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“Probably best until we know whether or not this will work.”
I was tempted to ask him to specify. Whether we knew if Avery would be interested after getting on a horse? Whether he would decide to cut out on us? Whether I would bail because I couldn’t handle him right now?
But it was best to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t know if he’d live up to his end of the arrangement in the first place.
* * *
Holden
Stetson’s pickup rolled down my drive. Shit. It was Sunday, and I was grabbing a quick bite of lunch before Emery arrived with Avery.
I took another bite of my leftover-roast sandwich. Nora had made me some rendition of her gluten-free bread. It wasn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t be eating it if she hadn’t made it. Her health kick was important to her, so I didn’t give a fuck if she was following trends or if gluten shredded her insides like glass. Mom gave her enough shit for the both of us.
Stetson parked next to my pickup and got out. Tension traced across my shoulders. He’d asked me about Emery and her kids at the game, but I’d managed to evade his probing questions. We had been surrounded by kids or had gotten interrupted each time, and I hadn’t tracked back to address a damn thing.
“Enjoying a Sunday off?” Stetson asked as he swaggered toward me. My yellow Lab, Sally, beelined for him, her tail wagging so hard she could knock someone out. Stetson’s boots hit the zero-entry porch, and he leaned against the railing next to me.
“Just enjoying some of Nora’s gluten-free bread.”
Stetson blanched and scooted a couple of inches farther away. “Her shit tastes awful.”
“Not all of it.”
“Not when she actually uses butter and sugar.”
“She has food sensitivities.”
“So do I,” Stetson grumbled. “To all her food.” I was ignoring him and polishing off the rest of my crumbly sandwich when he said, “Finally gonna tell me what the thing with Emery is all about?”
I coughed around my food. The fucker would pick that moment to ask about her. He swatted me on the back and nearly sent me spilling over the railing.
“That’s what I thought,” he said and leaned on his elbows again. “She’s the one that bailed on you.”
I swallowed and took a swig of my apple cider, also made by Nora. The cider was better than the bread, but not yet as good as the stuff sweetened with real sugar. “Yup. One of her kids was sick. That’s why she had to go so suddenly.”
“Does that change anything?”
It changed everything, but I wasn’t sure how. “Krystal told her that I hate kids.”
Stetson grunted. Krystal was the type of woman both Stetson and I steered clear of. If drama didn’t follow her, she started it. I doubted she’d been in love with Stetson. She’d been in love with his family name, the big truck, the money, and the sex. And I doubted Stetson had been in love with her either, but he’d pretended he was. That part I couldn’t figure out.
“Krystal doesn’t know about you and her though?”
“Krystal doesn’t care about anyone other than herself. What’d you tell her?” I trusted Stetson, but his ex had a weird hold on him.
“Nothing. Just said you aren’t settling down anytime soon and that you didn’t want to deal with kids.”
It sounded heartless, but it was the truth, and the rest of the town didn’t need to know the details, which would’ve happened had he told Krystal what I’d gone through. Grateful he continued to keep my secrets, I just nodded.
Stetson’s jaw tensed. “Look, I haven’t told a soul. No one knows why you don’t like kids.”
I scowled. The other rumors I didn’t care about. “I don’t dislike kids.”
“No one thinks that. You know how Krystal is.” He gazed into the distance. “Don’t think I haven’t seen how you are with Liam’s boys.”
I lifted a brow. I could count on one hand how often he mentioned his half brother. Whether it was to keep the peace with his parents or to keep the town from exploding with chatter, he gave Liam a wide berth. “They’re older. Makes it easier.”
“I know. Just like I knew why the age of the kids we’re coaching bothered you. It’s why I didn’t quit bugging you.” He gave me a steady look. “Avoiding shit doesn’t make it easier.”
