32. Lettie
Lettie
I handed Lennon the rescue’s credit card after he rang up the supplies Brandy and I came into town to grab.
“How’s the barn coming along?” Lennon asked as he waited for the receipt to print.
“We’re making good progress. If we keep at it, it’ll for sure be done by the first snow,” I replied.
“Thank goodness, because we’ve got some old ones that will need the shelter once the temperatures drop,” Brandy said.
“Good to hear. I’m glad Bailey’s helping you out with it. I don’t know what Dad was thinking putting you on it alone.”
“I think he knew Bailey would step in,”Brandy admitted.
My eyebrows pulled together. “How would he know that?”
She frowned. “Please. That guy is so gone for you, he’d tie your damn shoes if you didn’t wear boots all the time.”
Lennon held the card and receipt out to me, and I grabbed it with a little too much force. Brandy didn’t know what she was talking about.
“Thanks for loading the truck, Len.”
“Anytime, Lettie. You two drive safe.”
“Will do,” I said, turning for the door. Brandy walked around the front of the truck, getting in the passenger side as I got in the driver's seat.
“We have to get diesel and then we can head back,” I said to her, noticing the gauge was almost on empty.
“Alright. We can hit the pumps that are right on the edge of town.”
I headed in that direction, driving through the main strip where privately owned shops lined the street.
Fully bloomed flowers sat in window boxes that framed some of the windows, and most of their doors were propped open to let in the cool air.
A few people walked along the sidewalks, window shopping as they strolled.
With the rapidly cooling temperatures, I had a feeling winter would come early this year. I hoped it wasn’t too brutal. A drastic change in temperature could cause horses to colic, and while we were still getting meat on their bones, it could be fatal.
I pulled up to the diesel pump, hopping out of the truck to fill the tank. Brandy stayed in the truck with the windows rolled down, scrolling on her phone.
Was it that obvious to everyone that Bailey was into me? I didn’t think they suspected we had done anything as more than friends, but Brandy made it seem like the way he looked at me was clear as day.
Images of him helping me into the house the other night after the bar flashed through my mind. The way his hands felt unzipping my dress, helping me into his t-shirt he gave me on our trip.
Callan had taken Brandy home before we left, so Bailey, Reed, Lennon, Beck, and I rode in the other vehicle.
Bailey had dropped Lennon off at his house right outside of town, then swung by the motel to unload Beck.
Reed hopped out of the truck after we entered the property, walking the rest of the way to his place.
It was well past midnight when we got back to my parents’ house. The only light on at the house was the porch light, indicating my parents had gone to bed hours ago and assumed I’d be getting home late.
“Up you go,” Bailey said after opening my passenger door and unbuckling my seat belt. My head was spinning, all three Baileys equally attractive. I’d snuck another shot when Bailey had gone to grab my purse from the table. I’d desperately needed it after dancing with him.
I hopped out of the truck a bit too eagerly, staggering forward into him. He caught me by the waist, directing me out of the way so he could close the passenger door. “That alcohol finally gettin’ ahead of ya?”
I giggled. Fucking giggled . I was never drinking again. “I’m blaming Brandy.”
He chuckled. I leaned against his side as he walked us up the porch steps, his arm wrapped around me to keep me from stumbling.
“Maybe Reed’s been right all along about her.”
I shot a glare up at him in response.
He unlocked the front door with my house key, leading me inside. My shoulder rammed into the wall in the hallway, causing a picture to swing on its nail. “Shh,” I managed to get out through my uncontrollable laughing.
“I’m not the one who needs to shush, Huckleberry,” he whispered as he managed to get me through the doorway to my bedroom.
I landed on my bed face first in a fit of giggles, but the moment I stilled, my head spun faster. “Ugh.”
“Please don’t throw up on me.” I tossed up a hand to wave him off. “Let me get you out of that dress, Huckleberry.” I turned my head to the side, raising an eyebrow at him. He frowned in response. “I’m not trying to sleep with you, but I don’t think sleeping in that dress will be very comfortable.”
I pressed my face back into the pillow. A second later, I felt his fingers at my back, easing the zipper down. I hadn’t worn a bra, but it wasn’t like we hadn’t seen pieces of each other before.
The dress was strapless so it wasn’t difficult for him to slide it down my body when I lifted my upper half a few inches.
My black thong hid nothing, but he didn’t falter as he stood up and hung the dress over the back of the chair in the corner.
I watched as he opened a drawer, his lips lifting slightly as he pulled the shirt he’d given me on our trip out of my dresser.
His eyes didn’t drift to my ass or anywhere on my body.
In fact, he simply gestured for me to sit up.
I did, not bothering to cover my chest. He slipped the shirt over my head, his fingertips brushing my skin as he tugged it down my torso.
He adjusted the shirt, then brought his hands up, pulling my hair out from the neckline where it was trapped.
“We’re not having sex?” I asked, trying my best to focus on one of the Baileys filling my vision.
He cupped my cheeks, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. “Not while you’re drunk, Huckleberry.”
I frowned. His touch woke me up inside to the point I wasn’t sure if I was more buzzed off the alcohol or him.
“Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“For sex?”
He laughed, his chest moving with the action. “No, Lettie. For the barn.”
“Oh. Right.”
I laid back on the bed and he pulled the blanket up over me, brushing his lips across mine. I fell asleep to the memory of his lips. How soft they were on my mouth. How rough they were between my legs in the hotel.
“Lettie?” A male voice interrupted my thoughts at the same time the pump clicked, indicating the tank was full.
I snapped out of the memory to find the man standing a few feet away from me.
“Charles?”
The worry that was etched into his forehead eased, his features softening. “Hey. I haven’t seen you since...”
“Since the bar,” I filled in for him. The bar in Boise. Charles was the guy who’d puked all over me. Ruined a damn good pair of boots, too.
“Yeah, you didn’t tell me you were moving. I tried swinging by but your apartment was empty.”
I set the pump back in the holder, pressing a few buttons on the screen before turning back to him. “Sorry. Kind of a split-second decision.”
“You living around here?” He looked around as if this was the middle of fucking nowhere.
I mean, I guess it was.
“Yep. Grew up here.”
His eyes landed back on me. “Ah. Bell Buckle. I was just passing through. I’m on my way to Jackson Hole for a trip with the guys.”
I forced a closed-lip smile. “Sounds like fun.”
He rubbed at the back of his neck. “You know, uh, if you’d be up for it, I’d like to take you on a proper date. Dinner, movie, all that.”
I sucked on my teeth, unsure of how to turn him down. I had no interest in going on a date with Charles, and not only because he vomited on me. It felt like a betrayal to Bailey, and right now, my focus was all on Bailey in that department.
“I’m kind of… seeing someone,” I said.
His eyes widened. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s kind of new.” I pulled my keys out of my pocket, taking the two steps to reach for the driver's side door. “It was nice seeing you, though.”
“You too, Lettie.”
I opened the door. “Take care.”
He nodded once and turned around, heading back to his SUV. I slid into the seat and started the truck, rolling up the windows.
“Who was that?” Brandy asked.
“That guy I was telling you about.” I knew damn well she heard the conversation.
“Oh my gosh, vomit guy?” She erupted in laughter. “That is so awkward.”
I pulled out of the gas station, aiming in the direction of the ranch. “Tell me about it.”
After a few minutes of silence, Brandy spoke up. “So, when were you going to tell me you were seeing someone?”
I glanced at her, a frown on my face. “When were you ?”
“I’m not seein’ anyone.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been fighting with my brother quite a bit recently.”
She turned to me in her seat, mouth agape. “Lettie Bronson, do not tell me you just insinuated I am with Reed. Don’t mistake our fighting for flirting. I’d rather sleep on a bed of horse shit for the rest of my life than touch him.”
She could play it off however she wanted, but I wasn’t blind.
“Can’t say I feel the same.”
“About your brother?”
I shot her a glare. “No. About you-know-who.”
I didn’t miss her eye roll out of the corner of my eye as she rested her head back against the headrest. “You can say his name, you know. Hell, even a blind person could see what’s going on between you two. You guys aren’t too good at hiding it.”
I went to gnaw on the inside of my cheek, but stopped when I remembered what Bailey said all those weeks ago. “You’re gonna chew your cheek clean off if you keep at it.”
God, even if he wasn’t around, he consumed my thoughts.
If Brandy was insinuating what I thought she was, that meant everyone at the ranch saw it, too.
We obviously couldn’t keep our attraction to each other a secret, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to tell my entire family about us.
There were still so many things we needed to talk about and figure out.
Was that even what he wanted, or was he just enjoying messing around?
He’d never straight up said he wanted a relationship or any type of commitment, but I couldn’t imagine Bailey not wanting more with me.
He never seemed like the guy to mess around behind a girls’ back, but what did I know?
I avoided that side of him my entire life, being too afraid to know if he was with anyone.
The only way to find out was to ask him, but there was never a right time.
Whether we were around people or busy working on the barn, I didn’t want to catch him off guard.
That could ruin everything, and if things between us went south, I’d have no choice but to leave again.
I couldn’t stay in Bell Buckle and see him on this ranch everyday if we weren’t together, not since we’d clearly become much more than just childhood friends.