“No, honestly, thank you, Channing. It’s been a while since I’ve been out on a date, and I really needed it.”
I turned off the kitchen light and followed him back through the living room to the front door.
“Try not to set any more fires,” he said with a grin that should have made me want to haul him up to my bedroom and have my wicked way with him. Instead, I opened the front door as I laughed.
“No promises. I have a new candle lighter I ordered from some girl on Etsy, along with her homemade soy candles.”
Channing rolled his eyes. “Glad I’m not on call.”
I slapped him on the chest and ushered him outside. “Be safe driving home.”
He turned, and his eyes drifted to my mouth. I thought for a moment he might kiss me again, and I mentally prepared myself for it. Instead, he tipped his head and said, “Good night, Kaylee. May I call you?”
“Yes, of course!” I said, leaning up and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good night, Channing.”
“Night, Kaylee.”
I watched as he walked down the steps, then the pathway, and finally to his little sports car. He slipped in and took off down the driveway.
Letting out a deep breath, I turned and looked at the fence line that separated my rental property from the Shaw family ranch.
I focused a bit harder . . . was that two guys on horseback off in the distance?
When I stepped out on the porch and took a few steps, I squinted to see in the dark. Then I laughed.
“Who would be out on horseback after sundown?” I said, shaking my head and walking back into the house.
Chapter Six
TY
I watched as Channing helped Kaylee out of the car. The lights from the front porch allowed me to see that he held her hand as they walked up the steps. When she turned and he kissed her, it took everything I had to keep from jumping the fence line and yelling for him to stop.
Instead, I watched in silence, tucked into the shadow of a tree. They broke apart, and Channing placed his hand on the side of Kaylee’s face.
“Tell him to go home,” I whispered, like I was the good angel sitting on her right shoulder.
When Kaylee opened the door and he followed her in, I closed my eyes and dropped my head. Fuck me, she must have listened to the little devil on her other shoulder instead.
“Kind of creepy as fuck, bro.”
Tanner’s voice made me look over my shoulder at him.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, turning my horse and walking him toward my younger brother. The moonlight gave us just the right amount of light.
“Saw Mountie was still out, so I thought I would see what was going on.”
Tanner looked past me toward Kaylee’s place. “You ever going to tell her how you feel? Or just creep around like a super-freaky stalker on horseback?”
I laughed and started heading back toward the barn. Tanner turned his horse and caught up with me, walking his horse alongside mine.
“Advice about women coming from you, Tanner? What in the hell do you know about women?”
“Well, I know how to make them come in all sorts of creative ways, so there’s that.”
“That’s because you used to listen to me, Brock, and Beck talk about that. We passed along all of our tips and tricks. Years of experience that we gifted to you.”
He chuckled. “That is true. I know when a woman is faking an orgasm.”
I looked at him and could barely make out Tanner’s smirk. “So, I think what you’re saying is that it’s pretty clear you know a lot about sex, dude. Not women.”
He shrugged. “Same thing.”
“Hardly.”
“Fine, so maybe I’m a little green when it comes to the romance shit, but Ty, you like this girl. Why can’t you just admit it?”
“It’s complicated, Tanner.”
“Why?”
“It just is!” I snapped before kicking my horse into a gallop. Tanner did the same and followed me back to the barn, where we took off the saddles, got the horses brushed, and put a bit of hay in their stalls before we boarded them for the night. Tanner moved around pretty damn good for having a broken ankle.
“Where are your crutches?” I asked.
He shot me a look that said I knew damn well where they were.
I had figured Tanner was going to give up on the Kaylee thing, but he started again when I shut Mountie’s stall door and locked it.
“I’m just saying, everyone sees the attraction there. Hell, even Blayze has a song about you and Kaylee.”
Stopping, I faced him. “Is he still singing that stupid song?”
Tanner chuckled. “Well, he started to, and Brock put a stop to it, but even the kid sees it.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “You wouldn’t understand, Tanner.”