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“That’s not going to work, Mama,” he said, letting his arm swing back and forth, his attention on the platform across from him. He’d thrown plenty of cornholes;one more, please, he prayed just before he released the bag.
It sailed through the air. The crowd held its breath, the drumroll silent.
The bag landed, slid, and dropped right through the hole.
Blake threw his arms up into the air, a primal yell coming from his chest and throat. Starla shrieked, and Nash next to her whistled through his teeth. Everyone cheered and clapped, and Blake turned just as Gina ran into his arms.
He lifted her right up off her feet, the two of them laughing and laughing.
“That’s gonna put them in…” Todd paused while he did some math, checked times, and did whatever Todd did to calculate the family placements. He looked up, his eyes smiling. “We need to finish the other two games first. Then I’ll figure it out.”
“What does that mean?” Gina asked as Blake set her on her feet. She met his eye, concern in hers.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he said. “We’ll definitely not be in last place, and that was your requirement, remember?” He bent and picked up the single red bag his father had thrown. “Let’s see how Starla’s doing.”
His adrenaline continued to pump through his veins as he watched Jesse and Starla toss their cornhole bags, and he found himself watching his brother more than the game. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Jesse this calm during the family cornhole tournament, and Blake had for sure never seen him smile so much when bags slid off the platform.
For Starla, though, Jesse only seemed to have smiles. He leaned down as shoes and boots crunched over gravel to gather bags, and whispered to Gina, “I think Jesse might have a crush on Starla.”
Gina leaned in to hear him, and then she shook her head. “Nope,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“Wrong brother,” she said. “That’s how I know.”
Blake immediately started looking around at the siblings and other cowboys and employees gathered to watch the last two games. None of his brothers even looked at Jesse and Starla as they played Nash and Ashley. Each team kept bouncing back and forth into the lead position until Jesse and Starla only needed one more point to win.
“Drumroll,” Blake called as Starla held one bag in her hand and studied the cornhole platform across from her. Nash, who’d been playing the whole time on the same side as Starla, chuckled and grinned at her, but he didn’t join in the drumroll.
Blake’s smile widened, because he’d just spotted the brother who had a crush on Starla. His mind riddled with confusion, because Nash also had eyes for Ashley. Pieces clicked into place a moment later when Starla launched her corn bag, because Nash had always been indecisive.
He probably liked Starla for her mad skills in the kitchen, but he was physically attracted to Ashley because she was younger with a lot of blonde hair.
The crowd roared again, and Blake tore his eyes from his brother to the other end of the cornhole pitch. He couldn’t see what had happened, because Jesse was already running toward them, and he did the same thing Blake had done to Gina: He picked Starla up and swung her around, the two of them laughing.
Nash stood on his side of the board, applauding while Ashley joined him at a slower clip than Jesse had. “Congratulations,” he said good-naturedly, and he hugged both Starla and Jesse.
Starla turned to Gina, and the two of them squealed. “You were right,” Starla said, and Blake patted her awkwardly on the shoulder too.
“Congrats, Starla.”
“Thanks.”
“What was I right about?” Gina asked, linking her arm through Starla’s. To think she’d been nervous to work for the woman only a few months ago.
“Cornhole is fun,” Starla said with a glint in her eye that said more than that. Unfortunately, Blake didn’t speak Female super well, and especially Non-Verbal Cue Female.
“It is,” Gina agreed, grinning far too much for what Starla had said.
“Okay,” Todd said, coming through the crowd. “I’ve got the new leaderboard.” He waved everyone out of the way to the pole that held the leaderboard, which stood about ten feet high. “In first place, we’ve got Holly and Sierra.”
Everyone clapped, and both Holly and Sierra did some ballerina move though neither of them had taken a dance lesson in their life.
“Then Adam and Lowry,” Todd said to more applause. From there, it was Monday Mack and Little Nick, Nash and Ashley, and then Todd and Kyle.
“In sixth place, we have making a big comeback from last week, Blake and Gina.”
Gina curtseyed for everyone, which drew some laughter, and Blake simply welcomed her back to his side and pressed his lips to her temple. Such a feeling of contentment and adoration filled him, and he wondered if that was what love felt like.
