Page 50 of Hometown Hottie

“It might be worth a shot talking to him directly.” Vance lay on the bench and wrapped his fingers around the bar. “He might give you some grief for it, but that’s better than him feeling like you’re trying to go behind his back.”

“Fair enough. I’m not trying to go behind his back, though. I talked to Nova about it first because she showed up at my house. Apparently, the realtor told them I was gunning for the stretch of property that includes her house, the bakery, and the market area.”

Vance’s eyes went wide before he started laughing. “Wow. I bet she was not happy with you.”

“Not even a little bit,” I said. “At least we know what the realtor’s plan is now, but it’s not good for the Murphys.”

“You’re not a Murphy.” He started pushing at the bar, his muscles flexing. Then he lifted it out of the cradle and slowly lowered it to his chest. “Has it ever occurred to you that this isn’t your problem to fix?”

“Yep, it’s occurred to me, but I can’t seem to stop. This is Red Stone Ranch we’re talking about, man. You and I practically grew up there. What would we have known about discipline without George’s chores whenever we went out there? Where would we have been without the dedication he beat through our thick skulls one responsibility at a time?”

Vance grunted and lifted the bar back into place. “I’m not arguing with you, bro. Being on that ranch taught us a lot and those are lessons that helped us achieve everything we did.”

“But?”

“But you’re still not a Murphy. I don’t want to see them lose that place either, but ultimately, it’s theirs to lose.”

I didn’t like it, but he wasn’t wrong. At this point, I was sure all the Murphys knew I was willing to help them out. If they wanted me to, they would come to me. Until then, I wasn’t a Murphy and this was none of my business.

My friend seemed to sense the change in my mood and grinned. “Do you remember the blonde from Moe’s that night?”

“Vaguely.” I frowned. “Why?”

“I’ve been hanging out with her,” he said as we swapped so I was the one on the bench and he was spotting me. “Her name is Jessie and she’s a true blue country girl. She’s even taking me horseback riding later this week.”

I burst out laughing before I’d even lifted the bar once. Vance bent over and scowled at me. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” I said but sat up. “Maybe we should do a set of deadlifts first. I’m not going to be able to do this if you keep making me laugh.”

“I still don’t know what’s so funny.”

I chuckled some more. “I was just picturing your fat ass on a horse. Poor beast. You better start taking this workout a little more seriously, man. All this homecooked food and cold beer is getting to you.”

He gave me a playful shove. “Pots and kettles, Carson. Pots and kettles. Let’s do this before we both reach the point of no return.”

I nodded, ready to lose myself in the workout and clear my mind of all things Murphy. There was no exercise that would make me forget about Nova, but the rest of it? I would give it time to come to me, and if that didn’t happen, then I’d try and try again.