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“You think Luke would sit down and have a good old heart-to-heart?”
“Oh God, no,” she said with a scrunched-up nose. Sawyer laughed, a proper throw-your-head-back laugh, as Josie shook her head. “No, no, no. You’re both as bad as each other.”
“Well, I told you so.”
“It might be good to ask him, though… You might not get to the heart-to-heart stage, but just reaching out might be the start of something.”
She watched him wisely as she sipped at her drink like a small owl. Sawyer rubbed a hand over his face, tired like his emotions had been wrung out like a wet towel. He wasn’t used to feeling them in full force like that.
“Maybe,” he conceded. Josie perked up, looking like she’d just won the Super Bowl.
“I saidmaybe,” Sawyer said, pointing a finger at her grinning, freckled face. “Don’t go getting ideas.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said, bouncing down off the fence and throwing her empty drink can into the back of the truck.
“We’ve got work to do,” grumbled Sawyer.
They started up again, pulling out damaged planks and replacing them with new ones, Josie’s victorious smile not once leaving her face.
CHAPTER 8
SAWYER
They finished much faster than either of them had planned for. They’d made quick work of repairs their first couple of times working together, but now that they were in a routine, even with such dilapidated fences, they breezed through it like they’d been working together for years.
“Go us,” Josie said, her chest puffed out, clearly proud of herself, as she should be.
Sawyer had an idea, something for Josie, a gesture of thanks for listening to him spill his guts beforehand.
“Wanna see something cool?” he asked. Josie perked up at that, her insatiable curiosity ignited.
“Yeah?”
“I mean, you know this place like the back of your hand, so you probably already know about it. It’s somewhere I used to go when I was in high school and couldn’t use football practice as an excuse to get away.”
She smiled at that, a soft, gentle smile, and Sawyer was glad that he’d offered to show her his old hiding place. It wasn’t a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates, but he figured that Josie might like this better anyways.
“I would love to see it,” she said, her voice so kind it sent tingles down Sawyer’s spine. “Even if I’ve seen it before, I’d love for you to show me.”
Sawyer nodded, intent on his mission now, trying not to think about that tingling sensation that came with hearing the softness of her words.
“Hop in the truck, then,” he said, climbing into the passenger seat. “I’ll guide the way.”
His secret hideout, which may or may not be so secret after all, was towards the back of the property. The back fields had always taken to flooding and were messy, muddy things when it rained, so they hadn’t been used all that much when he was a kid, and it seemed they were still out of use today. Sawyer had Josie pull over at the final gate and they walked from there, guiding her to a thick copse of trees so tightly packed that they looked like a wall rather than anything natural.
“You’ve got me stumped,” she said, struggling to keep up with her shorter legs. “I’ve been out here a few times, but I’ve got no idea what you’re showing me.”
Sawyer grinned, feeling victorious. At least there wassomethingthat only he knew about the ranch, even after all these years away from it.
“Is it a tire swing?” Josie asked, suddenly excited. “That would be cool.”
“It’s not a tire swing,” Sawyer said, his smile coloring his voice.
“You’re telling me it’s better than a tire swing?”
“Much better.”
“I don’t believe you. That simply isn’t possible.”
