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They’re much smaller than me.
And they do not like to bite people with their sharp fangs.
My heart pounded so loudly that I could hear its rhythm in my skull.
“Easy, easy,” Everly murmured.
Was she saying that for my benefit? Or the spider’s?
One of the spider’s long, hairy legs brushed against the front of my sneaker. My legs turned to jelly, and I had to force myself not to scream.
Everly bent down and scooped up the creature. A handful of children and adults gathered around, craning their necks to see.
“If you want to hold the tarantula, line up next to each other and put your hands out like this.” Ben demonstrated. “We’re creating a chain of hands. My sister will put the tarantula at the start of the line, and it will then walk across everyone’s hands. Remember, no sudden movements, or you’ll scare him.”
Everly set the hairy spider down, and my stomach lurched as I watched it crawl from one person’s hand to the next.
“What do you think?” She sidled up next to me. “Do you want to get in line?”
Heck no.
A tall guy with shaggy blond hair and a flannel shirt left the crowd surrounding the tarantula and approached us. With his beanie, shell necklace, and neatly shorn beard, he looked right at home out in nature. “That was so cool how you picked up the tarantula.”
“Thanks,” Everly said. “My mom and dad own the ranch, so I’ve quite a lot of experience handling them.”
“Really?” As the stranger ran an appreciative eye over her, I scowled.
Mountain Man needed to back off. I stepped closer to Ev, making sure I stood right by her side, but the guy ignored my presence and continued to focus solely on her.
“My name’s Graham. I just moved here from Oregon.”
She smiled. “I hear it’s beautiful up there. Welcome to Sunnyvale. I’m Everly.”
“And I’m Wyatt,” I interjected.
“Nice to meet you.” Graham’s eyes flicked to me before returning to Everly. “You have such a gorgeous name.” His grin widened, and I swear I was about two seconds from punching that smile right off his face.
“I’m done,” one of the kids yelled. “What do I do with it now?”
Throw it at Graham?
What? One can dream.
Everly stepped around Graham and picked up the creature from the child’s arm. “Great job. You were very brave.”
Graham trotted behind Everly. “I’d like a chance to hold the adorable little guy too.” He extended his arms, and she gently placed the tarantula in his palms. My breath hitched when their hands briefly touched.
The spider lightly tapped Graham’s skin with his front four legs. “He seems to like you,” Everly said with obvious delight.
Graham stepped closer to her, his arm brushing against hers. “That’s because you’re close by. Has anyone ever told you that you have a really peaceful aura?”
Nope. Just nope. I grunted and pinched the bridge of my nose. If the guy was reading auras, he should take a good long look at mine because I felt far from peaceful right now. Annoyance bubbled inside. I’d had enough of watching from the sidelines. Time to do something drastic or else continue to watch Mountain Man Graham make a move on my girl. “I’d like a turn too,” I grunted.
Everly’s face whipped around, her brows knitted together in confusion. “You want to hold it?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “But you hate spiders.”
I sure did. But I wasn’t about to take a back seat to whatever was going on between the two of them. I already lost my chance with Everly once. It wasn’t going to happen again. “You’re right. I hate them, but that doesn’t mean I can’t change. People change all the time. They change their appearances, their personal tastes, and even their relationships. And I’m ready to change my relationship status.”
Everly stared at me with a confused expression and I inwardly winced. Why had I said all of that out loud? “With this spider, I mean.”
