AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The man was an utter jerk with a chip on his shoulder. Everything he said, every single word that came out of his mouth, had a sarcastic tinge to it or was derogatory in a way she never imagined. It was like he took everything said, done, or presented to him by these people who didn’t owe him a blasted thing as a personal slap across the face.
Nope.
What the arrogant jerk desperatelyneededwas to be slapped across his smart mouth – but that wasn’t going to be her. Daphne was just avoiding him and was so relieved that it wasn’t her having to share a cabin with him.
Lena seemed to be the one struggling with it.
“How are you putting up with him?” Daphne hissed under her breath, making breakfast this morning with the other girls. “He’s horrid.”
“Jake isn’t so bad,” Lena hedged, looking unsure as she was lifting the thick slabs of bacon off the baking sheet she was pulling from the oven. “And I just avoid him when I can.”
“I’m going to put out a bunch of whipping cream that I got from the cows,” Chris volunteered. “I think that will be nice with the French toast. I got so much out of them yesterday and today that it’s a little surprising. They really like listening to Celine Dion and Duran Duran. If I’m playing ballads, they put out so much more, but if it’s rock music or rap, the cows produce less. It’s weird. I would think they would like the beats and respond a little better, but I guess not.”
Daphne was sauteing some diced apples and cinnamon, and everything was almost ready to go when they heard the first few men walk in the door. That would have been Houghton, Gideon, and the jerk… and then gaped in shock to see Lena was blushing and Christina was clamming up almost simultaneously as Gideon was walking in.
“I thought we were going hunting today?”
“Tomorrow.”
“You hear that, Ortega? Hunting tomorrow, not hacking wildly at some log that did nothing to you,” Houghton was snappy at the man who was now shockingly staying with Lena. The very idea that both women were staying with a guy was a little unsettling – and for some reason, she was the only one who wasn’t.
Her truck wasn’t repaired yet. There was something wrong with an injector, and the part was ordered. It would not be here for another week or two, much less the unexpected cost of it.
Daphne watched the four adults practically circling each other in their own weird way and almost smiled. It was easy to see that Gideon was interested in Chris – and while it weirded her out that each was paired up, it was still sweet to see them flounder about.
She wasn’t new to dating at all. It was just a matter of finding someone eventually who would measure up or have the same interests as her. Not every woman in the world wanted to settle down or start popping out kids. Some wanted careers, some wanted freedom, and she wanted to wander the world and experience everything.
“Hey,” Lena said simply, leaning over Ortega and putting a cup of coffee directly in front of the man – who instantly looked up at her.
Huh, well, I’ll be…Daphne thought in shock. Maybe Gideon wasn’t the only one who liked his new roomie because the soldier was now looking at Lena the same way.
“Hi,” Ortega uttered. “Thanks.”
“It’s cold out,” Lena whispered – and Daphne rolled her eyes.
Good gravy, these two… sheesh.
“Yeah, it is.”
Those two dorks were discussing the weather?
“Man, something smells divine,” Gideon offered politely and then turned away the second Chris walked in the room carrying a plate of bacon slices and a platter of the French toast.
“Guess it’s not just you two,” Houghton muttered before taking a big sip of his coffee, looking at Daphne at that moment with a smile… and she almost threw back her head in laughter.
Yeah, her unexpected benefactor knew what he was doing. Just those words spoken aloud had immediately caused Lena, Ortega, Chris, and Gideon to look at him in alarm before Chris did an about-face and walked out of the room.
“Don’t do that,” Gideon muttered under his voice, obviously frustrated.
“What?” Houghton said innocently as Daphne moved. . “I never said it was you I was talking about.”
“He’s right,” Ortega said bluntly, “Leave Lena alone, and you can dish it out to me all you want once we’re in the deer stand tomorrow.”
Daphne’s eyes got wide, sharing a silent, knowing glance with Jill before moving to grab another platter laden with food for the table. Yeah, this was some celebration this morning, and the happiest moment of a girl's life was fraught with arguments, glares, and hostile looks. This was why she was avoiding relationships because she certainly didn’t want her dirty laundry aired for everyone to comment on – especially if one of them was that loud-mouthed Ortega.
Under the radar, Daph…she mused, returning to the dining room.
“Nope. That seat is taken.”
