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Feeling a little awkward caught between Rylee and her mom, I just nodded before attempting to change the subject. “I should be getting back now,” I said to excuse myself. I wanted more time to think over my plan with Rylee and being in her presence and Robin’s at the same time was no way to do that.
“Of course, thanks for coming over, Spencer, and thanks again for your help with Archie! I’ll see you for our ‘date’ on Friday,” Robin told me with a short laugh.
I smiled at her. “I’ll come and pick you up at seven. It was nice meeting you, Rylee.” I could hardly look in her direction. I didn’t want to be the one to give away that we’d met before. If I pissed Rylee off anymore, things might really be over between us.
“It was nice to meet you too, Spencer,” she answered, looking more confident than I felt, and with that, I headed for the door.
The drive home was fueled by nervous energy. I told myself that at least once I was back, I could speak to my buddy Sam about it all. I was staying with him on the ranch while I was in town. He was the only high school friend I’d stayed in touch with outside of reunions and I knew I could rely on his advice.
The countryside sprung up around me and glittered in the orange and pink rays of the dusk as the sun slinked away below the horizon. The ranch looked the same as always as I parked up and I passed Sam’s sheepdog, giving him a pet as I went, before heading through the open front door.
“Sam!” I called.
The ranch owner appeared from the kitchen, wiping his hands clean with a cloth as he approached. Despite being three years older than me, Sam looked like he might be in even better shape. The hard labor on the ranch day-in and day-out made him muscular in ways I don’t think a gym could. Unlike me, his hair hadn’t started graying. It’s brown and short, tousled a little from the wind, and his green eyes looked at me quizzically.
“So, how’s your fake girlfriend doing?” he asked with a wry smile.
I rolled my eyes at him and crossed my arms. “She’s doing just fine, but she isn’t the problem,” I confessed.
“Oh?” Sam replied, his interest peaked as he draped the cloth over his shoulder and approached me. “What’s the problem, chief?”
“It’s Rylee.”
“Robin’s girl?” Sam confirmed, his eyebrows narrowing. “Why, she’s a lovely girl. I always have a nice chat with her when I go down to the grocery store while she’s working. How could she be a problem?”
“I slept with her before,” I admitted with a huff. “I think I might be falling for her.”
“So, let me get this straight…” Sam started with a twinkle in his eye that I knew would lead to no good. “You’re pretending to be dating Robin, but you actually want to be dating her daughter? A daughter you’ve already done the deed with?” Sam let out a low whistle and shook his head. “Boy, am I glad that I stay on the ranch and keep myself to myself. None of that dating business. No, the most awkward thing I experience is when I accidentally make eye contact with a steer while he’s trying to relieve himself!”
Sam burst into a fit of laughter and I couldn’t help following him. This crazy, weird day had left me feeling a little out of sorts. It felt good to laugh and focus on something other than the question that had been plaguing me all day:
How was I going to speak to Rylee away from Robin?
4
Rylee
Two days passed and I didn’t see Spencer again. Frankly, I was grateful for that. He’d thrown me for a loop with his sudden reappearance in my life and I was hoping he’d be gone quickly so he didn’t interfere with my life or Jayden’s. After all, he’d proven he wasn’t exactly the most dependable guy after he’d slept with me and then disappeared. I let out a sigh and glanced up at the clock. It had only just gone eleven and I had hours of my shift still left to go at the grocery store. Thankfully, I had someone to keep me company.
“Colin put me on a Saturday evening shift again next week,” Dahlia, my best friend, complained from the check out next to mine. She let out a huff of breath and began to twirl her long, curly auburn hair between her fingers.
“I can swap with you if you want,” I offered. I didn’t mind taking the later shifts since it meant I got to spend more time with Jayden during the day and my social calendar wasn’t exactly brimming with events.
“Are you sure?” Dahlia asked, her hazel eyes watching me with concern. “That would be your third Saturday evening this month!”
