Tucker drove, he almost always did. Born thirteen minutes before Jace, he was the oldest. Being so, he believed he was entitled to decide who would drive, where they would eat, and what they would do. Most of the time, Jace didn’t care. But when he did, he never hesitated to tell Tucker what he could do with his demanding self.
Today was one of those days Jace definitely didn’t care. He hadn’t wanted to drive. He had too much on his mind. The last time he saw Irene he told her that their relationship needed to change. He wanted to be her friend. His head agreed, his heart did not.
“Come on Blythe, let’s stop arguing and start riding,” Renie motioned toward the barn. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and maybe, if she got lucky, she’d meet a cowboy when they rode out. There were plenty who worked the Flying R Ranch.
They were almost to the barn when someone pulled up in a truck and honked the horn. Blythe turned to see two of the hottest-looking men she’d ever seen, climbing out of it. And not only were they hot, they were twins. Oh my God, she’d died and gone to heaven.
She watched as one of them picked Renie up and swung her around in a circle. The other stood back.
“Who’s this?” the sullen one asked.
“This is Irene,” Jace introduced her. “Irene, meet Tucker. And this is…I don’t know who this is.”
“This is Blythe Cochran,” answered Renie. “Her mom and my mom are best friends. We are, too. Have been since we were five years old.”
Blythe shook each man’s hand, hoping her palms weren’t as sweaty as they felt to her.
The one named Jace hung on a little longer than necessary, and looked into her eyes. “Nice to meet you,” he said softly.
Blythe didn’t know what to make of the situation playing out in front of her. Jace knew Renie, well enough to pick her up and hug her. Tucker, the brother, didn’t appear to know her at all. And by the look on his face, he didn’t want to.
“We were headed out for a ride,” Renie told them.
“We’ll let you be on your way,” Tucker answered.
Jace scowled at his brother, and then smiled at the girls. “We aren’t goin’ anywhere though, at least not for a few hours. We’ll be here when you get back.”
“How ’bout you? You goin’ anywhere after your ride?” Jace asked Blythe, his eyes boring into hers.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she answered. “Why?”
He laughed. “Because I’d like to get to know you better, that’s why.”
“We’ll see about that,” she smirked.
Renie was shooting daggers at her. What had she done wrong now? This was getting old. Once they got out on the trail, Blythe intended to give Renie a piece of her mind. Just because she’d decided to alter her personality, did not give her carte blanche to suggest Blythe do the same. If she wanted Renie’s opinion about how she led her life, she would ask. And she hadn’t asked.
Once she confirmed they were far enough away from the house for anyone to overhear their conversation, she started in on Renie. “What the hell is your problem?”
Renie didn’t answer.
“Seriously? You won’t answer me? What happened to the Renie who promised to tell me how’s she’s feeling?”
“That’s Jace,” Renie answered.
“Yes, I know. You introduced me to him, remember?”
“I spent the summer with Jace, while Billy and I were apart.”
Oh, shit. Why did she have to pick the brother that Renie had been involved with? Or why did that brother pick her?
The answer was obvious. He still had a thing for Renie, and Blythe served as the backup plan. This was not turning out to be a very good weekend for her. Maybe she could entice Tucker to talk to her instead. No, he was too grouchy. Both twins were out of the running. It looked as though she’d have to get back on the quest for a cowboy. She hoped she’d be lucky enough to find one who never had any interest in Renie Fairchild.
“Well all-righty then. Scratch another one off the eligible bachelor list. How about Tucker? You haven’t had a fling with him too, have you?”
“No, Blythe. I haven’t.”
“There isn’t any reason for you to sound annoyed with me. If it would be easier for you to give me a list of men I have free rein to be interested in, if there are any, I’d be happy to play along.”