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They were. Cole moved forward to kiss Grace, and Rayleen stalked toward Easy. “That beer for me?” she barked.
Easy sighed as if he were already exasperated, but he handed over the open beer.
Shane watched Merry and very slowly raised a hand up to tip his hat in greeting. She blushed. He smiled. “Can I get you other ladies a beer?”
“Yes!” she said too urgently and he winked before he turned to walk to the half barrel that was filled with ice. “Easy, you need another one, too?”
“Apparently,” he groused, but Merry caught him watching Rayleen with a sidelong look. “You ladies look real nice tonight,” he said, including them all, but Rayleen flushed at the words.
Merry wished she had a right to flush herself, but she was just wearing jeans and a T-shirt again, though she had purposefully chosen her Wonder Woman shirt. Men thought Wonder Woman was hot, with her all-American bustier and high-heeled boots. Plus, it was tighter than her other T-shirts, and she wanted Shane looking at her breasts. And her waist. The curve of her hips. He’d liked them okay, hadn’t he? He’d told her she was beautiful. He’d seemed enthusiastic.
“Were you working today?” she asked when he handed her a beer.
“A little. And I went for a ride. I apologize if I look rough. I didn’t have time to stop for a shower. Maybe I should ask Cole if I can use the bunkhouse bathroom.”
“No, you look great. I mean, you look fine.” But he did look great. A little dusty, and his hair looked slightly damp with sweat against his nape. He looked…dirty. Like a gorgeous dirty cowboy who wanted to do filthy things to her in the barn or…
Merry cleared her throat and forced herself to stop staring at the wisp of hair she could see just past the open collar of his shirt. He probably smelled like sweat. Somehow that made her mouth water.
“So,” he said, as if she’d lapsed into silence for too long. “What did you do today?”
“Oh, I was finishing up the brochure. It’s going to be amazing. The board’s meeting tomorrow, and I’m going to make them take a look at it then, and I’m already planning what we’ll say to the reporter about—”
“Reporter?”
“Yes, we’re hoping to get a really solid piece written up.”
“About the vandalism?”
“Oh, God, no.” She felt the color draining from her cheeks. Cole joined them, and Grace smiled to cover her nervousness. “It was no big deal. Just a sign.”
“What did it say?” he pressed.
“Uh. Something like No More Tourists.”
“Huh.” Shane rocked back on his heels. “Any idea who it could be?”
“No!”
Cole frowned. “That’s really strange. There are people who oppose new development here, obviously, but I’ve never heard about anything like that. And it doesn’t make much sense. Why post a sign where no one’s going to see it? Usually people just send a letter to the editor of the paper.”
“Maybe it has to do with the lawsuit!” she said, throwing that poor guy under the bus when she’d vowed not to do it. But she couldn’t handle pressure. She felt like there was a bright light shining right on her and every nervous blink of her eyes was giving her away.
“Lawsuit?” Cole asked.
Shane cleared his throat and started to say something, but Merry was in full-on babble mode.
“I’m sure it’s not that, either. The guy who inherited the rest of the land is suing over the money left to Providence. It’s no big deal. Standard stuff, I’m sure. No vandalism.”
“Right,” Shane interrupted. “I’m sure it’s nothing. But you need to be careful out there from now on, okay? No more working with your earphones on.”
She nodded, and then grabbed on to the first out she could think of. “Oh! We left the food in the car. I’ll go get it.”
“I’ll help,” Shane volunteered.
Cole was frowning at him, seemingly suspicious about Shane’s quick offer to help, but Shane just started toward her car. Merry followed, relieved the interrogation was over.
“We brought pies. And Rayleen brought potato salad. None of it’s homemade, I’m afraid. Grace and I are a little hopeless in the kitchen, and Rayleen said she hadn’t worked her whole life so she could slave over a kitchen stove to please a bunch of clueless cowboys. Oh, sorry. I’m sure she didn’t mean you.”
