“Mack, you’re not paying attention.”
He jumped again and turned to find Jack frowning at him from the other side of the fence. Second born of the Reese family, Jack was second in charge. When Mack slid his focus to his brother then Bo, he wasn’t surprised to find irritation in their eyes. He was the weak link. What else was new?
Mack cleared his throat. “Sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind.” It was a weak excuse, and he knew it. Caleb understood that his heart just wasn’t in this sort of work, but he didn’t appear to be interested in coming to Mack’s aid.
Jack thumbed over his shoulder. “Go check the stables. Make sure they’re cleaned out. Grant said he’d do it, but I haven’t seen him come back from his perimeter check.”
Mack nodded. He couldn’t even get mad that he’d been reassigned for grunt work. That stuff was mind numbing as all get out, but he’d get done with plenty of time to run to town and see if he could bump into Lacey. Then again, he might just show up at her place like he did last time.
A smile stole across his lips as he switched places with Jack and strode toward the barn. Win-win.
Mack pulledhis leather gloves from his hands and shoved them into his back pockets. He wiped at his brow with the back of his wrist and glanced over at where Caleb was still working with their cousins. They looked to be finishing up. It wasn’t likely that they’d call him over to help.
Every one of the stalls had needed cleaning, which meant he had to bring the horses to a grazing pasture while he worked. It took longer than he’d expected, but he’d been able to let his thoughts wander.
Now he’d get cleaned up, and he’d track her down. He had a feeling he was getting to her. If the way she’d looked at him when he’d clasped her hand said anything, it was that she was losing the fight. It was only a matter of time before she finally allowed him to take her out again.
He grinned as he hurried up the steps to get showered and changed. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to see a message from Angela.
Angela:I was thinking about something after dinner the other night.
Mack watchedthe bubble pop up that indicated she was typing and waited. He wasn’t about to message her back right away. Doing so could put him in a precarious position. Mack hadn’t missed the way Angela had kept touching his arm when she’d spoken to him. She was giving him all sorts of signals that she was interested in him. From the flirtatious way she laughedto those light touches, she wanted him to know that she was available.
The problem was, he simply had eyes for someone else.
The bubble disappeared, and she didn’t continue.
He tossed the phone on his bed and headed for the bathroom. If she wasn’t going to continue with what she wanted to say, then he definitely wasn’t going to open the door to ask.
Was something wrong with him? This girl clearly wanted him to ask her out. She had done everything short of asking him out herself.
And yet, all he could think about was Lacey.
Mack couldn’t stop smiling as he exited the bathroom and made his way back to his room. He brought the towel up to his head and rubbed his hair until the strands rested in damp waves atop his head.
The phone remained on his bed, and he glanced at it with curiosity. Had Angela completed her thought? There could be another text from her. If Lacey had been the one to message him, he would have already checked it by now.
As if to test his theory, his phone buzzed again.
He moved toward it, his heart kicking up, only to be let down when he saw another message from Angela.
Angela:Would it be weird if we went on a date? Just the two of us? Maybe this weekend?
He grimaced.That was what he’d been worried about. Until it actually happened, he could pretend that she was just a flirty person. There were women out there who liked to have physical contact with anyone—including friends.
Mack raked a hand through his damp hair and paced his room as he stared at the message. What if his turning her down stirred more issues with Lacey? He didn’t think she’d hate him for spurning her sister—but if they were close, then her sister could get offended and make it difficult for him to try to see Lacey.
Mack:Sorry. Can’t. I’m busy.
Her response wasimmediate and made him realize he’d just responded without waiting. Dang it. He should have given it a day.
Angela:Maybe another time?
This timehe didn’t respond. He’d give it a few hours and get back to her when he could come up with a reasonable response. The truth would likely be better than stringing her along. But how close to the truth? Would Angela get in his way if she knew he was interested in her sister?
Mack sighed and tossed his phone on the bed again. Maybe if he could get Lacey to admit to feeling something for him, they could…
Do what, exactly? There was no simple solution to this problem. He sighed as he started to get ready. Angela was a problem he could solve another time. Right now, he needed to solve the issue regarding his inability to stay focused.
