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“Leave him be,” Spur murmured, and Cayden appreciated his brother in that moment.
“The festival is almost over,” Olli said. “He should ask her out again. Get something on her calendar before her mother fills it up again.”
“Heis standing right here,” Cayden said, his heartbeat rippling through his chest. He fiddled with his keys, his truck to his right. “Do you really think I should ask her out again?”
“Absolutely,” Olli said. “Ginny works in spurts, Cayden. She’s busy and then not. Busy and then not. It’s a lot like you guys on the ranch, some weeks heavier in workload than others.”
“Okay,” he said. “She said after the holidays. I thought that meant all the way to Christmas.”
“No.” Olli shook her head. “Cayden, the harvest festival ends on Halloween. She’ll have a bit of time after that before she’s into the holidays and all the schmoozing her family does.” Her face brightened, and she looked up at Spur. He didn’t even twitch a muscle. “Hey, you know what? Ginny hates going to all those holiday events alone…you should find a way to offer to take her.”
“If they’re dating, he can just go as her boyfriend,” Spur said.
“Oh, Ginny doesn’t use the word boyfriend,” Olli said. “Don’t use that word, Cayden, okay?”
“Okay,” he said. His mind was stuck on Spur saying “dating,” and he couldn’t even comprehend “boyfriend.” There was too much information coming at him while Olli continued to talk, and finally Spur said, “Baby, she’s on the side of the road. Cayden’s not an invalid. Let’s let him get on his way.”
He met Cayden’s eye, and they both nodded. Cayden got behind the wheel of his truck and started down the gravel lane toward the highway. Beth’s farmhouse still had lights on inside, and he wondered where they were going for the next few days. Trey hadn’t been as forthcoming with those details, and Cayden hadn’t asked.
If he really wanted to know, he could ask Lawrence or Blaine, but Cayden tried really hard to stay out of family drama.
He turned right instead of left once he reached the highway, and sure enough, he came upon Ginny only a couple of minutes later. Her luxury SUV sat on the shoulder, absolutely no lights to indicate the car was occupied or worth anyone’s attention.
He pulled past her SUV and flipped around so his headlights shone on the hood of her vehicle. Taking a deep breath, he got out of the truck and walked toward her car. “It’s just me, Ginny.”
Her door opened, and the gorgeous, curvy, brunette stepped into the spotlight of his high beams. “Thank you for coming, Cayden.” She spoke in a voice made for queens, everything round and smooth and so proper. No wonder her mother wanted her as the public face of their whiskey distillery.
“Of course,” he said. “What happened?”
“I’ve been having some trouble with it for a couple of weeks,” she said, sighing as she leaned into the hood and looked at it. “It’s never just died, though.”
“Will you pop the hood?”
“Sure.” She ducked back into the car and a moment later, a loud clunk meant the latch had released.
Cayden told his fingers to steady and his pulse to calm down as he lifted the hood. A rush of heat hit him in the face, and he said, “You’re overheated.” He got down on the ground, pulling his phone from his pocket.
“Cayden, you’re in a suit,” she said.
“Yep,” he said with a grunt as he slid under the car. There wasn’t anything leaking out of her engine, and he suspected her radiator was bone dry. He got up with another groan and grunt, because he wasn’t in his twenties anymore. “I think it’s your radiator, Ginny. I don’t suppose you have antifreeze in your trunk or anything?”
“No,” she said.
“We can put water in it,” he said. “But I’m not sure you’d even make it home.” He checked his phone. “It’s too late for the automotive stores to be open.” His mind raced. “I wonder if we have any antifreeze on the ranch.”
She stepped to his side as he gazed at the engine. “Maybe you could just give me a ride home.”
“Yeah?” he asked. “You have something else you can drive until you get this fixed?”
“Yes,” she said simply, and Cayden didn’t detect any frustration beyond being stranded on the side of the road. He also found it odd that she’d called Olli for help, not a family member.
“Are your brothers out of town?” he asked.
“No,” she said.
Cayden finally dared to look at her. He knew better than to touch a radiator cap that had overheated. “Do you need anything from your car?”
“Just my purse.” She left his side and went to retrieve her purse while Cayden closed the hood. He met her next to her door and offered her his arm.
