they had someone else watching them during the day, but that the person assigned at night had canceled. For the next few days she would be watching the men during the evening. After that, they could get around on their own. “Luke, I suggest you pretend to be sleeping on the couch.”

“Why?”

“You would be the more mobile of the two. If Ryan needs anything, you’d be able to take it upstairs, should your caregiver not be here.”

“I was shot in the thigh. Wouldn’t I have a hard time making it up and down the stairs?” Luke asked.

“Not as hard as Ryan would have navigating them.”

“Fine. It’s only pretend anyway.”

When they finished eating, he telepathically asked Ryan to clean up so he could speak with Malia alone. Once his brother picked up the plates, Luke faced her. “I want to apologize for my behavior the other day. I really was worried for your safety.”

“You could have explained that to me at the time instead of insulting me. Just so you know, telling me I meant nothing to you didn’t earn you any bonus points.”

“I know.” He lifted a hand. “For the record, I did—or rather I do—want you to stay safe. I thought that if I insulted you, you wouldn’t want to come back.”

“Even though we are mates?” she asked.

She was making this really hard for him to think. “Look. Here’s the thing. I suck at being with women.”

She chuckled. “That’s a cop out. You definitely knew your way around my body quite well.”

“Well, it’s easy when it’s you.”Crap. He hadn’t meant for that to slip out.

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