Page 16 of Sunrise & Serenity

While he and Quinn take their plates and mugs to the sink, Harrison gets up to refill the coffeepot. After the two younger men leave, he sits back down and nudges the platter in the middle of the table toward me. “Help yourself to whatever Quinn didn’t inhale.”

The large serving dish was obviously once piled high with breakfast foods. Now, it’s been reduced to three pieces of toast, a few scraps of egg, a couple of sausages and some bacon rashers. I’ve just taken a piece of toast when a teenage girl bounces into the room.

Her inky-black hair swirls around her shoulders, and her eyes are almost the exact shade of blue as Holden’s. When they land on me, she beams.

“You must be Sage. I’m Taryn. Sterling told me you’d be coming today.” She plonks herself down in the seat Quinn just vacated. “I’m so excited you’re here. There’s way too much testosterone around this place. We need to even it out.”

I can’t help but laugh at her exuberance. “I think I can help with that.”

She snags a strip of bacon off the platter and takes a bite, surveying me. “I hope Holden’s been treating you well. Sterling said he had to put you in the cabin next to his.”

“The cabin’s lovely. And Holden’s been very, uh… helpful.”

She laughs. “Don’t let his grumpy exterior fool you. He’s a marshmallow inside.”

My brows wing up and I shoot a look at Holden. “Marshmallow, huh?”

His only response is a flare of his nostrils, but I take it as a win.

When I turn back to his sister, there’s a small line between her brows that wasn’t there before. Her attention flicks briefly over my outfit before returning to my face. I look her over in return. Faded denim shorts, a soft-looking flannel shirt left open over a tank top, and worn cowboy boots. At first glance, her clothes don’t seem all that different from mine. I’m compelled to ask. “Is what I’m wearing okay?”

“Oh, um…” She bites her lip. “It’s awfully cute. Did you get it in the city?”

I scrunch my nose. “Yes. Why does that sound like a bad thing?”

“It’s cute. Just… more fashionable than practical. Too nice to get dirty and not comfortable enough for riding, you know?”

A laugh escapes me. “I wasn’t planning to go riding. Sterling said I should be able to get most of the photos by walking or driving around.”

Holden, who’s still leaning against the sideboard, snorts. “You don’t think you need to experience the whole ranch to photograph it properly?”

I force a professional smile to my lips. “I’ll do whatever I need to do to get the best shots for the project.”

His brows rise. “Then you fancy learning to ride while you’re here, do you?”

I shouldn’t let him provoke me, but the challenge in his tone is unmistakable. “If that’s what needs to be done.”

Our eyes lock, and neither of us seems prepared to look away.

“We have ATVs too, don’t forget,” Taryn breaks in, her gaze bouncing between us. “Sage doesn’t have to get on a horse if she doesn’t want to.”

Thank god for small mercies. Although I don’t know if an ATV is any better than a horse. I’ve never been on either.

Holden crosses his arms over his chest, his expression unreadable once more.

Taryn touches me lightly on the wrist. “I can take you into town after Holden gives you the grand tour, and you can pick up some more comfortable clothes if you’d like. Ones that won’t matter if they get dirty.”

Holden straightens. “What tour? I’ve got work to do.”

“Nonsense. We can spare you for an hour or two,” Harrison says mildly. “We’ve managed for the last few years, after all.”

An emotion I can’t identify flashes across Holden’s face. His jaw tightens, but instead of arguing, he merely nods.

So much for him handing me over and disappearing, I guess.

“What do you say?” Taryn asks me. “Want to come into town with me?”

I give her a warm smile. “Thank you, that would be lovely.”