and I understood that there had been a rough patch, right after the wedding itself, that he’d spent in town, bellied up to the bar, trying to forget about Paisley Summers entirely. Still, though. Why did I hate this development in particular? It made me feel like I was in danger of losing breakfast, and Zoe had worked hard on those made-to-order omelets. I refused to let those go to waste.
Avery raised his eyebrow again at me as I stood in the open doorway to the trailer. “More to you than meets the eye, Emmett,” he said.
“See you around, Avery Corbin,” Peyton said, amused at the two of us, and he climbed in his truck and left, checking, I was sure, in his rearview to see if he could catch anything inappropriate happening between Peyton and me. I hadn’t given him an explanation as to why I was meeting with Peyton at the trailer, and he hadn’t asked. What did he assume? That I’d called her here to have sex with her? That we were colluding against our families to carve out a business of our own? I honestly couldn’t figure out which possibility worried me the most.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, wondering when my stomach would stop lurching. Would it have to wait until the dust Avery’s truck raised driving away settled again? Until a week passed without any of my brothers mentioning anything to me about Peyton Crow and my intentions with her?
“Emmett?” I looked at her, at the hand balanced on her hip, the other one working its way through her long, dark hair, ruffling it before tossing it over her shoulder. “Relax.”
“I really didn’t know he was going to be here,” I babbled, well aware that I already sounded like an idiot and was just digging myself a deeper hole to languish in. “He’s usually on the other side of the ranch. He married Paisley Summers, after all. He’s never over here.”
“I really, really don’t care,” Peyton said, walking over and giving me a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. It was stupid of me, but that kiss was disappointed. It was possibly even less friendly than the hug she’d shared with my brother. Even as I thought that, I cringed at my own idiocy. Peyton wasn’t here for pleasure. It was purely business, purely horses.
“I just hope it’s not, um, awkward for you,” I said, showing her into the trailer and instantly regretting its inherent shabbiness. We should’ve met somewhere else — the house, maybe, or a little restaurant in town, or Peyton’s place. I realized that last option probably wasn’t viable. I imagined she stayed on her father’s property somewhere, and I couldn’t imagine it would end well for either of us if he found out we were meeting to talk about horsing operations — or anything else, for that matter. I just regretted this “bachelor pad” of a meeting spot. It didn’t feel appropriate, somehow, even if it was relatively private.
“I think it’s turning out to be more awkward for you than it could ever be for me,” Peyton said, ducking into the trailer. “Hey, this is nice.”
“I … it’s not awkward for me,” I said. “I just … I guess I didn’t know that you and Avery … knew each other.”
Peyton let her purse drop onto the bed. “Emmett, everyone in this town knows each other. It’s that kind of town, in case you missed it. Super small. Not very many people. Now, shut that door. You’re letting all the cold air out.”
I let the door close with no small amount of trepidation. “But you all seemed kind of friendly.”
“He was a regular at that bar before his wife snatched him up,” Peyton said with a shrug. “We saw each other there all the time. And he was a year behind me in school. We know each other. No reason not to be friendly.”
“Sure,” I said, not buying it. I didn’t buy a single word. “Whatever you say.”
“Oh my God, Emmett.” Her mouth dropped open and she openly gawked at me. “Are you serious right now?”
“I just can’t really cope with this, in this
Avery raised his eyebrow again at me as I stood in the open doorway to the trailer. “More to you than meets the eye, Emmett,” he said.
“See you around, Avery Corbin,” Peyton said, amused at the two of us, and he climbed in his truck and left, checking, I was sure, in his rearview to see if he could catch anything inappropriate happening between Peyton and me. I hadn’t given him an explanation as to why I was meeting with Peyton at the trailer, and he hadn’t asked. What did he assume? That I’d called her here to have sex with her? That we were colluding against our families to carve out a business of our own? I honestly couldn’t figure out which possibility worried me the most.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, wondering when my stomach would stop lurching. Would it have to wait until the dust Avery’s truck raised driving away settled again? Until a week passed without any of my brothers mentioning anything to me about Peyton Crow and my intentions with her?
“Emmett?” I looked at her, at the hand balanced on her hip, the other one working its way through her long, dark hair, ruffling it before tossing it over her shoulder. “Relax.”
“I really didn’t know he was going to be here,” I babbled, well aware that I already sounded like an idiot and was just digging myself a deeper hole to languish in. “He’s usually on the other side of the ranch. He married Paisley Summers, after all. He’s never over here.”
“I really, really don’t care,” Peyton said, walking over and giving me a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. It was stupid of me, but that kiss was disappointed. It was possibly even less friendly than the hug she’d shared with my brother. Even as I thought that, I cringed at my own idiocy. Peyton wasn’t here for pleasure. It was purely business, purely horses.
“I just hope it’s not, um, awkward for you,” I said, showing her into the trailer and instantly regretting its inherent shabbiness. We should’ve met somewhere else — the house, maybe, or a little restaurant in town, or Peyton’s place. I realized that last option probably wasn’t viable. I imagined she stayed on her father’s property somewhere, and I couldn’t imagine it would end well for either of us if he found out we were meeting to talk about horsing operations — or anything else, for that matter. I just regretted this “bachelor pad” of a meeting spot. It didn’t feel appropriate, somehow, even if it was relatively private.
“I think it’s turning out to be more awkward for you than it could ever be for me,” Peyton said, ducking into the trailer. “Hey, this is nice.”
“I … it’s not awkward for me,” I said. “I just … I guess I didn’t know that you and Avery … knew each other.”
Peyton let her purse drop onto the bed. “Emmett, everyone in this town knows each other. It’s that kind of town, in case you missed it. Super small. Not very many people. Now, shut that door. You’re letting all the cold air out.”
I let the door close with no small amount of trepidation. “But you all seemed kind of friendly.”
“He was a regular at that bar before his wife snatched him up,” Peyton said with a shrug. “We saw each other there all the time. And he was a year behind me in school. We know each other. No reason not to be friendly.”
“Sure,” I said, not buying it. I didn’t buy a single word. “Whatever you say.”
“Oh my God, Emmett.” Her mouth dropped open and she openly gawked at me. “Are you serious right now?”
“I just can’t really cope with this, in this
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