“Yes.”
“Evans?”
"No.Hayes."
That's when it all clicks into place. "They weren’t talking about me."
"What? You literally introduced yourself as Hayes. It’s your name, right?"
"Well, yeah. My nameisHayes. But Hayes is myfirstname. The guys refer to me as Evans—my surname."
"There's someone with the surname Hayes?"
"Sure is. Daniel Hayes. Now,he'sa player."
"That's rather confusing."
"Not really. Everyone calls each other by their last name."
"What happens if you have the same last name?"
"Then they get a nickname like Boggers or something."
"One of the guys goes by Boggers?"
"Yeah. He got that name when his boots got sucked into a bog and he ended up having to walk around barefoot for the rest of the day."
Josh sits back and shakes his head. "That would have been excellent information for us to have earlier."
"What? You've never been on a sports team, or been with a group of guys who never use first names?"
"I've spent my life on this farm. There was no time for sport."
"Fair point," I say, giving him a smile. "But now that we have that cleared up, can you tell me where Kym is so I can straighten it out with her?"
He thinks on it a minute. "I'm still kinda pissed at you for barging in."
"What if I swear to not breathe a word about your romance books? You're trying to write one yourself, correct?"
"Reggie and I are, yes."
"OK. Well, I plan to be in your sister's life for a heck of a long time, so I'd like to be one of the first to read it. I think it's awesome, and I’ll make sure no one finds out until you’re ready to share it yourself."
He narrows his eyes slightly, then slowly nods his head. "OK. I'll tell you where she is. But I swear to you, Hayes—or Evans, or whatever you prefer—"
"Just Hayes with family."
Josh's brow lifts. "I swear to you, Hayes, if you do anything to hurt my sister, I'll make sure you never book a shearing job again. You feel me?"
"I feel you. And I assure you, Josh, I'm head over heels for her. I have no plans to ever,ever,cause her any pain."
"OK then. She's at the bar in town. Reggie's best friend Mariah is visiting and they're out prowling the town."
Discomfort lodges deep in my gut, but I quickly push it away, thanking Josh before I make a mad dash to my truck.Prowling.That word alone sets off alarm bells in my brain. And I swear to god, if any man has his hands on my woman when I get to this bar, his life won't be worth living come morning.
KYM
"Idon't know," I say, stirring my straw through my glass of rum and coke. "I guess I just feel a bit stupid for thinking he saw it as anything more than a fling. Butof coursethat's all it was—he'll be moving on in a couple of weeks. I'm just a...a distraction." Feeling a little tipsy after already downing three of these drinks, I lean in and slurp some more.
