Chapter 8
Holt
Grayson’s text couldn’t have come at a better time.
The guys might have teased me about preparing for an inquisition, but that’s exactly what I need.
Gia has been staying at my house for a week now, and I think I’m about to lose my mind. We both tried to find another place for her to stay, and not a single hotel, B&B, inn, or the like has a vacancy until Sunday, when the Ice Festival is over.
I somehow have to survive two more days with the walking wet dream that is Gia Miller.
And tonight was the straw that almost broke the camel’s back.
The girls had been begging to have a sleepover with Mom and Dad, and my parents were ecstatic to have them, but that left me and Gia alone on a Friday night.
I made it through an excruciating dinner, watching her plump lips kiss a glass of wine over and over again, and then I got Grayson’s text.
I bolted as soon as I could, making an ass out of myself, and Gia definitely noticed. She had a little smirk on her face while I stumbled through explaining where I was going. I wanted to kiss it right off her face, so I turned tail and ran to Grayson’s instead.
I walk right into his small farmhouse without knocking.
We grew up together and ran the bull riding circuit with Knox when we were young.
Knox was the only one of us who was good enough to get sponsorships, but we had a blast doing it.
Emmett came along after we’d all moved back home.
After he got out of the army, he moved here to be closer to his sister, Emily, and we’ve been good friends ever since.
We joke that we had kids at the same time because we knew we’d never be able to handle fatherhood on our own. In reality, it was happenstance, but I’m fucking glad to have them at my side when shit gets hard.
“Holty!” Grayson shouts when I walk into his kitchen. He pulls out a sheet tray of pizza rolls from the oven and drops it on his stovetop with a hiss of pain. “Fuck!” The oven mitt on his hand goes flying when he shakes out his arm. “Shitty mitt has a hole in it.”
He rushes over to the sink to run cool water over his burn. I snatch the mitt from the ground and throw it in the trash.
“Wait,” Grayson calls out. “Don’t throw it away. It’s the only one I have.”
“But it has a hole in it!”
“I know, but I keep forgetting to buy a new one, so it’s the best I’ve got.”
“You’re a fucking mess, Gray.”
He grins, his brown eyes sparkling with humor while he holds his hand under the running water. “Life wouldn’t be fun without a little mess.”
With his full sleeves of tattoos and messy dark hair, Gray looks like he could be in a biker gang. The only problem is he’s the exact opposite in personality. He’s terrified of motorcycles and is about the cuddliest teddy bear you’ll ever meet.
Emmett walks in with a six-pack of beer in hand. He still looks like he could be in the army with his tight green T-shirt and cargo pants. He’s even kept his light brown hair cut short. “What have you spilled already?”
“He’s using an oven mitt that has a hole in it instead of buying a new one.”
“Fucking hell, Gray.” Emmett pops the top off two of his beers and hands one to me. I nod my head in thanks.
“What are the chances Knox actually comes over tonight?” Gray asks after we sit down at the table.
“Higher than average,” I guess.
“Has he gotten grumpier?” Emmett asks.
Grayson nods. “And even more reclusive.”
“Should we be worried? He’s out on his farm by himself all day,” I point out.
“He has Finn,” Grayson says of Knox’s six-year-old son.
“I’m fine,” the grumpy cowboy himself answers.
Knox lumbers in, his large frame filling Grayson’s doorway.
He goes to the stove and unceremoniously starts putting balls of cookie dough from a gallon freezer bag onto the sheet tray Grayson left out.
Once they’re in the oven, he sets a timer, grabs a beer from the fridge, and sits at the table with us.
The chair creaks under his weight. He’s a big dude with wide shoulders, a broad chest, and thighs thick enough to crush a watermelon.
Although we’ve never been able to test that theory.
Gray has tried to get him to on more than one occasion, but Knox has yet to give in.
“You sure you’re okay?” Grayson asks Knox. He might be the goofiest of our group, but he loves with all he has.
“I’ve got Finn and the horses. I don’t need anything else.”
Emmett turns his steely gray attention to me. “You gonna tell us what’s really going on with Blondie?”
“I’ve heard so many things that I know aren’t true. Like she’s a country music singer and is hiding out in town to get out of the public eye,” Gray adds.
Emmett points his beer at Grayson in agreement. “I even saw that the Pine Creek Falls News did a post about her.”
I roll my eyes. “The Pine Creek Falls News is nothing but a gossip blog. And no, she’s not a country music star, although she is the twin sister of one. Virginia Miller.”
Grayson’s mouth drops. “Dude. She’s like the hottest country singer of the year right now. And I mean that in literally all the ways.”
I shrug. “I’d never heard of her until the girls mistook Gia for her sister.”
Gray sighs. “I’m so disappointed in you.”
“You didn’t know that before your night together?” Emmett asks.
“Nope. Didn’t even get her name, which makes me feel like an asshole. I started calling her Rainbow, and it kind of stuck.”
“And she’s living with you right now?” Grayson asks.
“Not living, just staying temporarily. She didn’t know about the Ice Festival, so she didn’t have a room reserved. We’ve since exhausted all efforts to try to find one. Nothing’s available until Sunday.”
Knox grimaces. “How awkward has that been?”
“It actually hasn’t been awkward at all. She’s a pretty cool person, and the girls love her.”
“And you’re dying to fuck her again.” Knox gets at the heart of my issue.
I groan and drop my head on the table. “Yes.”
“Well, why can’t you?” Grayson asks.
“Because he’ll fall in love with her.”
I point at Knox instead of responding. “And she’s so fucking pretty. And kind. And funny too.”
“Holt, I think you might already be in love with her,” Emmett says gently.
I bolt upright. “I am not. I like her, sure, but I am not in love with her. It’s only been five days.”
“Okay.” Emmett holds his hands up in surrender. “It’s too fast to be in love with her.”
“The girls invited her to their book fair the first morning she was here.”
My three best friends’ eyes widen. Gray is the first to respond. “And did she go or brush them off?”
“She went.”
Emmett looks at Gray and Knox.
“Stop that.” I point at him. “I am not in love with her.”