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He clenched his jaw. “Yes. I obviously know it’s chicken feed. I can read.”
“I never said you couldn’t.” The smile fell from my face.
“Well, all you do is assume I don’t know things,” he coldly replied, his face still emotionless.
“No I don’t!” I snapped. “I have never once assumed that, and I’m sick of you thinking that I do.” Gripping the handles to my cart, I pulled back on it to put some distance between us, and began to wheel it away from him. But I paused, annoyed, and whipped around to face Weston.
He hadn’t moved a muscle.
“I don’t know what I did to offend you, Mr. Duke, but I apologize, and don’t worry—I’ll make sure it’s only Doc that takes care of your animals from now on,” I snapped at him and spun away in frustration. I shoved my cart forward and continued as quickly as I could away from that man.
“You didn’t offend me,” his voice said, startling me with how close it was. My toe caught the lip of the cart, causing me to stumble forward. My head rammed into the metal handle with a massive thunk.
I closed my eyes, embarrassed, and frustrated even more. “Can you just leave me alone?” I snarled, turning around and rubbing at the bump. I was shocked, he looked hurt by my statement, a sadness in his eyes.
“Are you alright?” he softly asked.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m not good at this small talk stuff,” Weston said, running a hand across the back of his neck and looking oddly sheepish. The frustration left quickly as I realized that this man who looked powerful and strong might not be as confident as I had first chalked him up to be. “You’re the first woman to talk to me like a normal person in a long time, and I don’t know how to react,” he added.
“Why would a woman not talk to you like a normal person? You’re not an ugly guy.”
The right side of his lips twitched briefly. “But not handsome like my brother, and it becomes painfully obvious when we’re together.” He chuckled quietly, and I stepped towards him.
“Why would you want to be like your brother? From what I hear, he can’t keep a girl to save his life despite having the option of every single one of them.”
“Even you?” His brows twitched, and I studied those intense cobalt eyes. He was shy, something you wouldn’t recognize while watching him work.
I scoffed. “No thank you. He may be conventionally attractive, but I don’t want to be with someone who settled for me because no one else was left.”
The intensity in his eyes brightened. “Did a lady just reject Cassidy Duke?”
“Absolutely right this lady rejected Cassidy Duke.” I giggled, grinning as a subtle smile cracked his lips. “Really though, why do you have chicken feed?”
His crooked smile widened. I couldn’t help but study his full lips hidden beneath that mustache of his. The way the right side of his mouth raised higher than the left was something I found myself wanting to memorize. I liked the imperfection.
“I have chickens at my house, Miss Mayn,” he answered, his gaze softening.
“It’s Tenley, and I didn’t see any chickens.”
“You didn’t see my house.” He winked and walked towards me. I backed away, bumping into the cart as his hand wrapped around part of the exposed handle. “Excuse me, Miss Tenley.”
I hesitantly slid over, and he tossed his chicken feed on top of my stack. Slowly, he began pushing the buggy forward. Walking beside him in silence, we wandered the beige and white aisles, heading towards the cash registers that sat at the entrance.
“Do you not live on the ranch?” I asked, breaking the stillness between the two of us.
“I do. Just not down near the entrance. I built my home up higher, wanting to be away from the crowd. The view from my window is breathtaking.” He turned to the left and slowed his approach.
“It’s not been too long since I’ve moved here, but honestly, that sounds like a dream. Although it’s hard to imagine something more beautiful than what I saw driving in that first day.”
He inched the cart forward, glancing away from me. The sharpness of his jawline that was speckled with dark stubble caused me to stare for a moment—up until he spoke. “You haven’t seen nothing yet.”
“Show me?” I asked without thinking, and then quickly stared forward as the cart screeched to a halt. Scarlet-hot embarrassment crashed through my body, flaming not just my cheeks but every inch of skin.
“I mean, you know, just like, uh—” I stuttered. “Like when the heifers come back… Or something…”
I felt warm all over, sweating despite the winter chill in the air. There was no way I’d just spoken that. Two words that had crossed the line.
