“Where have you guys been?”Trent asks as we dismount Misty.
“Don’t act like you didn’t send Brooklyn here for a tour.”
“I’m just surprised you actually obliged her,” Trent laughs, slapping Tyler on the back as he leads Misty to her stall. “Dad’s up at the pasture with Ranger and Decker. He said he’ll be back down here in a while to help you with some delivery that’s coming today.”
Tyler just waves and walks Misty into the stables.
“Hey, I drove out here with my dad,” Trent says. “Mind giving me a lift back to the office since we have that meeting with the Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce at 3?”
“Yeah, of course,” I look past him into the stables to see if I can catch Tyler before we leave, “just give me a minute?”
I walk inside and find Tyler brushing Misty in her stall. I don’t say anything at first—I just watch the gentle moment between the two of them. The way she trusts him is magic.
“Hey,” I say as he looks over his shoulder at me, “I’m going to take off, but I wanted to say thanks for the ride earlier and . . . uh, yeah.” I feel like a silly schoolgirl. I can feel my cheeks growing red as I absentmindedly kick at nothing on the ground in front of me.
“You’re welcome,” he smirks.
“Would you want to grab dinner or drinks later? Or maybe tomorrow or something?”
He pulls up Misty’s hooves and looks them over briefly before meeting my eyes. He smiles for a second before looking past me.
“For the campaign?”
“Uh, no, like, just socially.” Surprised he’s not catching on.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Brooklyn.”
His curt response stings.
“Why not?”
He sighs in exasperation. “We’ve been over this.”
I open my mouth to give him a piece of my mind and ask him if he’s serious—especially after what just transpired between us—when Trent appears next to me.
“You ready?”
“Yes.” I brush past him and out into the sunshine. I take in a deep breath and exhale audibly, allowing my shoulders to fall.
“Hey, you okay?” Trent jogs to catch up to me as we walk to my SUV. “I interrupt something back there?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” I smile, trying to convey sincerity even though I don’t feel it.
Trent furiously types out an email on his phone as we drive back to the office. I debate on if I should ask him about Tyler, but I don’t want him asking me about earlier. In the end, my curiosity gets the best of me.
“So what’s up with Tyler?”
“What do you mean?” he asks without looking up from his phone, his thumbs still furiously moving across the screen.
“Did someone rip his heart out or something?” I can feel Trent looking over at me when I ask the question. I narrow my gaze on the road and try my hardest to look and act casual about the subject matter.
“Dunno, really. He’s a vault when it comes to his personal life. Otherwise, he’s a softie. He tries to front that he’s this hard-nosed asshole, but he’s a teddy bear.”
“Seems like a tough nut to crack.” I try to sound nonchalant.
“Tyler has always done his own thing ever since we were kids. He’s always known himself and what he wanted to do, and that was the ranch. Nobody could talk him out of it even though it’s a hard life that’s very demanding and leaves little to no time for a personal life. The land is his calling and he loves it, plus he’s good at it too.” I feel him looking at me again, but I keep my eyes trained on the road. “Just not sure there’s room for someone else.”
I know he’s saying that last part for my benefit. Clearly my attempt to mask my ever-growing feelings for his brother didn’t go unnoticed.