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“The high school girlfriend, right?” Dena wipes her hands off on a towel and unties her apron.
Laney snickers. “That’s my reputation ’round here now, ain’t it?”
“Accordin’ to my sources, yes.”
I snort. “You mean Wilder.”
“Please sit. I’ll serve sweet tea. Want anything to eat?”
“We ate already, but thank you,” I tell her.
For the next hour, Dena talks our ears off while asking Laney twenty questions. She nearly spits out her sweet tea when she learns about Serena and demands Laney and her move here. I want to ask her to do the same thing, but I have no right to do that.
When it gets close to Laney’s time to leave, we thank Dena again, and Laney promises she’ll see her again soon.
“Oh, Ayden. I’m fixin’ to go to the store this afternoon. It’s your turn to pick this Sunday’s menu.”
“You spoil me. I’ll text you in an hour,” I tell her so I don’t lose any more alone time with Laney.
She shoots me a wink, and I lead Laney out to my truck.
“She’s really sweet, Ayden,” she says once we head back to The Lodge.
“Like the mother I never had.”
Laney reaches out and squeezes my thigh. “Good. You deserve that.”
“When you’re here next, I’ll make sure you meet Garrett. You’ll like him. Looks like one of those beefed-up cowboys from the showYellowstone. Guests are always tellin’ him how much he looks like that one guy...”
“Rip Wheeler!” she squeals.
I crack up laughing. “Of course you’re a fan.”
“Mama and I binged it. She kept tellin’ me we needed some cowboys in our lives.”
“Got plenty of those here.” I shoot her a wink.
Her lips arch. “I’ve noticed.”
“Never seen an episode in my life, yet I know way too much about that damn show thanks to Noah and her best friend, Magnolia, talkin’ about it nonstop.”
Laney smirks. “Trust me, it’s worth the hype.”
“I don’t need to watch a show about ranch life when I live it each day.”
She smirks, shaking her head. “Still stubborn as I remember, too.”
Grabbing her hand from my thigh, I embrace it in mine and then brush my lips across her knuckles. “And you’re just as beautiful as I remember.”
ChapterSix
Laney
Ayden Carson swept me off my feet in ninth grade when he performed a whole promposal and kissed me in front of the cheerleading squad. Fourteen years later, a simple kiss on my hand has me feeling the same way.
“I’m really happy you found me and came here, Laney,” he tells me when he parks beside my rental car. I’ve been dreading this moment since I woke up this morning.
“So am I,” I admit. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him one of the secrets he’ll inevitably learn once he comes to Beaumont, but I’m too scared it’ll make him change his mind about visiting.
