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“Well, spill it.”
“I think I have a crush on the owner of this place,” I whisper into the line, not wanting to take the chance that Brent is still in the barn and hears me.
“Ooh,” she says, no doubt smiling at the idea of me having a new love interest that isn’t Heath — they never were the biggest fans of each other, not that I blame them. Heath always tried to make himself look better when she was around, as if he couldn’t stand the idea of her and I being as close as we were. “Keep talking.”
I sigh into the line and lean back against the headboard, my gaze casting to the window as if I’ll be able to spot Brent outside of it. I’m two stories up, there’s no way I’d be able to see him from this spot no matter how hard I tried. “It’s complicated, Justine. He practically hates me. Probably has a shrine with my face on it that he targets every night before bed just to make himself feel better.”
I’m being dramatic, I know this, but that’s how bad he acts toward me.
Justine snorts and clears her throat. “And why do you think that?”
I roll my eyes. “You should see the way he looks at me when I’m walking around this place, as if he’s waiting for the perfect chance to kick me out. His son is really sweet though.”
“Son? How old is this guy?”
“Not sure, but his son is eighteen, or turning eighteen. One of the two.”
“Huh, that’s interesting,” she mumbles.
“What’s interesting about that?”
“Well, I’ve never seen you interested in anyone who had a kid. It’s like you’ve had this voice in your head telling you that anyone with kids is off-limits.”
She’s not wrong. It seems as though every time I had a date with someone and they had a child, I ran in the opposite direction. There’s no obvious reason as far as I know, but Justine could be onto something even if I don’t realize it myself.
I shake my head and throw my head back, cracking it against the wooden base behind me. “He was working out tonight.”
“Nice, a little bit of action!”
I shake my head. “Not exactly. It was more me watching from a distance and him not realizing I was there.”
“Oh, taking up stalking now?”
“It’s not like that,” I mumble. “Was just curious what he was doing out there, so I followed him. Heath wants me to get this information, but there hasn’t been much else other than what I already gave him. Thought lurking in the shadows would help, but now I’m all hot and bothered.”
Justine giggles. “I’m sure you can figure out a way to not be so hot and bothered anymore, get creative with it if you can.”
I groan loudly. “I’m not going to jump the man, he’s recovering from an accident!” The idea of it doesn’t sound too bad, but I will not let Justine corrupt me. Maybe I can steer the conversation away from me now. “So, how are things going?”
“Guess I should’ve known I wouldn’t be able to keep quiet for long.” There’s shuffling on her end and she sighs into the line. “I’m not even sure where to start. I confronted him about my suspicions and he’s had a short fuse with me ever since. All we’ve done is argue about trust.” Her sniffles come right back as she speaks and my heart breaks for her.
“Are you still thinking he’s cheating on you?”
“I don’t know, Syd, but I’m sick of waiting up for him all the time and he doesn’t get home until I’m already asleep. I’ve been wanting to go out with him, but he claims that work is too busy for him to do anything.”
That’s odd. “Maybe he’s stressed over something else. Have you tried asking him what’s been going on? It’s not like his work is top secret or anything.”
“I’m just worried asking more questions will only make things worse for the two of us. I’ll figure it out,” she says, then yawns loudly into the phone. “I’m heading to bed though. Night, love you.”
“Love you, too. I’ll try to call you soon, or we can plan to meet up when I get back next week.”
“I’ll text you.” The line clicks off after that and I’m left sitting with my phone in my hand, wondering what the hell I’m going to do about the grumpy man across the field.
All my mind can seem to conjure up when it comes to Brent is the sight of the muscles he hid under that shirt. The way they clenched with each rep he did with the weights nearly had me falling to my knees and begging for a taste of him. I can’t imagine that would’ve gone well had I gone through with that, which is why I brought my horny ass right back to this house.
If he hates me without me making a fool of myself, I can’t imagine what he’d think of me if I did. What could I do to make him see a different side of me? I’m sure it’s not easy watching a stranger take residence on your property, no matter how friendly Nathan seems to be about the whole thing. And after an accident like his? It’s probably hard on him and the only way he lets it out is through anger.
As I curl back under the blankets, I have a newfound determination to get Brent to stop scowling at me.
