Chapter 6
Seth waited around, even after most of the party-goers had gone home.
A bunch of the ranch hands, including his ride, remained, so he didn’t have to worry about that, but he wished he’d brought his own truck now that he knew Shylo was there.
She was with the rest of the staff, cleaning up the dining room, bar tables, and kitchen.
A few times, he’d caught her eye and smiled, getting small, uncertain ones in return.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had to work so hard to gain a woman’s interest, and needed to step up his flirting game.
After the servers and bussers finished for the night, a few gathered at two of the pub tables, calling out their drink orders to Alyssa and Dean, who were still manning the bar.
Shylo was with them, but it didn’t look like she was going to stay.
Her purse hung from her shoulder, a to-go container was in her hand, and she didn’t take a seat with the others.
Seth needed to make a move before he lost her again. “Shylo!”
She swiveled her head toward him, her eyes widening a bit.
He patted the empty bar stool beside him. “C’mon over. Let me buy you a drink.”
After a brief hesitation—and a murmured “Go for it, girl” from Giselle that Seth easily read on her lips—Shylo sashayed toward him.
He’d have to thank the other woman later.
His gaze roamed Shylo’s body, memorizing every luscious curve. He loved women of all shapes and sizes, but this one was a work of art. His cock stirred with anticipation as she drew closer, and he silently willed it to behave.
She stopped beside the empty stool. “Have you been waiting for me this entire time?”
“I’ve been waiting for you all my life, darlin’.”
Her eyes rolled—if they could, he suspected they would have gone all the way to the back of her head. “Do lines like that actually work for you?”
He shrugged. “Some lines do, but that’s the first time I've ever used that one, so you’ll have to let me know if it worked or not.” When she crossed her arms and glared at him, he gestured for her to sit down. “C’mon. I promise I don’t bite. Let me buy you a drink.”
“My first drink is free.”
“So, let me buy you your second one.” When she didn’t move, he gave her a puppy-dog look. “Please?”
“Ugh.” Sighing, she hung her purse on the back of the stool. “I can’t believe I’m giving in, but fine. You can buy me one drink—one.”
With a huge grin, he flagged down Alyssa as Shylo sat beside him. “I’ll have another beer, and whatever the lady wants.”
Since he wasn’t driving, one more wouldn’t be a problem.
He paced himself throughout the evening and even had a few glasses of water in between the beers.
A hangover tomorrow would not be welcome, since it was a workday.
When Paige planned the party, she didn’t want to interrupt Bar None’s hectic Friday or Saturday nights.
Lou had posted a sign on the front door for a full week, alerting her patrons that the bar would be closed tonight for a private event.
She and the staff knew who had been invited, so no unwanted freeloaders could access the open bar and food.
“A glass of pinot grigio, Alyssa, please,” she said. “Thank you.”
While waiting for their drinks, Seth smiled at Shylo. “So, what brought you here from West Virginia?”
Her eyebrows lifted. “You remember where I’m from?”
“That surprises you? When a pretty lady talks, I listen.”
She shook her head slowly. “What is with you and those god-awful pickup lines?”
“You’re redirecting the conversation.” When Alyssa returned with their drinks, Seth thanked her. He had a tab running, so she would add them to it. He focused his attention back on Shylo. “I’ll tell you what—for every question you ask me, I get to ask you one. Fair enough?”
Instead of answering him right away, she sipped her wine. After a few moments, she tilted her head to the side, and her gaze met his. “Fair enough. But we can pass on any question we don’t want to answer.”
Her response made him a little suspicious, but it intrigued him more than anything. “I’m an open book, darlin’. I doubt you’ll ask me anything I don’t want to answer, but you can pass if you want. You can go first.”
“Okay.” She stared at the bottles of liquor behind the bar for a moment. “I’ll start with an easy one. Did you grow up in Hazard Falls?”
“Nope. Redmond, Oregon. Lived there until I was eighteen. Then I roamed around for a bit, taking jobs on the rodeo circuit while trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I met one of my bosses six years ago in a bar in Oklahoma after he took a buckle in bronc-riding at a rodeo. We chatted for about two hours, and then he offered me a job at a ranch here in Hazard. I never regretted accepting it.”
“Do you still have family in Oregon?”
He wagged a finger at her. “Ah-ah. That’s two questions. You have to answer one first.”
Her eyes rolled. “Fine.”
While she took another sip of her wine, he said, “Back to my original question—how did you end up in Hazard from West Virginia?”
She let out a long sigh. “I lived in a small town all my life and hated it. It wasn’t much bigger than here. After my mom died of cancer a few months ago, I had no other reason to stay there.”
Seth reached over and gently squeezed her hand before releasing it again.
“I’m sorry about your mom. That’s rough.
I lost mine to suicide when I was eight—she had a mental illness for a long time.
My father’s new wife and I don’t get along—I refuse to call her my stepmother. She’s one of the main reasons I left.”
Her eyes filled with unshed tears, and at first, he figured she was thinking of her mother since her loss was so recent, but then she said, “You were only eight? How awful. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I was still a kid when my mom got sick.”
“You have no other family?”
Her gaze dropped as she slowly turned her wineglass between her fingers. “Not any I want to claim.”
“I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say after that, so he took another sip of beer. “Um... I think it’s your turn to ask a question.”
She paused for a few moments. “Okay, let’s get off the sad subjects. What do you do on the ranch? What kind of ranch is it?”
A grin spread across his face. “That’s two questions, but I’ll let it slide since I can combine the answers into one.
I work at the Triple-R—Red River Ranch—which is a cattle ranch.
I maintain all the buildings and the property around the main house, the bunkhouses, and the barns.
I fix whatever needs fixing and take care of the landscaping and stuff. ”
She seemed surprised about that—her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open, but he wasn’t sure why.
Before he could question it, she asked, “That’s the Wilsons’ ranch, right?
Giselle told me a little about Shane, Tucker, and Paige.
I’ve never known anyone in a ménage relationship, but they seem happy. ”
She didn’t appear appalled or disgusted by the threesome, which was good.
Seth would’ve walked away if she had. He was definitely interested in her, but people who were anti-LGBTQ pissed him off.
The Wilsons were his family now, and he wouldn’t stand for them being ridiculed or insulted.
“They’re very happy. And yes, the Triple-R is their ranch. ”
“Oh. So, um... you don’t ride a horse and wrangle the cattle? Is that the right word?”
“Yes, it is. And I can ride a horse with my hands tied behind my back, but I mostly only help with the cattle during branding or vaccination days. I have no desire to walk through fields of cow patties every day.”
“Cow patties? Is that what I think it is?”
“Probably,” he said with a chuckle. It was the polite way to say cow shit. “Okay, that was seven questions, darlin’. You have some catching up to do?”
“You’re seriously keeping track?”
“That’s eight. And yes, I am. My turn. When you left West Virginia, what were your plans? Heading somewhere specific?”
“That’s two—I’m keeping track now, too, since it’s only fair.”
She raised her wine glass to her lips, and he was mesmerized watching her sip the straw-colored liquid. When she set the glass back down on the bar, it was empty, and he signaled for Alyssa to refill it and put it on his tab.
“Thank you,” Shylo said. “And to answer your questions, I don’t really have concrete plans of where I’m going.
With my mom gone, I couldn’t stay in Brimley Flats anymore.
Like I said, I hated that town and the people in it.
I would’ve left long ago if I could’ve convinced Mom to go with me.
But she wanted to stay. So now, I guess I’m doing what you did at eighteen—roaming around, looking for where I belong. ”
“So, maybe you’ll stay in Hazard for a while? It might be a small town, but most of the people here are pretty nice.” He leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Just stay away from Bridget Kline and her mean-girl crowd.”
“Kline? Any relation to the mayor? I met him and his wife last night—they were here for dinner with another couple.”
He snorted and sat up again. “Yup. Richard the dork and Alice the pearl-clutcher—I’m surprised they were here.
Bar None is a little too casual for the likes of them.
And Bridget is their daughter. She gave Paige a lot of crap when she first moved here.
After Shane and Tuck’s first wife passed away, Bridget wanted them for herself.
Well, actually, I think she just wanted Shane, since the Triple-R is technically his and is worth a lot of money.
But he and Tucker were a package deal and had no interest in her. ”
“The Triple-R is a big ranch?”
“Yeah—twenty-seven-hundred acres and over fifteen hundred head of cattle.”
“Wow. I know nothing about ranches—I’ve never even been on one—but that sounds huge.”
He nodded. “It’s the largest cattle ranch within a sixty-mile radius, but it’s far from the largest in the state, which is about eight hundred thousand acres.”
“Holy cow!”
“Right? Even though the Triple-R is smaller than those mega ranches, it’s still profitable.
It’s been in Shane’s family for five generations, and it’ll get passed on to his kids.
Although I think Arianna wants to go to school to be a veterinarian.
When she was younger, every other week she wanted to be something else when she grew up.
But for the past year, she says being a vet is what she wants.
She even volunteers at the local animal shelter for a few hours on Saturdays. ”
Shylo smiled softly at him. “It sounds like you’re proud of her.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Does it? Yeah, I guess I am. While we’re not blood-related, I think of her as my niece.
Same goes for Ashley and whatever they’re going to name the boy when he’s born.
Pretty much everyone who works at the Triple-R considers each other family.
The Wilsons are good people.” An idea popped into his head.
“Listen, we’re having a barbecue at the ranch on Sunday.
Why don’t you join us? I’ll show you around. ”
“Oh, I couldn’t intrude like that.”
“It’s not intruding if you’re invited. They have barbecues once a month for their employees when the weather is nice, and families and dates are allowed, so you can be my date.
” He gave her a smile that usually got him laid.
Although for some reason that was no longer his primary goal with Shylo.
Oh, he definitely craved to get her into his bed, but he realized he liked her a lot already and wanted to get to know her better. “C’mon. Whatta say?”
She bit her lip. “Um... if you’re sure it’s okay...”
“It is.”
“Then, all right—I’d love to go.”