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Emerson rolled his eyes before picking up a water bottle and tossing it my direction. We both took a drink, then got back to work. I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Brian the whole time.
A little while later, Sam rode up on a horse, sweaty and sexy with a big grin for my best friend. He was younger than us, with honey-colored hair and a kindness you could feel.
“Hey…did you know there was a king who was twelve inches tall?” Sam always told corny jokes, mostly to Emerson, who would then glow like someone had shoved a light bulb up his ass. It was incredible how head over heels in love he was.
“Stop telling Charles about my dick,” Emerson teased.
“It’s a nice one, but it ain’t that big.” Sam winked and climbed down. “Anyway, he was a terrible king but a great ruler.”
Emerson chuckled and kissed Sam.
“That was bad,” I said.
“I got more where that came from. You guys done any work today or what? I swear, you city boys,” Sam joked before the three of us got busy again. They were expanding and getting more animals. They were also planning a workshop for Sam, who wanted to start building furniture.
When I left, I looked up a music store. The closest was over forty-five minutes away. Still, I ran to the small house I’d rented, showered, got dressed, and drove there. I bought a full eighty-eight-key digital piano with a stand. It wasn’t as good as an actual piano, but it would have to do. Even if I didn’t become friends with Brian, it would be nice to play while I was there.
Sometimes I felt like I had the best luck in the world. How else would you explain that I just happened to head for the grocery-store doors right as Brian did? I grinned, and he frowned. He was wearing baggy jeans that rode low on his hips, a threadbare T-shirt with a small hole by the seam at the bottom, and a baseball cap. His dark hair stuck out from under it, and his thick scruff made him look slightly rugged. There was absolutely no reason he should look so sexy, but he did. I had to remind myself he was straight, and while I’d noticed him because I wanted to fuck him, now it was about something different. “Fancy seeing you here,” I told him.
“Are you followin’ me?”
I chuckled. “No, but I can see why you’d ask. I promise I’m not a stalker. I’ve only been accused of that three times, and out of those, just one was the truth.”
His eyes widened comically, and when I couldn’t hold back my smile, Brian did the damnedest thing by flipping me off. “That’s not funny.”
“I thought it was. I bet you secretly do too. Anyway, lucky for us that we showed up at the same time. Do you want to go shopping with me?”
This time his face morphed into complete confusion. “Why would I want to do that? Why would you want to do that?”
I clutched my chest. “You’re breaking my heart, Brian. You keep this up, and I’m going to think you don’t want to be friends.”
“This still feels like you’re playin’ games with me,” he said, moving out of the way when two customers walked in. They frowned at us, so I was pretty sure they heard him, but it didn’t seem to bother Brian.
I moved closer to him. “It might seem that way, but I really am just trying to be friends. I’m sure it doesn’t make much sense to you, but like I said the other day—”
“Not much in life does make sense,” he replied.
“Exactly.” Not wanting to lie to him, I added, “I had a brother… He passed away. Something about you reminds me of Paul.”
His gaze snapped to mine, filled with an intensity I couldn’t read. Maybe because he’d lost his brother too? I guess it could have been his sister—Sutton’s mom—but seeing the twist of emotion in his eyes, I didn’t think so.
“Don’t know how good I’ll be at being a friend,” he finally replied.
“That’s okay.”
“Or at shoppin’ with someone.”
I smiled. “That’s okay too.”
“I might change my mind about the first one, but for now, if you wanna walk around the store with me, well, I guess it’s a free country. Can’t stop ya.”
My pulse picked up in an unfamiliar way. “Like I said, you’re a tough cookie to crack.”
“It still don’t make sense,” Brian replied, but we went into the grocery store together, each getting a cart, and started to shop.
CHAPTER THREE
Brian
I didn’t understand why we were doing this—why Charles was so intent on being my friend. I’d lived in Ryland my whole life, and after Nadine fell in love with my brother and I pulled away from everyone, no one had pushed to be close to me. Now this man from the city was doing exactly that, all because I reminded him of his brother. It’s what had hooked me and reeled me in, the whole reason I was walking with him, both of us pushing grocery carts together.
