“Honest, Ava, I mean what I said.”
She swallowed hard and suddenly absorbed the feel of his masculine fingertips under her chin and the way his cologne pleasantly filled her nostrils. He was breathtaking.
“She said she can handle it, Evan. Let her be,” Colton said. When she turned to look at him, Evan released his fingers from her skin and she could tell that Colton looked angry.
She decided that a change in subject would be good right about now.
“So, Evan told me that you guys have a ranch and some cattle. Did you grow up learning about that stuff, or did you decide to try your hand at something different?”
“We know about cattle and horses. Just never had the time until now,” Colton said.
“It’s a lot of work. Long hours on the ranch, I bet.”
“Yeah, but we enjoy it,” Evan added.
“It’s peaceful out on the property. We don’t have too much livestock to take care of but enough to keep us busy most of the day and probably a lot in the winter months.”
“We have someone helping out, too,” Evan stated.
“Who is he?”
His name is Everett Young,” Colton replied.
“Oh, God, I know Everett and his girlfriend Sheila,” Ava stated and both men looked surprised. She wasn’t sure why and then she hoped that Sheila hadn’t told her boyfriend about Ava’s appointment with Dr. Nickles.
“I met her the other day. Nice young woman,” Evan replied, and she wondered why he referred to Sheila as a young woman. He sounded so old when he said it.
“Do you work here every night, Ava?” Evan asked then looked at his brother. Colton looked annoyed again before he turned away as if trying to block out the conversation. She wondered what his problem was and why he was trying to act like he wasn’t interested in her.
“I’m off on Sundays, and Mondays and Tuesdays are slow so during the day I get all my errands and appointments done.”
“Well, would you like to go out for dinner Monday night?” Evan asked, and she swallowed hard. God, she would lo
ve to say yes. She was about to say hell yes, when she remembered that she had the doctor’s appointment. She definitely wouldn’t be up for an evening out.
“I’m sorry, I would love to, but I have other plans.” She moved her arm and it brushed against her breast. She remembered looking in the mirror at the bruising this morning. It was beginning to improve.
“Oh, how about lunch on Tuesday then? I could probably swing it.” Evan glanced at Colton and Colton released an annoyed sigh.
She wondered what wasn’t being said between these two men. She also wondered how she might feel after getting her news.
“I guess that would be fine.”
“Great, let me know where you live and I’ll pick you up at noontime.”
“I can meet you in town. I’ll have some errands to run in the afternoon before work anyway.”
“Great. I can’t wait.” Evan gently caressed his fingers against her jaw. She felt her cheeks warm as she lowered her head then took a sip from her glass. From there on out the conversation flowed nicely and before long, she was eagerly anticipating their date on Tuesday. But she still had that nagging feeling as she wondered what was wrong with Colton.
She couldn’t resist finding out. She gave Colton a tap to his elbow, and he nearly jumped away from her. That was odd.
“You’re awfully quiet,” she whispered as he held her gaze and quickly recovered.
“Don’t have much to say.”
“The silent brooding type huh?”
He squinted his eyebrows at her as his deep green eyes held hers.