I don’t know if I should be offended on behalf of my sister that Finn is so tight-lipped about their relationship or intrigued.Hell, who am I kidding?I’m intrigued. Finn’s gaze slides from Tucker to me before looking away again. It’s brief, but it sends a wave of heat through my blood, though I’m not sure why.
“We’re not discussing this,” he grits out, wiping his mouth with a napkin before tossing it down on his empty plate. Standing, he reaches across the table to pick up Tucker’s empty plate before taking both into the kitchen.
Hollis and August laugh as Gentry glowers at his son, but I don’t miss the way his lip twitches like he wants to join in on the laughter. Flicking his gaze to me, Hollis shrugs. “Big brother is too easy to fuck with.”
“Language,” Gentry warns in a rumbling, authoritative tone, nodding to Tucker, who simply giggles at the curse word that came out of his uncle’s mouth.
“Okay, okay.” Hollis looks at me, a boyish grin tugging on his lips. He and Finn are night and day, I can already tell. Pushing away from the table, the friendlier Moore son stands up and grabs his plate as he says to me, “Lookin’ forward to gettin’ to know you better, Ash.” Then he tosses me a wink andwalks away. Finn passes him on the way out of the kitchen, his hardened gaze fixed on his brother.
“Knock it off,” he growls quiet enough I almost don’t hear it.
After that, I go with Tucker, Hollis, and August outside for a while to toss around the football again, while Gentry and Finn clean the kitchen. By the time we head back to Finn’s, I can’t even remember why I was so nervous to go over there to begin with. It was fun, and it felt like I fit right in. I can’t remember the last time I had a dinner like that.
I could get used to this.
Chapter 10
Finn
Glancing at the clock above my dresser, I curse under my breath as I fasten the belt around my waist. I don’t know how it happened, but I woke up late. My alarm didn’t go off for whatever reason, and now I’m running behind, which usually wouldn’t be that big of a deal since I literally work on this ranch, but Hollis and I are taking a bunch of cattle to auction today. It’s an hour drive to the facility, so we have to hit the road by eight. It’s nearly seven-fifteen, and we still have to load everything up.
After I grab the Stetson off my dresser and place it on my head, I meander out of the room, down the hall, and into the kitchen. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills my nostrils, meaning Ash is already awake and I can pour myself a cup of joe on my way out the door. He doesn’t drink coffee, I don’t think, but he’s started turning on a pot when he gets up so I don’t have to. It’s nice, but another thing he doesn’t have to do.
I’ve noticed he’s an early riser. Just about as early as me, but I don’t understand why. Tucker isn’t up until nine mostmornings, but Ash is usually already up by the time I emerge from my room. It’s been a little over two weeks since he moved in, and things are going well. Tucker really seems to enjoy having him around. They get along, he listens to Ash, and he always has some new activity to tell me about when I get home. Cassie was a great nanny; I never really had any complaints, but the amount of stuff Ash does with Tucker exceeds anything she ever did. They also frequently hang out by the creek, having a picnic and skipping rocks.
Ash sends me pictures all throughout the day, which I secretly love. With the hours I keep, it can be hard being away from Tuck every day. It feels like I’m missing out on so much, like he’s growing up without me. So, getting the pictures and occasional videos is a part of my day I’ve started looking forward to.
I’m finishing filling up the Styrofoam to-go cup and putting the lid on as Ash rounds the corner, footsteps halting when he looks over at me. My mouth dries as I take him in. Wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants slung low on his hips and nothing else, the memory of finding him doing yoga on the front lawn a couple of weeks ago hits me front and center. Except, that time, he was wasn’t wearing pants. No, he was wearing the tightest pair of black shorts I’ve ever seen a man wear.
Not that I was looking.
“Oh, hey,” he murmurs, running his fingers through the messy strands atop his head. “I thought you would’ve been gone by now.”
Swallowing thickly and doing my best to shove the memory out of my mind, I say, “I should’ve been, but my alarm never went off.”
“Oh, shit. That’s no good.”
As he stretches his arms over his head, something catches my gaze on his chest. My heart thumps when I notice what it is.Nipple rings. Silver glinting as the light hits them, I realize he has two barbells shoved through the rose-colored buds.
I quickly avert my gaze, hoping like hell he didn’t see me staring. My skin tingles and my pulse races, both responses I don’t understand in the slightest. So what? He has his nipples pierced… Big deal. He also has his nose pierced, but I don’t feel weird noticing that. These are no different.
Walking farther into the kitchen, Ash opens the fridge, pulling something out before handing it to me. “Here you go.”
My gaze looks from the gray and dark blue lunch box in his hands up to his face, his mismatched eyes watching me already, a smile tugged crookedly on his lips. “What’s this?”
“Packed you a lunch,” he replies with a shrug.
I cock a brow, continuing to stare at him, not taking the bag he’s offering me. “Why?”
“Because I’ve noticed the most you take with you when you leave in the morning is a protein bar andmaybea bottle of water.” He breathes out a laugh. “You’re working in the sun all day, Finn. You need to nourish your body with more than a protein bar and minimal water.”
Something about the way he says “nourish my body” has a shiver racing down my spine. I don’t like it.
Finally taking the lunch box, I say, “You really didn’t need to do this.”
“It’s no big deal,” he murmurs, resting his hip against the counter as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Besides, Tucker had fun helping me make and pack everything. A labor of love, if you will.”
I bite down on my molars, feeling flustered all of the sudden. Nobody has ever packed me a lunch before, and I don’t know how I feel about it. This isn’t part of Ash’s job description.
