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I straighten, rolling my eyes. “I know that’s sarcasm.”
Piper shrugs, smirking a little. “I see a little of the appeal.”
“You do?” I sound incredulous, and I’m not even teasing. What bothers me most is, I can’t tell if she’s serious.
Between bouts of irritation, I overanalyzed Piper’sNatasha is prettycommentfor far too long last night. It’s the only indication that the attraction between us isn’t one-sided I’ve ever gotten from her. If she was jealous at the bar, she hid it well. And I would know, considering my attention was on her, not Natasha, even when it should have been the opposite.
Piper doesn’t reply. She stands and stretches, taunting me with a glimpse of the curve of her hip bone. She’s wearing the same pajamas she had on in the kitchen her first night here, her red curls loose and spilling over her shoulders.
“Do you need a gate opener today?”
“What?” is my brilliant response.
Piper glances at the barn. “I know yesterday…didn’t go well. But I literally have nothing else to do, so…”
I’m so taken aback that it takes me a minute to respond. “Uh, I need to run into town first and get some stuff from the hardware store. Planning to take the tractor out later this afternoon.”
She hesitates, then says, “I like shopping.”
I lift one eyebrow. “For construction materials?”
I’m positive the answer is no.
Piper smiles. “No, but I’d like to see more than Oak Grove.”
“Really?” I sound incredulous, and she scoffs.
“Really.”
“Okay then. Let me get ready, and then we can go.”
Piper nods.
I nod back, then head for the front door.
“Hey, Kyle?”
I glance back. “Yeah?”
She smirks. “Maybe you underestimated me.”
I smirk back. “Maybe you misjudged me.”
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
KYLE
Adler’s looks the same as it did the last time I was here, about five years ago. The hardware store is busier than I expected, but a broad frame cuts through the crowd and around the paint can display as soon as the bell above the door rings.
“Hey, Deacon,” I greet.
Deacon Adler grins, holding out a calloused palm for me to shake. His grip is firm. “Hi, Kyle. Good to see you, son.”
“You too.” I glance around the busy store, my gaze lingering on the redhead who stopped to look at the display of grills at the very front of the store. “Business looks good.”
“It is good. Always something broken or that needs fixing around here.”
“Don’t I know it. The farmhouse needs a new roof.”
