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He has to be lying. This is a game he’s playing. Seeing if I’ll bite. “Yeah right.”
He tosses the paper towel into the trash as if he’s shooting a basketball, then takes the tray to the stove. He’s got it down perfectly, taking out a flat frying pan with small edges to catch the grease. “I’m serious. Not saying I’ve never done it, but I’m not big on bringing women to the ranch. And you’ll think I’m ass when I tell you this, but they get clingy and think it means more than it does. I don’t want to give them the wrong idea. I never string women along, but something about bringing them home seems to make them think it means more than it does, even when I tell them otherwise beforehand.”
It’s clear he’s serious, so I nod.
“So, how about rule number two is a mutual one. No women for me and no men for you.”
I raise my eyebrows, looking down at my stomach. “I’m done in the guy department, maybe forever. But I can bring a woman home?”
He glances over his shoulder at me. “Only if rule number three is that I get to watch.”
I giggle, and it feels really good to laugh and not be so caught up in Chad and all the bullshit that went down. “Deal, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”
“If it changes, let me know.” He smashes the burgers down with the spatula and the fat sizzles.
I’m not sure if they’ll taste like his dad’s, since I’ve never had them, but my mouth waters and my stomach growls. I watch him move around the kitchen, grabbing buns, buttering them, and putting them on another frying pan on the stove.
While waiting, he pulls out condiments. “Help yourself to whatever I have. Although I do have Jensen cook for me a lot.”
“Oh no, I’ll go grocery shopping.”
“Jensen will cook for you too.”
“If Darla makes him.”
He laughs. “She likes you a lot, you know that, right?”
“Darla? Well, she seems to like everyone.” I sip my water, then spin the bottle around.
“Wren told Bennett she wants to be like you when she grows up.”
I cough out a laugh. “Wait until she finds out what I’ve done with my life.”
“She likes you because you don’t treat her like she’s a little kid.” He stops cooking, plates the burgers, and turns off the burners. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, and if you never do, that’s fine. But if you do, I’m happy to listen.”
“I’m not good with children. I have no idea how I’ll raise this one.” I run my hand over my flat stomach.
He gives me a sad smile. I’m sure he believes the same thing. I’m treading water with a hurricane on its way to me, and there’s no one to throw me a life vest.
“Come on, we’re eating on the deck.”
He grabs the plates and walks out a door off his kitchen where there is a porch overlooking the lake. I missed it coming from the other side of the house. He’s got a small table and some comfortable patio furniture.
“This is nice,” I say.
“It’s my favorite place, so feel special that I’m sharing it with you.” He places everything on the table. On his way back into the house, he squeezes my shoulder. “It will all work out. I promise.”
Tears sting my eyes as he disappears inside. I suck them back because no matter what happens, I’ll handle it. I always do. But damn it, Emmett Noughton has evolved into a mature man he seems to hide from everyone. The question is why? And also, why is he being so nice to me?
Chapter Thirteen
Emmett
Sometimes, I wish my curiosity would take a fucking vacation.
I’m in the crawl space of my basement, grabbing the box my dad gave me when I moved out. It holds all my high school shit. My yearbooks, varsity letters, awards, accolades, etc. I don’t remember Briar very well from high school, other than that she was Gillian’s younger sister, and by then, Gillian and Ben had broken up, and he was away at college.
Pulling my senior yearbook out, I flip through the freshman class, searching for her. She’s on the first page, and this is the Briar I remember. She’s wearing braces, her hair is super short and not very styled, and her glasses are way too big on her face. But it’s how young she looks that takes me back. Then again, she was four years younger than me.
