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“Do you want to go with me?”
“Oh.” His head spun at the solution to spending more time with her landing at his feet, so to speak. Another whole day? And why not? Maybe because she had four big brothers who he was pretty sure would not like the idea. An idea that was quickly growing on him. Yep, now he could confirm, he’d definitely gone completely crazy. “I’d love to.”
Chapter Seven
The thought of dressing up for the Renaissance Festival in period garb had briefly crossed Siobhan’s mind, but just as quickly she discarded the idea. That had been her original plan with Bridget, but this morning with Jack, the idea simply didn’t feel right.
Unlike most mornings at the ranch, she was the only family member home when Jack’s car pulled up to the front door. Bottle of water in hand, she flung the door open and pulling it tightly closed behind her, trotted down the steps.
“I guess you’re ready to go?” Jack chuckled as she climbed into his car.
She laughed. “I love the Renaissance Festival. Wish it came to town more than once a year.”
“Ah, but then the law of diminishing returns would kick in and the anticipation and fun simply wouldn’t be there.”
Her head fell back against the seat and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Bringing up economics sounds like something my grandfather would do.”
“Thank you.” Jack put the car in gear and cast a cheeky grin in her direction. “I happen to like the Governor. I’ll consider that a compliment.”
“I like him too. Love him in fact, but I suspect the day will be more entertaining if we leave economics out of it.”
This time Jack let out a deep belly laugh. “Agreed.”
Asking Jack to this festival had been an impulse. The words had slipped out of her mouth before she gave herself a chance to think it through. Picking out a tie for him yesterday had been more fun than she would have expected. Not once did he treat her like the little sister of the family. Any moment she kept expecting him to stick his arm out and ruffle the top of her head the way he and her brothers would when she was still bouncing around in school uniforms. Her gut kept reminding her that he was still her brother’s best friend, had always been like an extra brother; and for her not to read too much into his treating her like an equal—as if there weren’t at least ten years between them. Right now, she didn’t feel much like paying attention to her gut. The plan was to simply enjoy the day and the company.
The second they crossed through the makeshift gates, the medieval world surrounded them.
“Okay, this was impressive when I was a teen and it’s still impressive now.” Jack’s gaze cut across the booths and stands and back. The twinkle in his eyes reminded her of the proverbial kid on Christmas morning.
“As much as I love the atmosphere, I’m ready for a juicy turkey leg and corn on the cob. I don’t know what they do differently, but the corn here is always so darn good.”
“First of all, you do realize it’s only ten o’clock in the morning?” Jack held back a chuckle. “And secondly, they probably roast it instead of boiling it.”
“That’s what the Governor says. One of these days I’m going to try out the theory. And for the record, it’s never too early for lunch.”
Jack let out a deep rumbled laugh. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Oh, look.” Spotting the archery booth, her arm pointed straight ahead. “Care to give it a go?”
He studied her, but she couldn’t read his face. “Sure. Have you done archery before?”
“A few times, maybe more. You?”
“A few times.” He chuckled softly. “I can probably give you some pointers if you like.”
The man had no idea what he was getting himself into. “I’ll take them.”
“I’ll go first.” Jack momentarily set his hand on her lower back and nudged her forward.
At the booth, she motioned for him to step up and choose his bow. The target field was set back beside the booth, pointing away from the crowds.
“The key is to choose the correct size bow for your strength. Bigger isn’t always better.”
Biting back a smile, Siobhan nodded and picked up her bow and arrows and followed Jack to the field. Since Jack was up first, she stepped aside as he nocked his arrow and let it fly. An acceptable shot, he’d hit the target center, but not a center bullseye.
Letting his bow down to his side, Jack stepped back. “Now you try.”
Curious to how the pseudo-Big Brother would behave, she picked up the bow, pretending to struggle. He stepped closer to her, put his large hands on hers, and softly talked her through the motions. His breath skittered across her ear, only this time it felt nothing like an annoying tease by a big brother. A girl could get used to Jack standing close, whispering in her ear, and… oh, she wasn’t going there.
