Chapter 11 #2
The cocky tilt of his lips should have made me roll my eyes. Instead, I felt it settle somewhere low and stubborn. He’d always been good at this, the slow burn of it, the way we’d spent so long circling the line that I’d almost convinced myself neither of us wanted to cross it.
But I wanted to now. God, I wanted to so badly it scared me.
I let my eyes drop to his mouth and stay there, long enough that there was nothing left to pretend about.
Before I could do or say anything, Ruby ran toward us and wrapped her arms around both of our legs.
“Uncle Hunter!” she shrieked, and smiled up at us with leftover ketchup around her mouth from the hot dog I’d gotten her earlier.
Hunter’s arm tensed around my waist before he loosened his grip and scooped Ruby right up from the ground. I stepped back, pulse still hammering, and tried to pretend I was adjusting my ponytail instead of catching my breath.
Blaire was right behind Ruby, her gaze ping-ponging between me and Hunter, and I could see the worry on her face.
Ruby wrapped her arms around Hunter’s neck and planted a kiss against his stubbled cheek. “You smell like horses!” she declared, completely delighted.
Hunter grinned. “You trying to say I stink?”
She shook her head, already trying to wriggle free. “No. You smell like Grandpa.”
Ruby squirmed in Hunter’s arms, reaching for me with sticky hands, so he passed her over as if we’d done it a thousand times before.
Her little arms wrapped around my neck, and even though the air was ninety degrees and I could feel sweat trickling down my back, I squeezed her like she was a lifeline.
Blaire moved to my side, dropping her voice so only I could hear. “You okay?”
I nodded but didn’t meet her eyes.
“Good.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I think Brody and Sutton are about to leave, and he’s been watching you.”
I turned and saw Brody leaning against the railing, hands jammed in his pockets, jaw set like he’d rather be facing down a bull than standing there waiting for me.
Brody was a good man. The best kind, probably.
The kind that didn’t make you feel like you were standing at the edge of something you couldn’t come back from.
“I’m going to go tell them bye.” I handed Ruby over to Blaire without looking at Hunter, but I felt his eyes on me the whole time.
I crossed back to Brody with my smile already perfectly in place. His eyes cut behind me for just a moment, then came back warm and easy, and somehow that was worse than if he’d looked at me as if he hated me.
He opened his arms, and I let myself step into them, feeling the awkwardness and comfort braided together.
“Sutton and I are heading out,” he murmured, his lips pressed close to my hairline. “I have to be up at five for my shift tomorrow.”
I nodded and let myself stay there a moment; my cheek tucked against his chest as his warmth settled over me.
I wondered if he could feel it. His heartbeat was steady under my cheek, and mine was still going like I’d just run a mile.
I pressed my hand flat against his back and tried to breathe him in, tried to make this be enough.
But deep down, I knew that it wasn’t.
He squeezed me once gently then loosened his arms to study my face. “Do you need a ride home?”
“No. Colt and Blaire are going to take me home when they leave.”
He smiled down at me. “I’ll text you when I get off shift tomorrow if that’s all right.”
Even as I nodded, and said, “Yeah. I’d like that,” all I could focus on was the feel of Hunter’s eyes still on me.
“Night, Maggie.” He let go first, stepping back with a final squeeze.
“Good night, Brody.”
I watched him weave through the crowd, and Sutton waved goodbye before she fell in step beside him.
I let out a slow breath and tried to shake the tension off, but Blaire sidled right up next to me, eyebrows raised as she watched Brody’s back disappear into the parking lot.
She didn’t say anything at first, just let the silence stand between us, so full of implication that I almost preferred the noise of the crowd. I toyed with the hem of my cutoff shorts, the frayed threads scratching at my thumb.
My pulse hadn’t settled. It was still uneven from the way I’d let Hunter pull me into him and from the way I’d stepped into Brody’s arms.
“So,” Blaire finally broke the quiet, her voice pitched low for me alone, “are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
She nodded toward the parking lot, where Brody had disappeared, then darted a quick glance over her shoulder. I didn’t need to look to know Hunter was still nearby, probably leaning against a fence rail, watching me like he had the right to.
“What do you mean?” I crossed my arms and tried to pretend I had no idea what she was talking about.
“I thought the date with Brody went well?” she asked carefully.
“It did.” I nodded and turned to face her, careful not to look back in Hunter’s direction. “He took me to dinner then we went out for drinks after at The Dusty Spur. He was charming and a total gentleman.”
“Okay? So what’s wrong?” she asked as she studied my face.
“Nothing’s wrong.” I huffed.
She dipped her head so our foreheads nearly touched. “You know, you’re really bad at lying to me.”
I let my gaze slide past Blaire to where our friends stood only a handful of feet away.
McCoy had drawn a small crowd of women, holding court while Colt and Hunter laughed at whatever he was saying.
Ruby was tucked against McCoy’s side, and he absently smoothed a hand over her hair without missing a beat.
A couple of women lingered close to Hunter, but his attention kept cutting across the space between us.
Blaire nudged me lightly in the ribs. “The whole town is calling Brody the catch of Willow Grove. So why do you not look happy that his attention is on you?”
A laugh snapped out of me, and I kept my eyes pinned on the chaos around the arena so I didn’t have to meet Blaire’s stare.
“I am happy.” I crossed my arms tighter over my chest. “I mean, you saw him tonight. Brody’s basically perfect. The whole date was…nice.”
“Nice?” Blaire scrunched up her nose. “That sounds incredibly hot.”
“Blaire!” I let out a helpless burst of laughter.
“What?” She threw her hands up and started walking. “Brody sounds like a man you bring home to your mother. You need someone that will have you and your mama both asking the Lord for forgiveness.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I hissed, and grabbed her arm before she could take another step toward Hunter and Colt.
But when I looked up, Hunter’s eyes were already on me. His gaze dragged down my body before moving back up like he had all the time in the world. He ran a hand along his jaw as he swallowed, and when his eyes finally met mine, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Now that,” Blaire said, and had the nerve to point. “That man would fuck you until you forgot your own name.”
“Oh my god.” I jerked my gaze away from him to stare at my best friend, but she wasn’t bothered in the least by my protests.
She turned to face me, walking backward in their direction. “I just know deep in my soul that Hunter Calloway is the kind of man who’d talk you through it.”
“I thought you weren’t for this happening?” I whispered because we were only steps away now, and even though the crowd was still thick, I was scared to death that Hunter was going to overhear her.
Thank God Ruby was beside him now, and she’d drawn his attention away from us.
“I don’t know.” She narrowed her eyes on me. “The way he’s been looking at you lately might have changed my mind. Besides, if he’s anything like his brother, he’s going to talk you through it, like, multiple times.”
She winked at me before turning back in their direction and closing the few steps between her and Colt.
She wrapped her arms around him like she’d been waiting all night to do it, and he didn’t hesitate, not even for a second.
He pulled her straight into his chest, enveloping her completely before dipping his head to press a kiss into her hair.
“Y’all about ready to go?” Colt asked and nodded in McCoy’s direction. “I think McCoy has found his own ride home.”
Sure enough, McCoy had his head tipped close to a blonde and his taped fingers skimmed over the edge of her shorts.
“Yeah. We’re ready.” Blaire nodded before giving me a smile that told me she was about to ruin my night. “Hunter, do you care if Maggie rides with you since you’re solo now? Colt’s back seat is uncomfortable.”
My face went hot, and I wanted to wring her neck.
“No. It’s fine,” I jumped in, too quickly, and my voice cracked on the last word. “I’m sure Hunter has other plans tonight.”
I couldn’t even say the words without imagining him climbing into someone else’s truck, or worse, someone else’s bed. He cut his gaze over to me, and I felt a low, dangerous pull that didn’t care about logic or pride or anything else I’d built to protect myself.
“I don’t.” He said the words slowly as if he wanted to make sure I heard them. “I can give you a ride home, unless you don’t want to go with me.”
Hunter kept his eyes pinned to me, not even pretending to care that everyone could see the way we stared at one another.
The dare in his gaze was a living thing, coiling between us like barbed wire, and daring me to take the bait.
He didn’t blink, didn’t look away, just let that slow, infuriating smile spread across his mouth as if he already knew how I’d answer.
Hunter was a master of this game. He didn’t need words to challenge me. All he had to do was cock his head, level those brown eyes on me, and wait.
He thought I was going to refuse, and suddenly, I’d never been so desperate to prove somebody wrong.
“Of course I want a ride.” I smiled at the flicker of surprise I saw in his eyes. “But do you think you could drop me by Brody’s?”