CHAPTER 21
Eve
The woman spun around and her eyes went wide. “Oh, my god! Eve? What the hell? What are you doing here?!”
I grunted as Vera grabbed me and hugged me tight. She was strong and excited to see me, so excited I had to take a breath when she let me go. “God, you’re strong. I think you just squeezed half a cup size from my chest and I didn’t have that to lose.”
She laughed like she didn’t have a care in the world, with her head thrown back and the musical sound of her laugh loud enough to draw stares our way. Her soft southern accent as she spoke drew eyes, too. “You’re just as funny in person as you are over the phone. I can’t believe you’re standing here in front of me. How are you standing here in front of me?”
“I live here. Well, I moved back here a year ago. What are you doing here?”
“My brothers live here. I snuck into town last night and I’m going to hide out for a few days. I don’t want them to know I’m here yet. The moment they do, they’ll be up my ass trying to boss me around.” She linked her arm through mine. “This is crazy. The odds of this happening have to be wild.”
“Who are your brothers?”
“Promise you won’t tell anyone I’m here?” She grinned and grabbed my hand and held it. “Of course, you won’t. You know me as Vera Springs, or V.H. Springs. The H is for my real last name, Hellstone. My brothers—”
“Holy shit. Your brothers took over the Myers Ranch.” My eyes widened and I shook my head. “One of my best friends used to own that ranch. She still works with them. This is too weird.”
“Your best friend is Billie?!” She realized she was shouting and winced. “This is so weird. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I can’t believe you’re here. My mind is struggling to catch up. I was just editing your latest book a couple of days ago. Which was great, by the way. As usual.” I motioned towards the park and led us in that direction. “Do you have time to hang out for a minute? I need to give my brain time to process this.”
She almost skipped to the bench I’d pointed to. “I devoured your edits the night you sent them. I loved your idea about the guys being more pissy about the date thing. I’m going to tweak it a bit and send it back to see what you think. And of course I have time to hang out. I’m hiding from my brothers and there’s only so much to do in this town. Although, the number of men floating around is…fun.”
“Why are you hiding from them again?”
“They’re overbearing. All of my brothers are. There’s something about Hellstone men…they were born with the need to be in control. I want to see them but I want some time to myself first.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re distracted these days, though. Your friend Billie has them all tied up in knots.”
I smirked. “She’s pretty great. Every time I see her these days she’s angry at your brothers, so it seems like the knots are mutual.”
“Oh, good! She’s in for a handful with them so she’ll need to be a bit angry to deal with them.” She glanced out at the park and then turned completely into me on the bench. “Enough about my brothers. Let’s talk about you. I’m seeing you in your natural habitat. You’re stunning, by the way. You’re beautiful over video, but in person…wow! Although you look like you’ve been crying. Lucky for you, I have an amazing shoulder to lean on. Tell me everything.”
I forced a smile and rubbed my hands down my thighs. “This doesn’t really feel like my natural habitat. I’ve been back a year and I rarely leave the cabin I share with my grandpa.”
“You’re going through something. You look so sad, Eve. What’s wrong?” She held both of my hands and leaned closer. “It’s me. The woman you work with and talk to randomly all the time. If you can’t talk to me, who can you talk to?”
Laughing, I squeezed her hands and sighed. “Thank you. For calling me beautiful. I should’ve said that already. I also should’ve said the same about you. If you let your publisher use your photo on your book jackets, you’d sell a million more copies in no time.”
I wasn’t exaggerating, either. She was gorgeous. Tall, curvy, and dressed stylishly. Her long brown hair had a red tint to it and her green eyes were so green it was like staring into shiny sea glass. There was a spark to her that hadn’t been captured over video calls. I found myself wanting to talk to her, to open up about everything.
“Bless your heart. That’s so sweet of you to say but if my face was published next to what I write, I’d be dead. Our oldest brothers, the ones who run our ranch back home, still think I’m a little girl. They’d have heart attacks and then come back to life just to murder me for even daring to think about sex.”
“They sound great.”
She laughed and then waved her hands. “Enough about me. What’s going on with you?”
“It’s nothing. Really. It’s not worth talking about.” I heard a familiar voice behind us and looked back to see Grandpa walking down the street with Coco.
I was still pissed off at Margaret and Coco was her right-hand lady. I assumed she had something to do with the lube that wasn’t lube, situation. I held up my finger to Vera as I stood up.
“I’ll be right back.” I crossed my arms over my chest as I hurried after Grandpa and Coco. “Grandpa? What are you doing?”
He spun around with a guilty look on his face. “Eve! What are you doing in town?”
I frowned at Coco. “Leave my Grandpa alone, Coco.”
“Are you still pissed about the lube? Get over it, girl.” She looked me over and then whistled. “Unless you’re still hurting. You’re standing like you’ve been riding a horse for a month straight.”
I felt my face heat up and scowled. “I’m not…you…I don’t trust you.”
“Well, I’m learning a lot. Did you have a nice time last night, Evie?” Grandpa snorted at my wide-eyed expression. “What? I’m just asking if you had a good night. What’s this talk about lube? Do I need to take you down to the station, Coco?”
“Yes. Arrest her. That would make me feel a little better. Arrest Margaret while you’re at it.” I groaned. “I have to go.”
“You heard what she said. I have to arrest you.”
“Oh, please do, Sheriff.”
I realized Vera was standing behind me and pressed my hands over my face. She put an arm around my shoulders and walked me away from where Coco and my grandpa were flirting. Nothing made sense in the world anymore. Coco flirting with my grandpa, the guys next door all wanting me, Vera showing up, and Mark messaging me? It was too weird.
“So. Your grandpa is definitely having kinky sex with that lady, right?”
I choked and had to stop walking to catch my breath again. Vera patted my back until I held up my hands to stop her. “Oh, my god. You can’t just say that. He is not. No way. God. Why did you say that? I’m going to have to drink bleach to get that idea out of my brain now.”
She laughed and dragged me forward. “They’ve got chemistry. I can’t believe you didn’t notice it.”