Page 16 of Shattered Hearts

My tongue runs around the front of my teeth. Paisley grins proudly. “Touche.”

“Glad we could come to an agreement.”

Huffing out a laugh, I go to step around her when I feel Paisley’s hand on my arm. Peering at her, all humour has been wiped from her features, and my own grin drops.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“Oh, no.” Her hand falls away, sliding into her denim jacket. “Nothing like that. But I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

Tucking thick, coiled hair behind her ears, Paisley glances around for a moment like she’s making sure nobody is overhearing us. “I was going to ask you the next time you were in the pub, but now that I have you, I have a favour to ask.”

From the way her voice has dipped, all joking pushed aside, I get the sense that this favour is something massive for her.

“It’s fine. Go for it.”

She clears her throat. “I know that you’re busy with the ranch and everything, but my brother has been asking Mum for months now for a dirt bike.” Her eyes find mine, and they appear to be glassier than they were a moment ago. My posture straightens. “I was wondering if you would have some time to let him come learn to ride one at the ranch? It’s just that we don’t have a big backyard, and Mum can’t—”

“Absolutely.”

Paisley blinks, her mouth slightly ajar.

I frown. Did she think I’d say no?

“Are you sure? I feel like it’s a lot to ask.”

“Yes,” I drawl, grinning. “I’d be happy to. I still have bikes from when I started riding, so he can start on them. Wait, which brother are we talking about?”

Her smirk returns. “Knox. The youngest one.”

I give my head a small shake. “And how many of you are there again?”

“Six,” she states. “I’m the second oldest. Knox is the baby.”

“Ahh… Sorry, I can never remember how many siblings you have.”

“It’s a big family.” Her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Nodding, I slip my phone out of my pocket and hand it to her. “Well, I’d be happy to help Knox. Can you put his number in?”

Taking it, Paisley fills in the details before shooting Knox a quick text explaining the situation before handing it back.

“Thank you so much for this. It’ll really help me out. I can pay—”

“No need. I’m happy to do it.”

“But—”

My head tilts. “Paisley, I’m not going to let you. I’m happy to do it for the fun of it, and maybe I just want to help out your brother.”

Her grin fully forms this time, and it’s surprisingly bright for a girl who barely smiles. “Thank you, Grayson.” She turns to leave, before looking back over her shoulder. “Oh, and I will try drop him off as much as I can, but if I can’t—”

“I can pick him up. Don’t worry about it.”

Giving me a grateful smile, Paisley heads towards Ashwood Afterhours for her shift.

I spin towards my car. Time to drop everything at home before heading to Laynie’s.