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I hate the smile she gives me. It’s not one of “what a great idea, we’ll give you whatever you want.” “These are great, and I think you have a good idea, especially with the part of the land your dad couldn’t plant on this year, but it comes down to how will you pay it back if this fails?”
“I’m good for it. You know I am.”
She leans back, taking off her glasses and biting down on the end of one arm. “I wish I could approve a loan for you, but I can’t.”
“I—” It was a long shot, but I had to try.
“Could you get someone to cosign for you?” she asks.
It’s something my dad would have never considered, and I won’t either. I’m not attaching other people to my family debt. Who would I ask, Bruce Noughton? Give me a break. I might as well trek up the hill to the Crawford family and be like, “You seem to have come into money, can you tell me how? Or better yet, can you loan me some?”
“No.”
She looks at the office door behind me then leans forward over the desk. “I will say… if you were married, and your husband had land or some sort of collateral…”
“Married? Husband?” I frown.
“I don’t think I need to spell this out for you.” Mrs. Doyle grins as if she just gave me the winning lottery ticket.
I blink several times. “Jude?”
“He is a Noughton, and you know they bank here, so…”
How is this woman the manager of a bank? I want to put my hands over my ears and shake my head like a toddler. “We’re just friends.”
“Are you really?”
“Yes.” I roll my eyes, collecting my papers and putting them in my bag. “Thank you for taking the time to see me.” I stand.
“I’m just making a suggestion, Sadie. You marry a Noughton, and your worries go away.”
I’m struck with disbelief that she would suggest that. I can’t even tell Jude that I love him. How can I ask him to marry me just so I can use his land for collateral? No way. I’ll figure it out, find another way. Maybe the Crawford family isn’t a bad idea.
“Thank you, Mrs. Doyle.”
“Anytime, Sadie. Give me a call if you need anything.”
I walk out of her office, waving to Cora and ignoring her sympathetic smile. Stepping out of the bank into the sun, I tip my head back, allowing the sun to heat my skin.
Back to step one.
I straighten and walk to my car, but a big body next to a truck draws me in first. He’s showered and dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and T-shirt that draws tight along his biceps and chest. His hair isn’t tucked under a cowboy hat and is still damp at the ends.
“Jude? What are you doing here?”
Chapter Six
Jude
When I left Sadie at her cottage, I wasn’t planning on cutting the day short after lunch, but Lottie’s words rang through my head on my way back to the ranch. She’s going to lose it soon. I knew the bank appointment wouldn’t go how she wanted it to, so I decided to let Emmett handle the rest of the day on his own with the hopes he doesn’t burn the place to the ground.
She steps out of the bank wearing that damn dress that’s driving me fucking crazy. When she came out of her bedroom, I wanted to suggest she look through her mom’s closet. The way it dips in the front, teasing her cleavage… I purposely hung my hands from her doorframe to keep them to myself, but even then, I couldn’t stop myself from leaning into her small bathroom to smell her. I’m fucking pathetic. And I can’t even think about her in that towel unless I want to sport a hard-on all goddamn day.
“Jude? What are you doing here?”
I push off my truck and step onto the sidewalk. “Hey.”
“Hey. What’s going on?”
