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Was he teasing or was he upset? Maybe both? His eyes both sparkled with humor and glinted with annoyance. Wow, those stormy blue eyes reminded her of West’s. Everything did.
“Oh c’mon.” She quickly changed the subject to what she wanted it to be. “What do you have against love?”
“Nothing.”
Their gazes locked. Why was he giving her West vibes? She couldn’t figure it out. Just like the rest of his brothers, Cole was taller and bigger—yeah, much bigger—he happened to be more built than any of them. The kid must wrestle cattle for a living, but his mannerisms? His similarities to West cracked her up. Those level stares of his belonged to his brother, but while West was always up for a good time, Cole was a little stick in the mud.
She could hardly wait to ruffle his feathers.
“Mr. Pip!” She raised her hand to tattle on him. “Cole is being mean.”
Pip turned a stern look on them. Of course, he was delighted to be taken seriously as one of the teachers. He waved his hands at him. “What are you doing to Eva?”
Cole burst into a laugh that he quickly covered up. “I swear.” He held up his hands, still carefully balancing the baby chick on his arm. “I was being really nice.”
“Stop talking or I’ll give you five years’ worth of homework,” Charlie yelled over the squirming little pups. He still tried to peel Lizardman and Ballerina away from their roughhousing.
“I think he should be punished,” Eva suggested.
“I’m the teacher,” Charlie reminded her. “No tattletaling, or you don’t get recess.”
Whoa, tough crowd.
The baby chicks rushed out of the way of the playful puppies, squawking loudly with a rustling of their tiny fluffy bodies. “You better watch out,” she warned the chicks. “Charlie’s going to fail you for making such a fuss.”
Charlie assured the fleeing babies that they were fine while he tried to get ahold of the pups. Cole reached over and dragged Lizardman back onehanded. “Come here, little guy.”
Eva picked up her phone and shot off a text to West like she’d been far too busy to reply until now. “Charlie and Pip are too cute! Come out to the barn. You’re missing out. We’re snuggling big eyed baby animals without you.” She scooped up the displaced chicks and snapped a shot of herself with them. She made sure to get the best angle that she could find of herself before she sent it off to West.
She caught Cole’s surprised look on her.
She smoothed her hair back, trying to pick up the threads of their conversation. “My friend Ashley is cool,” she said, barely remembering where they left off.
He shook his head. “You’re still on that?”
“I won’t be happy untilyouare happy,” Eva declared.
“Then be happy because I’m happy… alone.”
Nonsense. No one was.
“It might come as a surprise to you,” he said, “but not just any woman is going to fit the bill. I actually enjoy the single life, so if the right woman does come along, she’d better be pretty special because I plan on making her my life.”
That was sweet. He might not have West’s polish, but he certainly had his charm… more actually. Or was that what people called sincerity?
And still, there were holes all over his theory. “How will you know if someone is or isn’t the right girl if you don’t get to know her?” she asked.
“Quiet!” Pip took over the teacher role while Charlie wrestled down Ballerina. “Get out your reading bookth.”
“Reading?” Cole complained. “Teacher, I forgot my book.”
“Mine is in my phone,” Eva said. She turned to Cole. “Just use your phone.”
He cracked a smile. “I don’t drag that thing around like you do.”
Interesting.
“Headth down and read,” Pip ordered.
