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He cants his head, studying me, and I bat my lashes.
“And?” he asks.
Grinning, I turn and head back toward the quad I borrowed from the house.
“And I hope you like Liam, because I’ll be bringing him out soon to see the family business,” I call behind me.
He groans, but when I turn to look back, he’s restraining a smile.
Shaking his head, he turns and walks away.
Clearly this day has not gone as planned, but at least I don’t have to worry about them killing him or anything. I guess that’s the silver lining.
And I can take Liam away from the Vincents since the Malones are being unusually nice for a change.
Chapter 21
Wild Ones Tip #522
Hell is probably wallpapered with our selfies. Just sayin’.
LIAM
“I didn’t realize you had a job,” I tell her as we turn into her father’s driveway.
We spent the entire weekend in bed. For the most part. And not just for the fun stuff. I think we tried to cram all the information about each other we could in a tiny span of time, without ever going so deep that it dragged down the conversation.
Apparently I still don’t know all her secrets, since this is coming as a hell of a surprise. She said let’s take a ride, and I went along. She waited until now to explain she had work. Work with her father and cousins.
“Have you seen my boot collection? You think my art pays for all that plus living expenses?” she asks around a derisive snort.
“It should. I paid a nice bit for that Loki piece, and it was worth a lot more,” I state warily as we pass her father’s house and continue down the long driveway.
“Yeah, but that was a rarity. Most of my expensive pieces don’t sell because I’m an unknown artist. But I still have quite a few that have been moving since Shasta strung together that really fun tour. I’ve done some more galleries since then too. However, that’s just boot money.”
She could easily make good money if she had the right contacts. Contacts I’ve offered her countless times. She won’t even let me put her work in my galleries—any of them—even though I’ve made it clear I love her art.
She thinks I’m partial.
Stubborn woman.
She stops at the end of the driveway, and raises a green flag with a beaver on it until it’s at the top with more of the same flags above it. Only one still dangles at the bottom.
“That’s boot money?” I ask, finally processing that comment as she gets back in and starts driving.
“Well, yeah. I have bill money and boot money.” She states these things as though it’s supposed to be obvious all the time, and I always smile because…I have no idea. Hell, it doesn’t take much to make me smile like a fucking schmuck.
She knows her power over me, but likes to pretend she doesn’t. Or maybe she doesn’t know, and I like to pretend she does.
We park at the end of the driveway, next to a lot of pasture land that doesn’t have lakeside views.
Four men turn to look at me from the fence they’re leaning against. Only Jared is missing from attendance. A little black sheep takes off running away from George’s loosened grip like it just got the keys to kingdom.
“You really do live on a ranch,” I state absently, frankly a little shocked.
“Farm. Not ranch,” she argues.
“What’s going on here?” George asks, his brow scrunched as he gestures toward me.
“Liam is hanging out today. I’m making him endure my presence as much as possible to test his tolerance level,” she deadpans, causing more confusion to wander around inside me aimlessly.
George nods. “Good idea. You two can start on the asses.”
“Asses?” I ask, then clear my throat since my voice cracks a little.
Just what the hell are they doing out here?
“The jackasses,” Kylie clarifies. Or tries too… “Dad has sheep, jackasses, four cows, and runs a bait shop too. We take turns working the bait shop. It opens just before dawn.” She gestures around. “Our sheep are the best quality you can find, but Malones are most known for their jackasses.”
She bursts out laughing, while all the other Malones groan in unison.
“It’s never going to be funny,” George tells her.
“It’s just too obvious,” Eric states on an exasperated sigh.
My lips twitch as Kylie’s chuckles die down, and she rolls her eyes.
“Anyway. I’ll show you all we do. Got a big auction coming up, so there’s plenty of work to do between now and then,” Kylie goes on.
I notice she’s wearing an old, beat up pair of cowboy boots. I guess that makes more sense now.
I glance down at my very expensive, leather shoes.
“Oh, shit. I should have told you so you could dress better,” Kylie says as her face falls.
She knows shoes.
