Dr. Stud

I shrug. “I mean, you can help me if you want to. I wouldn’t say no.”

Parrish laughs and looks at her phone. “So, I’m a builder now too? Fine, I’ll help. But I only have a few hours before I have to pick up Gracie.”

I nod and call over to Sid. “Okay, fellas. You get moving on finishing the interior stall doors. Dad, you check in with the electrician about the floors and make sure everything is running there. Parrish and I will start fixing the frames. And where the hell is Anna? She could be doing something, couldn’t she?”

Sid clears his throat nervously and looks down at his feet. “I think she’s still asleep. We were out, um, late last night.” Parrish chuckles, and my father and I shoot Sid twin withering glares. I pull my phone out.

“Well, Sid, I guess I will just have to call her and wake her up. Maybe you should get to work, Sid.” My tone is obvious and he runs off. Privately, I’m enjoying having so much power over a guy that was older than me when we were in school and was kind of a jerk. But Parrish pokes me in the side.

“You can give him shit for messing up the build, but don’t hassle him about Anna. They really like each other, and if you scare him off, Anna is going to murder you in your sleep.”

I scowl. “Fine. But I’m not apologizing. Let him be scared for a while.”

Parrish rolls her eyes. “Fine. But you can deal with your sister when she finds out you’ve been hassling him. Now, can we get started on this damn frame?”

It takes all day, especially once Parrish has to leave to get Gracie and I’m left to work on my own, but by the end of the evening, we’re finally able to rehang the exterior stable doors, and this time, they fit. Dad confirmed that the heated floors are working properly, and all of the interior stalls have been finished. All that is left is for the landscapers to come in and finish their work, and they promised they would be done in a day. That means the project is all but finished, which means it’s almost time for me to go home, back to Los Angeles.

And I can’t bring myself to even think about it.

I walk out of the stalls and over to the house, where I can already see my mother through the windows, nervously flitting around the living room. She’s been in a total panic over the party, and now that it’s only a few days away, she’s even more of a wreck. I take a deep breath and walk inside, and hear Anna trying to calm our mother down.

“Ma, the caterer is booked, the party planner has all of the tents ready, and the band is set. I don’t know what you are worried about,” Anna says with a sigh.

“Did we make the right decision with a fish fry? Should we have gone with burgers? Or fried chicken? I just don’t know.”

I saunter into the living room and p

lop down next to Anna. “Fish is fun. Anyone can do burgers or chicken. You want something unusual that people will remember. This is coming from Judy’s though, right? You ordered that amazing chocolate cake, right?”

Mom rolls her eyes. “Have we ever used anyone but Judy’s for our events? And of course I ordered the cake. You’re here. I ordered the cake. Honestly, Hawk.”

Anna groans and flops her head backwards on to the couch. “Mom, take a pill or something. You’re stressing me out.”

I look around and notice that except for mom’s chattering, the house is really quiet. “Where are Parrish and Gracie?”

Anna doesn’t look at me; she just keeps staring at the ceiling. “She took Gracie to buy a dress for the party. I think they’ll be back in time for dinner. Speaking of,” Anna says finally looking up, with a teasing smile on her face.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“Jason told Frank who told Sid who told me that he heard the reporter ask you to take her to the party.”

I squint my eyes and pop the side of my head with my palm, as if shaking something loose. “I don’t understand anything you just said, Anna.”

Anna chortles like a witch. “Simone asked you on a date. To the party specifically. And you tried to foist her off on one of the guys in town. Apparently, she’s been asking around to see if you have a girlfriend that no one knows about. She seems pretty intent on landing you before this whole thing is through.”

I moan and lean forward, dropping my head in my hands as I debate how I ended up in this situation. “You know, I’ve had my share of, I don’t know, whatever you want to call the women I’ve dated. And I’ve never had anyone pursue me like this. I woke up the other morning, and she’d slipped a note under my door.”

“You’re lucky that’s all she’s slipped you,” Anna mutters under her breath.

“That’s not funny, Anna. If I don’t let her down easy, she could write something terrible about the ranch. If I lead her on, that’s not fair. But she’s just so… pushy. And I’m not interested.”

My mother stops pacing, and looks at me intently. “Why?”

I shake my head, confused. “Why what?”

“Why aren’t you interested in her? She’s beautiful. She’s smart. She’s accomplished. She’s stylish. She seems like exactly the kind of woman you’d be anxious to date in Los Angeles.”

I can’t make eye contact with my mother, or Anna. “I just don’t feel anything for her, is all.”