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The other wore his light-brown hair just long enough to hang down the sides of his face. He was clean shaven, with male-model-gorgeous features, and a cocky smile on his face as if he knew something that I didn’t. I noticed that his eyes weren’t hazel brown like the other man’s or Henry’s. They were a stunning forest green, the color of my land’s grass during the brightest part of summer.
“Now,” spoke the taller one. “You want to tell us what the hell you’re doing with Henry?”
Chapter 3
Mac
She was so damn gorgeous that I hardly even noticed the llama next to her.
That is, until the big, black and white beast let out a snort.
“Easy, George,” she said, putting her hand on the back of the creature’s neck and stroking him gently. “They’re friends. At least, I think.”
It took me a moment to collect myself. The woman standing about thirty paces from Adam and me seemed to be in her late twenties and was absolutely stunning. She was tall and slim, wearing light-wash jeans that hugged hips that were nice and round in spite of her athletic shape. She had on cowboy boots and an orange and red flannel with a shearling jean jacket, the buttons of her flannel tenting just a bit over her breasts.
The woman wasn’t just beautiful, she was uniquely so. Her skin tone was olive, her hair dark and curly with faint, copper highlights that I could tell was obviously wild even under her hat. Her chocolate-colored eyes were almond-shaped, her lips full and her cheekbones sharp. Her eyebrows were arched in mild surprise, though I got a sense that they were normally that way.
“We’re friends,” Adam said, an easy tone to his voice. “But I gotta say, that llama looks a little on the vicious side.”
The woman allowed a small smile to form on her plush lips. Adam had always been good that way, able to diffuse tension with a well-placed joke or two.
“He is,” she said. “And he’s especially mean to trespassers.”
As if to make her point, the llama let out another snort. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hen,” I said, turning my attention to our boy. “You alright?” I looked closer, seeing a small scuff on his forehead, a tiny bit of dried blood around it.
“He’s fine,” the woman said. “He—”
I raised my palm. “He’s more than capable of speaking for himself.”
The woman narrowed her eyes. I could already tell she wasn’t the type to be talked to like that. All the same, she seemed to have the good sense to understand that she was with a child that didn’t belong to her.
“I’m OK!” he said. “I fell down. But Aubrey helped me.”
Now I had a name.
“Is that right?” I asked. “She was nice to you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s what I would’ve said,” Aubrey added. “If you would’ve beenoh-so-kindenough as to let me speak.”
Adam raised his palms. “Easy now, all of us. This is obviously an awkward situation for all parties concerned. Listen, thanks for taking care of Henry. He’s a good kid, but he’s got what you might call apredilection for wandering.”
“You turn your back on him for a second and he’s gone,” I added.
“I can see that,” she replied.
“And” Adam continued, “To make things clear, that’s the only reason why we’re on your land. We’re not the trespassing type otherwise.”
She nodded. “Fine. And in the spirit of explaining ourselves, the only reason why I was taking Henry here to my place was to get him cleaned up and give him something to eat before getting in touch with you all.”
I stuck my thumbs into my front pockets and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “Fine. Now that it’s all settled, we’ll be taking our boy and heading home.”
Her beautiful face flashed with an expression I’d seen before. It was the look people never failed to give when my brothers and I referred to Henry or Hattie as ours.
“No!” shouted Henry.
