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"You had a crush on Seth?" Tessa asked, leaning forward eagerly. Her expression was both gleeful and disgusted. "But…why?"
"Thanks, Tess," Seth said, nudging her foot with his boot.
"Plenty of girls did," Miranda said with a laugh. "He has that tall, dark, and handsome thing going for him. Plus, he always seemed so old-fashioned, like a real gentleman. Getting a stud like him down to his boxers always seemed like it'd be a real thrill."
"Can't say I disagree," Aiden said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. His eyes took on a distant expression, and for a moment, an awkward silence fell over the group. Then he cleared his throat and laughed. "Lucky for me, I was quicker on the draw than the rest of you."
Seth ducked his head, staring at Aiden's hand clasping his and wishing they could finish their order and move on. He'd always felt embarrassed by overzealous attention. It was one thing he didn't miss after the bankruptcy.
"I might've made a play if he hadn't stopped coming in," Miranda rejoined, giving Seth a playful whack on the shoulder with her notepad. "I'm not the type to be swayed by gossip, so I never believed that scandal nonsense for a second. Seth's always been the real deal. The closest thing to cowboys my granddaddy used to tell stories about when I was a little girl. He'd never make a mistake like that."
Tessa's eyes flickered knowingly between Seth and Aiden, and a worried frown bloomed across her face. Before anyone else could speak, she jumped in to ask, "Can I get a bacon cheeseburger, Miranda?"
"Sure thing, honey." Miranda tossed her a wink. "How about a slice of pie to sweeten your day?"
After that, the conversation moved to lighter topics, and the tension dissipated. Seth relaxed and stretched his arm across the back of the booth, enjoying how Aiden's body subtly leaned into his side. Tessa had only been joking, but it seemed like a date to him—what he remembered of them, anyway. Slowly, Aiden was reminding him what simple fun felt like.
"So, what's on the agenda after this?" Tessa asked, reaching for an onion ring from Aiden's plate.
Aiden swatted her hand away with a mock scowl. "Get your own, squirt."
Tessa ignored him and popped the ring in her mouth, chewing loudly and obnoxiously. "I mean, are you coming up to the Double Jay tonight? I need to know how many mouths I'm feeding. You eat like a freaking horse."
Aiden sighed and leaned back, rubbing his eyes. "I wish I could, but I picked up some extra hours running the backhoe at the Triple M. We've got to dig out some busted irrigation pipes before the ground freezes again."
Seth frowned at the strain in Aiden’s face. He recognized the look of a man running on fumes. It was the same expression he'd seen reflected in the mirror for years. Aiden's extra pair of hands to help with his backlog of chores had felt like a vacation, but the toll it was taking on Aiden was impossible to ignore.
"You look beat," Seth said, rubbing a knot from Aiden's neck with his thumb. "Why don't you let me handle it?"
"Naw, it's my job," Aiden said, but he offered Seth a slow, grateful smile that made his heart clench.
"Any fool can run a backhoe," Seth said, eyes narrowing. "Whittaker's got no beef with me, and it's not like he'd be letting me close to his animals."
"That's got nothing to do with it," Aiden protested furiously. His spine stiffened, and he turned in the booth to face Seth head-on, jabbing a finger into his chest to make a point. "You can out-cowboy anybody I know, including Whit, but that's not the point. You've got enough on your plate. I took the job, so it's my responsibility."
"I'm used to a crazy workload," Seth pointed out. "A few hours on my butt running some controls is practically a vacation, and you need the breather. Stop by your mom's place and visit Bandit. It'll do you good."
Aiden hesitated, looking tempted. Seth could see the intense longing in his expression, so he took a different tact. He leaned in close and set his mouth against the shell of Aiden's ear, speaking in a voice too low for Tessa and Riley to overhear. "You can wait for me at your trailer when you're done. Naked, prepped, and ass-up in your bed. That's always been a fantasy of mine. Do it for me."
Aiden's breath caught, and Seth felt a deep, visceral sense of satisfaction. There had always been two secrets to getting Aiden to cooperate: trick him into thinking he was helping someone else and make it fun. His good, simple heart was easy to predict, and as Seth watched him think it over, he felt a swell of pride and affection.
"Okay," Aiden acquiesced, licking his lips in anticipation. "I'll call Whit and tell him the change of plans."
"Just make sure you're waiting for me," Seth reminded him.
The happiness in Aiden's laughter warmed his chest. "I've been wondering what the hell you see in me," he joked, eyes sparkling, "but now I know you just want me for my body."
Seth couldn't resist dropping a quick kiss on his grinning mouth. "Damn right," he said fiercely.
Chapter Twenty-Four
SETH
The Triple M was a picture-perfect example of modern ranching, made of snow-covered fields, brand-new outbuildings, and pristine fencing. A sprawling herd of Angus moved sluggishly against the backdrop of a darkening sky. Heavy purplish clouds were moving fast, promising a new series of storms that wouldn't let up until they'd buried everything east of the Cascades in snow.
A pair of border collies chased his tires as he pulled up to the barn, and a rooster crowed somewhere behind the sprawling maze of outbuildings. It was a familiar theater he respected and understood deeply, but it was tough not to feel inferior once he climbed out of the truck and looked around.
Everything about this place broadcasted a level of money and success that the Double Jay had never experienced, even while his father and grandfather were alive. Sometimes it had seemed as if they purposely eschewed modernizing; they'd always believed the true heart of the West didn't lie in profit. Seth used to have so many ideas for expanding once he took the reins, but when it finally happened, they'd been so far in debt that he still hadn't wholly dug himself out of the pit.
