"Nope," I said, taking a chair across from her and setting the beer on the table in between us. "Sounds like I might not wanna, either."
"Understatement of the century. Just know, if you do, it's alwaysMr.Calloway orsir. I've known that man since I was barely nine years old and I'm still not allowed to call him anything else."
I barked out a laugh. "Well, steer clear of the shitstorm if and when we do. Authority figures and I tend not to get along too well."
I'd made it my mission in life to bring men with egos bigger than the state of Montana—the ones who liked to exert control over everyone in their orbit—down a couple pegs.
"I'm shocked," Sassy deadpanned.
I peeled back the cardboard flap and reached into the case, handing her a can before popping the tab on mine. The metallic snap cut through the lingering noise from inside.
She took one look at the label and raised a brow.
"PBR? Really?"
I lifted my shoulders, cracking a grin as I leaned back in my chair. "He didn't specify."
Sassy popped the tab on her beer and tipped the can back, taking a long drink like she needed it. When she came up for air, both hands gripping her drink, she eyed me.
"So," Sassy said, casual but not really. "You and Brody."
"Thereisno me and Brody."
She tipped her beer toward me. "There's definitely somethin'."
Heat crept up my neck.Annoying.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "You always this nosy?"
"Only when it's someone I care about."
If I was the Grinch, my heart would have grown three sizes.
She wasn't staking a claim.
She was protective.
Of him.
Not territorial. Not possessive.Protective.
I had a lotta questions, but I was keepin' 'em behind my teeth. For now.
Sassy leaned her head back against the wicker cushion and stared up at the porch ceiling fan lazily spinning above us.
"Musta been why it took us so long to get engaged," she said, almost to herself. "Set a date. I mean, we're over thirty. We been together almost twenty years." She gave a soft, humorless laugh. "I think we both knew. But it was so easy. So comfortable."
The word comfortable hung in the humid air.
I took another drink to buy myself time.
"Comfortable isn't bad," I said carefully.
"No," she agreed. "It's not. But it's not…wildfireeither."
Her gaze slid to the horizon, toward the pastures. Toward the barn.
"I don't want easy," she admitted quietly. "I want the kind of love that makes you feel like the world could end and you'd still be okay because that person's there. I want someone who sees me. Like really sees me. Not just the girl who's always been there."
