Yes, of course. She’d pretend that she couldn’t remember it to get another tour, but West would probably refuse he was so busy. He’d already warned Eva that he’d be swamped with business calls while they were here, and still she’d begged to come to the Slade Ranch with him.
So ironic!
Eva shifted, biting down a smirk at her quandary. She couldn’t even open her phone to pass the time. It was far too dangerous. She didn’t trust herself not to do something stupid. Perhaps the animals would need her attention? Of course, those baby animals wouldn’t be babies anymore.
The door opened behind them, and she noticed Cole walk inside. He wrestled with his dusty boots to get them off. He wore those same worn jeans from last time. West’s adorable… kid brother didn’t care about style in the least.
But if she had the dressing of him, well… that little redhead wouldn’t be able to keep away from him.
Her eyes ran over his strong back and his biceps bulging against the tight sleeves of his olive green tee as he worked on those boots.
Maybe the redhead wasn’t the one at fault, come to think of it. Any woman with eyes wouldn’t let him go. She let out a breath. Cole was likely the one afraid of commitment—she’d bet her lucrative shares from Daddy’s business on it.
No matter how much Cole professed that he wasn’t like West, he was a mirror of him.
Ha! What a laugh!
Lizardman shot towards Cole, and she let out a startled gasp. The puppy barked loudly at him, trying to put up a strong front to defend his new home of the hour.
Cole stopped Lizardman’s complaints in an instant. His big arms shot around the pooch and he brought him to his chest while he made a fuss over the little guy. “Hey, tough stuff,” he said. Lizardman wagged his waterfall tail. “You got left behind, huh?” Turning, Cole stiffened when he saw Eva.
She straightened, trying to appear as innocent and nonthreatening as the puppy. “Cole!” she called out with a wave.
“Dear,” Lily told her youngest. “Come say hi. West and Eva just got here.”
“I see that.” Cole let the puppy go. Lizardman retreated to Eva, looking a little shame faced at allowing the newcomer to win him over so fast. Cole got his last boot off and walked barefoot over the rustic red brick flooring making up the kitchen and part of the dining room. He stopped just before he reached the white carpet. “Sorry for not coming too close. I’m pretty filthy.”
West didn’t even crack a smile in greeting.
Eva tried to make up for it, even if she was going a little Pollyanna with her friendly moves. “Cole! It’s so good to see you again. You need to tell us all what you’ve been up to!”
He gawked at her.
Goodness, she’d be Mary Poppins, Snow White, whatever it took to get his family to like her. They wouldn’t even know what hit them. She took a deep breath and tried again. “So?” she asked. “You bringing that little redhead home or am I only going to meet her if I go with you country dancing?”
Wait. No. That didn’t come out right. She reached over and patted West’s knee. “How about it? We’ve never gone before.”
West made another noncommittal grunt.
Cole went into the kitchen, pulling food out of the fridge, a little too roughly in her opinion. “West hasn’t taken you dancing, yet?” he asked.
“No.” And actually, it would be super fun if they did. She knew better than to ask West again though. She didn’t want him to reject her pleas in front of his momma.
Cole met her eyes over the jar that he’d taken from the fridge. “You’re missing out.”
She gulped.
There was something about the way that he wrinkled his forehead at her that made her feel like they were always talking about something other than what they were really talking about… and she kinda knew what he was saying if she really thought about it.
Cole had told her that he didn’t get along with West, and she was beginning to suspect the reasons for it. He certainly hadn’t been very congratulatory when West had asked her to marry him. He’d even threatened to rearrange his older brother’s face if he didn’t treat Eva right.
She’d hoped he’d been joking.
Smiling to ease her clenching stomach, she tapped her thumbs together. “How are those baby chicks?”
Chapter Eight
Why did Cole feel cursed when Eva was around? He couldn’t quite control what he was going to say or do next.