Page 3 of A Sweet Chat for the Cowboy

“Doesn’t mean anything yet. So far it’s one photo and a bunch of gossip. It will probably amount to nothing.” He hoped.

“Is it even a real photo?” Jenna asked. “And if it is, has anyone confirmed that it’s a picture of that specific species?”

“I don’t know,” Tucker said.

“Why’s it called theBlaketoad?” Denver asked. “Who’s Blake?”

Tucker again said, “I don’t know,” but at the same time, Gunner said, “Named after the miner who discovered it.”

They all looked at him.

He shrugged. “What? I read the paper.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” Tucker said.

“Okay!” A huge goofy smile spread across Denver’s face, and Tucker braced himself. “I’ll give you a hundred dollars to ask Eve out!”

It was a backhanded jab at Tucker’s fondness for money, and Tucker was annoyed. Eve, the bridesmaid who was literally a professional model, was beautiful enough, but Tucker wasn’t interested.

“Make it a thousand, and he might bite.” Kash grinned.

Tucker wanted to punch that grin off his face.

“Okay, a thousand!” Denver said. He was having too much fun.

Tucker was tempted to call his bluff, but then he might accidentally commit to asking her out.

“Do you think she’ll say no?” Denver said. “Because if that’s what’s stopping you ...” He scanned the large wedding crowd. “We could pick someone else out for you.”

“I don’t need you to pick me out a girlfriend,” Tucker said through a tight jaw.

“Someone has to!” Kash said. “You’re not doing it!” Kash’s girlfriend, Bella, who could apparently read the room better than his brothers, urged Kash to be quiet, but he didn’t stop. He just kept blabbing.

Tucker stood up abruptly. “I’m going to the bathroom.” He got up and wandered in the general direction of the bathroom. He didn’t really have to go. He just needed to escape that conversation. He saw the horses in the pasture and veered off for a closer look. They weren’t likely to harass him.

Chapter 2

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