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“Probably some town skank,” Grayson adds.
“Don’t worry, I was thinkin’ about your sister the whole time,” I spit out and immediately move out of Riley’s punching range. Rowan made a good point the other day that it’ll raise red flags if my normal teasing about her disappears. She insists that we need to keep arguing around people.
“Dude, I swear to God,” Riley growls, running after me as I rush toward the B&B and fly up the steps. He knows once we’re inside, he can’t try to kick my ass around the guests. As soon as I whip open the door and go in, he pushes my back and has me nearly flying into John. And he doesn’t look happy.
“Guys.” He steadies me, then steps back. “Behave or leave.”
“Sorry.” I swallow hard and hold back my smile. “I tripped.”
John snaps his eyes to Riley who’s giving him his best innocent look while Grayson covers his mouth with his hand, trying not to laugh.
“Hurry and eat so you can get out,” John tells us before walking away.
The three of us make our way to the breakfast buffet and fill our plates full before taking a seat at one of the tables. We’re chatting about what we need to do the rest of the day when Maize, Kenzie, Elle, and Rowan all walk out of the kitchen.
Shit.
“Oh, if it isn’t the morning freeloader crew,” Maize says smugly as she holds a plate of fresh muffins.
“Got a blueberry one?” Grayson asks, ignoring her snide comment.
“Not for you, asshole,” Kenzie replies before Maize can.
Riley and I burst out laughing as Grayson narrows his eyes at her. “Pretty sure I didn’t ask you.”
“Okay, children. There are guests around.” Maize grabs one of the muffins from the tray and hands it to Grayson. “Can I personally serve anyone else?” She flashes a condescending grin, unamused with us being here.
“Well, if you’re offering—” I grin, knowing it’ll piss off Riley or Maize.
“Not that kind of serving,” Rowan interrupts, flashing me a glare that could kill. I know she’s not really mad, but she’s damn good at putting on an act.
“Shit.” Riley shakes his head, stabbing his fork into his eggs. “How you two manage to always piss off all the Bishop chicks is beyond me.”
“I’m pretty sure Diesel’s been doing it since I was born.” Rowan rolls her eyes, then stalks away.
“I think she likes you,” Grayson mocks, and I kick him under the table.
“Don’t worry, Diesel. I don’t hate you,” Kenzie says with a cheeky grin, then adds, “as much as Rowan.”
“No, you just act like a spoiled brat,” Grayson mutters.
Before Grayson can react, Kenzie grabs the muffin from his hand and smashes it against the table, digging her palm into it. The thing is nothing but a pile of crumbs.
Riley and I are nearly doubled over at Grayson’s shell-shocked expression.
“What the hell?” He scowls at her.
“Enjoy your breakfast, boys,” she says sweetly before walking away.
“You better clean that up,” Maize tells him before leaving.
Grayson grunts, wiping up the mushy mess.
“You two need to just fuck it out, for Christ’s sake,” I tell him. Their rivalry started months ago, and no one really knows the reason. “Why does she hate you anyway?”
“Good fuckin’ question.”
“Probably calling her a brat doesn’t help your case,” Riley taunts.
“Well, am I wrong? Look at what she just did!” He holds out his hands, motioning to the table.
Laughing, I shake my head and continue eating. I’m almost certain there’s gonna come a time when they finally bang it out. It makes me think about Rowan and how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time. It gives me hope that someday we’ll be able to tell everyone, and they’ll support us being together.
Once the three of us are done eating, Grayson and I go off to work in the cattle barn while Riley does other maintenance shit.
“So, tell me honestly,” Grayson says when we’re knee-deep in cow shit. “You’ve been different the past week or so. What’s goin’ on?”
Fuck my life. He chooses to ask me this now?
“Nothing’s goin’ on,” I lie, shrugging so he doesn’t notice any of my tells. “Can’t a guy just be in a good mood?”
He narrows his eyes as if he’s trying to read my mind. “I don’t know. Something is up with you, and I’m gonna figure it out.”
Laughing, I keep my eyes down and continue shoveling to avoid his hard gaze. “Why don’t you worry about yourself instead of me? Actually, go figure out why Kenzie hates your guts so much.”
“Dude, she’s hated me since the second I got here, I swear. I breathed, and she decided I was the devil.”
I snort at his remark. Kenzie wouldn’t just hate someone for no reason, but honestly, there’s no telling. She’s three years younger than me, and I didn’t talk to her a lot in high school. It wasn’t until I started working here full-time that I did.
