“I bet he is.” I grabbed a plate, a sandwich, and a bit of fresh salad that was on the table. While I still wanted to escape to my room forreasons, I was enjoying the conversation too much to leave. “This salad looks so good.”
“Pris grew all of that,” Boone said as he swung through the room. He was wearing an apron, a smudge of flour on his cheek. He nodded toward the gorgeous greens, tomatoes, and peppers as he put down a plate of the biggest chocolate chip cookies I’d ever seen.
“Really?” I looked over at Pris as she settled down in a chair. “Also, I need one of those cookies.”
Boone grinned. “They’re the best of the best.”
“Yes, and please grab me one before the vultures descend,” she said.
I plucked two off the plate before everyone else could grab them and laughed as I settled next to her, putting it on her plate. The chocolate chips were still a little gooey, and I put my cookie down and then licked some off my fingertips.
“Farm-to-table, baby,” Boone said, coming around the table to give her a hug around the shoulders. She leaned back into him, grinning from ear to ear. “We take that very seriously around here. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Pris.”
“Be a sad cook,” Billie chuckled.
We all laughed and Pris pecked his cheek. “Thanks for lunch, Boone. Now, if you can just get your brother to be a little more like you . . .”
Boone snorted as he stood up, planting a hand on his hip. “Oh god. What happened now?”
“Nothing.” Her gaze flicked to me. “He’s just stubborn, is all.”
“Well, that ain’t new,” Benny said. “But we love him for it.”
Everyone agreed, and some of the tension in Pris seemed to melt.
“Yeah,” she sighed. “We sure do.”
6
priscilla
Stars dancedabove us in a clear night sky, only interrupted by the burning glow of the bonfire. It was a chilly evening, the warmth of the day long receded. Camp chairs were sprawled around and there were even a couple of picnic blankets spread on the grass.
Nothing could beat bonfires on nights like this. Not a single cloud in the sky, it was as if we were looking up at the universe. It made me feel so small and so big all at the same time.
My muscles felt nice and worked from the long work day.
Whatdidn'tfeel good was the fact that I'd been lusting over Sky ever since they sat on my lap in the tractor. Well, okay, that felt good too, but it also was bad news.
I couldn't get them out of my head.
No matter what I did.
It didn't help that they were in my space for the rest of the day. We had lunch together, and then they helped me in the garden for a while—we were side by side for hours on end.
I was learning about them, and everything I learned, I liked. Like how they’d been storm chasing for a couple of years, and they were a photographer, and they loved to help people. Theycame out as nonbinary a few years ago, and it’d been a struggle at first, but they’d found themself. They’d fought for themself.
I had nothing but pure admiration for them. I knew how hard it was to advocate for yourself, especially if you were raised to be a people pleaser.
Then there was the Beau problem.
All day, I could practically hear that damn man grumbling from his office, despite the fact that the doors were closed. It didn’t matter what part of the ranch we were on, I could feel that man stewing from a mile away.
Without fail, he always managed to drive me just a little bit crazy. I knew that he was coming from a good place earlier in regards to the storm chasing, but it wasn't like I'd be going out to do it alone. And yes, of course we all knew it was dangerous, but that didn't mean that I didn't want to try it out with Sky.
Theywere the professional here.
Then there was the fact I could see he was worried about them going out, too.
